Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Dwarf Green Fish Dog
- Scientific name: Chloroceryle aenea, Pygmy Kingfisher
- Classification: Climbing birds
- Classification and genus: Order Coraciiformes, Family Kingfisher, Genus Kingfisher
Vital signs data
- Body length: Approximately 13 centimeters
- Weight: No verification information available.
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
The pygmy green dogfish is distributed in Central America (located between North and South America, including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, etc.) and South America (including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands).
The pygmy kingfisher is commonly found in densely wooded areas of streams, ponds, and rivers, as well as mangroves and rainforests. It is quite common, although its distribution and density are very uneven across its entire range. It can also be seen at altitudes up to 1800 meters.
Appearance
The Pygmy Green Fishhound is 13 cm in length. Adult males have a glossy, dark green forehead. The tail is bluish-green. The lores are black, with a distinctive short white line at the base of the eye. A red collar forms a unified whole on the throat. The back and wings are dark blue. The breast and sides of the underparts are reddish, contrasting with the white underbelly and white tail. The lower wings show a pale orange tinge. The bill is black, with a yellow base to the lower jaw. The iris is dark brown, and the legs are dark grey.
Adult females, unlike males, have a broad, dark green band on their breast, instead having white plumage. Juveniles are paler and slightly darker than adults, with more spots on their wings. Semi-adults have dark green stripes on their breast and wings. The breast band in semi-adult females is narrower than in adults and is often discontinuous.
The beak is long and laterally flattened with a rounded ridge; the nasal groove is prominent; the wingtips are long, with the first primary flight feather being shorter than the second, and the second or third being the longest; the tail is longer than the beak.
Detailed introduction
The pygmy kingfisher, scientifically known as *Chloroceryle aenea*, has two subspecies: 1. *Chloroceryle aenea stictoptera*, distributed in Stardarica and southern Mexico (Puebla, Veracruz); 2. *Chloroceryle aenea aenea*, distributed in Colombia, Stardarica, the Andes, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil.
The pygmy kingfisher is a fish-eating kingfisher with exceptional diving skills, capable of hovering in mid-air to lock onto its prey. It primarily lives near rivers, feeding on fish. It inhabits shrublands or sparse forests, clear, slow-flowing rivers, streams, lakes, and irrigation canals. It often flies overhead over rivers, streams, ponds, and marshes, surveying for food. Once it spots prey, it swiftly and decisively swoops down. It usually perches alone on the tops of branches, telephone poles, or rocks near water, waiting for its prey. It is commonly seen perched on low branches or rocks near the water, patiently waiting for its prey. Like kingfishers, it hunts by swooping down from the water's surface or diving underwater; sometimes it can even disappear completely into the water. Other times, it flaps its wings, hovering about 3-10 meters above the water, seemingly suspended above the surface, and upon spotting prey, immediately plunges into the water to catch it. It places its catch on its perch, constantly manipulating it, even tossing the fish up to swallow it headfirst. Its diet consists mainly of small fish, supplemented by crustaceans, various aquatic insects and their larvae, as well as small frogs and a small amount of aquatic plants.
The spawning season for the pygmy kingfisher is May in El Salvador and Suriname, and from May to August or September in Trinidad and Tobago. They nest on earthen cliffs, or on the banks of fields and streams, digging 30-40 cm long tunnels with their mouths. These burrows are generally unlined. Eggs are laid directly on the ground inside the nest. Sometimes they also nest in termite-eroded tree cavities. The eggs are pure white, shiny, with a sturdy shell and slight spots.
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Birds, ver 3.1: 2008.
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