Wow! Yet another nuance to look for in the field. Well, on
November 1st I spent the day birding all around Ellensburg and found five
kingfishers, one of which was a female, two males, and the other two sex
not noted. Just to get us started keeping track....

Hal Opperman
halop at u.washington.edu
phone 206-635-0503

On Fri, 8 Nov 1996, Janet Hardin wrote:

> Scott Richardson, in response to my observation and question about
> kingfishers, asked
>
> >> The birds appeared to be an adult male and female
>
> >Appeared to be? Did the "female" have her rusty belt on?
>
> She sure did!
>
> > I'm curious mainly because I see only male kingfishers during winter at
> >East Bay, Olympia. Females are present only from the end of April to early
> >October. There was a Natural History article a decade or so back that
> >described migration of females while males remained on the breeding
> >grounds.
>
> This is interesting, and news to me. Guess I'll be paying closer attention
> from now on, and perhaps check my old field notes. Over the years I've
> taken a casual approach to learning more about kingfishers, but have been
> frustrated by difficulties in locating references. I just read Bent this
> morning, and when I read the accounts of migration and ranges, reflected
> that I'm glad we live in an area conducive to their staying year-round.
> There was no mention of a different migration/wintering status between the
> two sexes.
>
> > Sorry I'm no help here, Janet.
>
> Thanks for trying! You've taught me something new and piqued my curiosity,
> and I'm grateful.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Janet Hardin
> Port Townsend, WA
> wings at olympus.net
>
>
>