The Story
I photographed this Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona) near La Macarena, Meta, Colombia, in February 2021. Adult males have dark bronzy green upperparts divided by a white collar, a white throat and a rich rufous breast, while females lack the rufous breast. It usually dives from a perch for fish and crustaceans and occasionally hovers before diving. It lives in the lowlands of the American tropics from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/1000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. Visits to Caño Cristales, the Mirador Cristalitos and the Raudal de Angosturas in La Macarena National Park are arranged through authorized local operators.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona) belongs to the family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List