Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

General

Western Kingbird: Large flycatcher with gray upperparts, darker head, white throat and upper breast, and yellow lower breast and belly. Wings are brown. Tail is black with white edges. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Western Kingbird: Breeds throughout the west, from southern Canada south to Mexico, east to Great Plains. Regular fall migrant on the Atlantic coast and winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include open country such as ranches, roadsides, streams, and ponds with trees.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ker-er-ip, ker-er-ip, pree pree prpreee", "kit"

Interesting Facts

The Western Kingbird has benefited from the cutting of forests. Alfalfa and livestock pastures provide a plentiful diet of insects.

The male has an impressive courtship display in which he twists and turns to about 60 feet in the air at which point he stalls, and then tumbles, flips, and twists as he falls toward the ground.

They catch insects on the wing, often leaving its perch and chasing flying insects for 40 to 60 feet.

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

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.

Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird: Large flycatcher, gray upperparts, darker head, white throat and upper breast, and yellow lower breast and belly. Wings are brown. Tail is black with white edges. Feeds on insects, fruits and berries. Bouyant fluttering flight on shallow wing beats. Hovers over prey and dips down.

● Song: "ker-er-ip, ker-er-ip, pree pree prpreee", "kit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Western Kingbird: Diet consists of insects and berries. Catches and feeds on insects while making long sallies over open fields.

● Breeding & nesting: Western Kingbird: Three to seven white eggs marked with brown, lavender and black, are laid in a stick nest lined with plant fibers and built in a tree or bush. Incubation ranges from 18 to 19 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Western Kingbird: Cassin's Kingbird has darker gray head, breast, and neck, darker olive-brown back, and brown tail feathers. Tropical and Couch's kingbirds heavier, longer bills, darker ear patches, and darker upperparts.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Western Kingbird: Breeds throughout the west, from southern Canada south to Mexico, east to Great Plains. Regular fall migrant on the Atlantic coast and winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include open country such as ranches, roadsides, streams, and ponds with trees.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.4 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America