Chloroceryle aenea
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The American pygmy kingfisher (Chloroceryle aenea) is a species of "water kingfisher" in subfamily Cerylinae of family Alcedinidae. It is found in the American tropics from southern Mexico south through Central America into every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay. It also occurs on Trinidad.
The first formal description of the American pygmy kingfisher was by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 under the binomial name Alcedo aenea. The specific epithet aenea is from the Latin aeneus meaning "of a bronze colour". The current genus Chloroceryle was erected by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the American pygmy kingfisher was a sister species to a clade containing the green-and-rufous kingfisher (C. inda) and the green kingfisher (C. americana). The American pygmy kingfisher is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long. Males weigh 10 to 16 g (0.35 to 0.56 oz) and females 12 to 16 g (0.42 to 0.56 oz). It has the typical kingfisher shape, with a shaggy... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an American Pygmy Kingfisher sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 127th most-seen of the 216 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Pygmy Kingfisher in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. Those are among Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Pygmy Kingfisher sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
22nd of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate American Pygmy Kingfisher sightings, Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve ranks 22nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Caroni Swamp (Trinidad and Tobago, about 30%), Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%) and Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Pygmy Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (42 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
