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Couch's Kingbird

Tyrannus couchiiOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Couch's Kingbird Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline
  • Crown Color: Gray
  • Forehead Color: Gray with darker ear patch.
  • Nape Color: Gray
  • Throat Color: Pale Gray
  • Cere color: No Data
Couch's Kingbird Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 20-24 cm (8-9.5 in)
  • Weight: 45 g (1.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: Green, White, Brown, Gray, Yellow
  • Underparts: Yellow with olive wash.
  • Upperparts: Olive-green
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Couch's Kingbird Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Slow fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 38-41 cm (15-16 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Forked Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Dark Brown
  • Under Tail: Dark Brown
  • Leg Color: Black
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Family Flycatcher (Tyrannidae)_blue
Species Tyrannus couchii
Length8 - 9.5 Inches
Wingspan15.5 Inches

Couch's Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird: Large flycatcher, olive-green upperparts, gray head, dark eye patch, white throat, bright yellow underparts. Wings and slightly forked tail are dark. Black legs and feet. Difficult to distinguish from Tropical Kingbird. Slow fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.

● Song: "s'wee-s'wee-s'wee-s'wee-I-chu", "breeeear", "kip".

● Foraging & Feeding: Couch's Kingbird: Eats flying and crawling insects, berries, and fruits; perches on tall trees to hawk insects.

● Breeding & nesting: Couch's Kingbird: Three to five pink to buff eggs with brown and lavender blotches are laid in a nest made of leaves, twigs, moss, weeds, and bark strips, lined with finer materials, and built 8 to 25 feet above the ground on a tree limb. Incubation ranges from 14 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Couch's Kingbird: Tropical Kingbird is identical in appearance but has distinctive twittering call. Western and Cassin's kingbirds have smaller, thinner bills, paler gray ear patches, and different voices.

Flight Pattern

Slow fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.
Couch's Kingbird Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Couch's Kingbird: Resident from southern Texas south to Central America; prefers woodland borders and brushy streamside thickets.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight1.6 Ounces