Green-backed Kingfisher (Actenoides monachus), Sulawesi, Indonesia

Amazon Kingfisher, Pantanal, Brazil

There are about ninety different species of kingfisher distributed throughout the world. They occur on every continent except for Antarctica. It’s always a pleasure to spot one, usually perched above a body of water, intensely watching for fish below. Here are just two of the brightly colored kingfishers that I’ve seen. The top image, a green-backed kingfisher, was photographed in Indonesia and the bottom, an Amazon kingfisher, was photographed in Brazil.
Top: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/40th of a second
Bottom: Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm), plus Nikkor 1.4x teleconverter (total of 550mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second