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Thick-billed Kingbird

Tyrannus crassirostrisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Thick-billed Kingbird Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Gray-brown
  • Forehead Color: Gray-brown
  • Nape Color: Gray-brown
  • Throat Color: White with gray wash.
  • Cere color: No Data
Thick-billed Kingbird Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 22-27 cm (8.5-10.5 in)
  • Weight: 57 g (2 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Gray, Yellow
  • Underparts: Yellow with pale gray breast.
  • Upperparts: Gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Buoyant fluttering flight with shallow wing beats., Hovers, dips for prey.
  • Wingspan Range: 38-41 cm (15-16 in)
  • Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Forked Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid with edging
  • Upper Tail: Brown-black edged in red-brown.
  • Under Tail: Brown-black edged in red-brown.
  • Leg Color: Black
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Family Flycatcher (Tyrannidae)_blue
Species Tyrannus crassirostris
Length8.5 - 10.5 Inches
Wingspan15.5 Inches

Thick-billed Kingbird

Thick-billed Kingbird: Large flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts, darker head, and seldom seen yellow crown patch. Throat and breast are gray-washed white, and belly and undertail coverts are pale yellow. Bill is large and black. Tail is gray-brown and slightly forked, edged with cinnamon-brown.

● Song: "puareet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Thick-billed Kingbird: Feeds on relatively large insects, including beetles, cicadas, and grasshoppers. Spots prey from perch and then hawks it in mid-air; often calls upon returning to a perch after successful foray.

● Breeding & nesting: Thick-billed Kingbird: Three to four white eggs with brown blotches are laid in a large, loose cup of twigs, grass, and plant down built on a horizontal tree branch 50 to 60 feet above the ground; nest has a ragged look, with eggs sometimes visible from below. Incubation ranges from 18 to 20 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Thick-billed Kingbird: Tropical and other kingbirds have paler heads and smaller bills.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant fluttering flight with shallow wing beats., Hovers, dips for prey.
Thick-billed Kingbird Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Thick-billed Kingbird: Native of Mexico; occurs in a few locations in Arizona and southern California. Breeds along permanent streams in lowlands and canyons, especially where large sycamores and cottonwoods grow.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCommon to uncommon
MigrationMigratory
Weight2 Ounces