Kingfisher and Woodpecker Assemblage

The birds of the order Coraciiformes, as the order is currently defined, are not numerous in North America. Of the over 85 species of kingfishers found worldwide, only three enter the United States, and only one -- the Belted Kingfisher -- is common. Kingfishers are strong-billed, short-legged birds with a variety of foraging styles. A large number of species dive from the air for fish and other aquatic animals, but many others feed away from water on insects and vertebrates. Todies and motmots are the other New World representatives of the Coraciiformes. These birds sit quietly in trees and occasionally dart out after prey. At present the tiny todies live only in the West Indies; the larger momots occur in Central America and northern South America. Additional Old World families of this large order include bee-eaters, ground-rollers, hoopoes, wood-hoopoes, and hornbills. Coraciiformes birds show some degree of fusion at the toes, but they do not have the yoke-toed foot that characterizes the Paciformes.