General

Great Kiskadee: Large flycatcher with brown upperparts, white head with black cap and eye-line, and bright yellow underparts. Yellow crown patch is usually concealed. Wings and tail are chestnut-brown. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Great Kiskadee: This species is a resident from extreme southern Texas (the lower Rio Grande Valley) and southward along coastal Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. Its preferred habitats include rivers, streams, and lakes bordered with dense vegetation, though they are also found in open country and parks.

Breeding and Nesting

Great Kiskadee: Two to five white eggs spotted with brown and lavender are laid in a bulky, domed nest with a side entrance made of grass, weeds, bark strips, moss, and other plant fibers, and built in a thorn tree or bush 6 to 50 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Great Kiskadee: Feeds on variety of crawling and flying insects. Sallies to catch prey, often in mid-air, then returns to perch and beats the victim on the branch several times before eating. Also eats frogs, small lizards, baby birds, and mice.

Vocalization

Great Kiskadee: Slow, clear, raucous "kiss-ka-dee"; also makes a bold, screaming "cree-ah."

Similar Species

Great Kiskadee: Unlikely to be confused with any other species in its range.