Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus Order: PASSERIFORMES Family: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

Codes: Common Name: EAKI Scientific Name: TYRTYR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178279

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Overview

Eastern Kingbird: Large flycatcher, blue-black back, wings, black tail with white terminal band, white underparts. Head is black, has inconspicuous red crown feathers visible when bird is displaying. Black bill, legs, feet. Fluttering stiff-winged direct flight with shallow wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Kingbird: Breeds from British Columbia across interior Canada to Maritime Provinces and south to northern California, central Texas, the Gulf coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Inhabits open woodlands, clearings, rural roadsides, farms, orchards, edges of fields, streams, and suburbs.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kit-kit-kitter-kitter", "dzee-dzee-dzee"

Interesting Facts

The Eastern Kingbird is highly aggressive toward nest predators and larger birds. Hawks and crows are attacked regularly. A kingbird was observed to knock a Blue Jay out of a tree and cause it to hide under bush to escape the attack.

Despite its name, its range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.

A group of kingbirds are collectively known as a "coronation", "court", and "tyranny" of kingbirds.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Eastern Kingbird

● Song: "kit-kit-kitter-kitter", "dzee-dzee-dzee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Eastern Kingbird: Feeds on insects and fruits; often forages by hovering and pouncing on prey on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Eastern Kingbird: Three to five white to pale pink eggs marked with brown, lavender, and gray are laid in a cup nest made of weeds, twigs, and grass, lined with grass and animal hair, and built far to midway out on a horizontal tree or shrub branch; also nests in cavities and human-made structures. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Eastern Kingbird: Gray Kingbird has pale gray upperparts, white underparts, black mask through eyes, and lacks white terminal tail band.

Flight Pattern

Fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Eastern Kingbird: Breeds from British Columbia across interior Canada to Maritime Provinces and south to northern California, central Texas, the Gulf coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Inhabits open woodlands, clearings, rural roadsides, farms, orchards, edges of fields, streams, and suburbs.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.5 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Terminal band

Refers to the contrasting stripe at the tip of the tail.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America