STATUS: Fairly common.
HABITAT: Prefers small, shaded, clear streams and quiet backwaters, but also found around larger bodies of water with dense, low vegetation along the banks.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: High banks along clear streams with an abundant supply of small fishes.
NEST: Digs burrow 2 to 3 feet deep near the top of a high bank over water with a small entrance, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, usually well concealed by trailing plants and vines or dead vegetation draping the top of the bank.
FOOD: Sights small fishes from a low perch of overhanging branches, roots, or rocks, often just inches above water; plunges into the water from the perch to catch the fishes, rarely hovering.
REFERENCES: Bent 1940a, Kaufman in Farrand 1983b, Oberholser 1974a, Terres 1980.