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Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus Order: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Eastern Kingbird Head Illustration_2

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Brown.
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown Color: Black
  • Forehead Color: Black
  • Nape Color: Black
  • Throat Color: White
  • Cere color: No Data
Eastern Kingbird Body Illustration_2

Body

  • Length Range: 22 cm (8.5 in)
  • Weight: 43 g (1.5 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Black, Gray
  • Underparts: White with gray wash on breast.
  • Upperparts: Dark Gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Eastern Kingbird Flight Illustration_2

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 36-38 cm (14-15 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid with white edging.
  • Upper Tail: Black with white terminal band.
  • Under Tail: Black with white terminal band.
  • Leg Color: Black
.
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Family Flycatcher (Tyrannidae)_blue
Species Tyrannus tyrannus
Length8.5 Inches
Wingspan14.5 Inches

Eastern Kingbird

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.

● 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.
Eastern Kingbird Body Illustration_2
● 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