A New Avian Species Record for Barbados – Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)

Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)

I first saw, well heard, this bird on the afternoon of September 21^st, while birding at Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR).  The call was unfamiliar to me so I took note of it.  I tried in vain to find the bird in the dense foliage but was unable to.   Minutes later what I first thought was a Belted Kingfisher, which is common to the island, flew from the area the bird call came from.  I noticed the reddish colour underparts and got a quick shot with my camera.  The shot was horrible but I

My first image of the RIKI on September 21

was sure this bird was a Ringed Kingfisher.   On returning home I listened to the call of the Ringed Kingfisher on the website www.xeno-canto.org  and it was the same call I heard earlier that afternoon at WSR.   I had seen and photographed what I thought was a Belted Kingfisher sitting over one of the ponds, it then flew to the same dense foliage just before I heard the strange call so I reasoned that it must have been the Ringed Kingfisher and gathered a few of the best images to share.   Of course, no matter how you try, you cannot turn a Belted Kingfisher into a Ringed Kingfisher, yes the

Belted or Ringed Kingfisher?

response was unanimous - a Belted Kingfisher.  I was dejected but vowed to find and get photographical evidence to support my sighting but because of a series of unfortunate events I was unable to do an in-depth search.  On September 30^th, a local birder saw and photographed the Ringed Kingfisher at the same location, confirming that I did hear its distinct call.

I was finally able to get my first good look at the bird on October the 1^st and first usable images on October 5^th some of which you can see below.

Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) is a large bird about 16 inches, with bluish-gray upperparts, shaggy crest and a broad white collar around the neck.  Its underparts are reddish-brown, which covers the entire breast of the male to under the tail while females are more colourful having a bluish-gray breast and a narrow white stripe separating the breast from the belly.  Juveniles are darker above, with marks on the back; breast is mottled and belly a lighter reddish-brown making our bird a female.

While these birds are uncommon to this island they are common to some of our Caribbean neighbours eg. Dominica which was recently devastated by Hurricane Maria – Our hearts and prayers go out to them.

Here are a few images of the bird: