Birdtober Day 19: Blue-necked Jacamar

The Blue-necked Jacamar is also called the Blue-cheeked Jacamar. These birds remind me of kingfishers, bee-eaters, todies, and hummingbirds. They breed in tunnels, like kingfishers, and they also look a lot like kingfishers. They beat their prey on a branch before eating, like bee-eaters and kingfishers. They are iridescent, like hummingbirds. And their proportions are very similar to todies. But they are none of the above. 

 

Nice to meet you, jacamar.

How I wonder what you are.

You are like some birds I've met

But I haven't met you yet. 

I see you looking out for prey

(Bugs should really keep away)

I hear you make a trilling cry

Then watch you catch a passing fly

But I don't know you, jacamar.

How I wonder what you are. 

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey