Most predators target eggs and nestlings. Eastern kingbird adults are sometimes taken by aerial predators, such as American kestrels (Falco sparverius). Eastern kingbirds are aggressive and will energetically attack perceived threats, such as large hawks, crows, blue jays, squirrels, and snakes, whenever they are nearby. They will dive at a threat with their crest raised, exposing the red crown feathers, and with the mouth wide open, exposing their bright red gape. They will repeatedly attack the threat until they retreat. Eggs and nestlings are preyed on by crows (Corvus), blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), squirrels (Sciurus and Tamiasciurus), and arboreal snakes.
Known Predators:
Eastern kingbirds use a variety of vocalizations to communicate, especially during the breeding season. In their winter range eastern kingbirds vocalize very little. Males sing a complex song in the pre-dawn hours, especially males in more dense populations. Calls are harsh and buzzing, often repeated "zeers." Males vocalize extensively when patrolling their nesting territory. Females vocalize as well, but males use vocalizations more frequently. Adults and juveniles will snap their bills at threats as well and they make whirring sounds with their wings occasionally. Courtship involves aerial displays between mates.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Eastern kingbirds are widespread and populations are large, they are considered "least concern" by the IUCN. They are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no adverse effects of eastern kingbirds on humans, although they may harass humans they perceive as threats near nests.
Eastern kingbird may help to control insect pest populations in some areas.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Eastern kingbirds are important predators of insects during the breeding season. They eat fruits and may disperse seeds as well. They forage with other Tyrannus species in their winter range in South America, including tropical kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus) and fork-tailed flycatchers (Tyrannus savanna). They may nest near Swainson's or ferruginous hawks (Buteo swainsoni, Buteo regalis), both of which prey on common nest predators, such as crows and blue jays. Hatchlings are parasitized by mites, otherwise there is little known about parasites. Eastern kingbird nests are parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and other eastern kingbirds.
Mutualist Species:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Eastern kingbirds eat insects during the breeding season and both insects and fruit outside of the breeding season. Insects make up 85% of the diet from May to September, including bees and wasps (Hymenoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), bugs (Hemiptera), and flies (Diptera). Insect prey is mainly taken by hawking from a perch. They dart out from perches to capture flying prey in their air. They will also take insects from the water or ground by hovering or gleaning. Small prey are eaten immediately, larger prey are taken back to the perch and smashed until they are subdued before being eaten. Larger prey are preferred. Fruit is taken in flight while hovering or gleaning as well. Eastern kingbirds do not seem to drink water.
Animal Foods: amphibians; insects
Plant Foods: fruit
Primary Diet: omnivore
Eastern kingbirds are the most widespread species in the genus Tyrranus. They breed throughout most of eastern North America, from the Gulf of Mexico north throughout much of southern and central Canada, as far east at the Atlantic seaboard to the Canadian maritime provinces, and as far west as central Texas, Colorado, northeastern Utah, eastern Oregon and Washington, and eastern British Columbia to the Yukon territories. They winter in South America, where their distribution is poorly understood but seems to be mainly in the western Amazon basin.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Eastern kingbirds are found in open, savanna-like habitats, often near water. They occur in fields and grasslands with scattered tall trees for nesting and perching. Suitable habitats include parks, riparian forests, large burned areas or blowouts in forests, golf courses, and suburban and urban areas. Little is know about their migratory habits, but they are found in a wide variety of habitats while migrating. In winter they are found in forest-edge, riparian forest, and near wetlands.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural ; riparian
Maximum lifespan is not reported for eastern kingbirds, but annual survival has been estimated at 54% for females and 69% for males. Most mortality in young is the result of predation. Causes of adult mortality are unclear, but may also be mainly predation.
Eastern kingbirds are relatively small members of the genus Tyrannus, from 19.5 to 23 cm long. Males and females are similar, although males are slightly larger in all measurements. Males are distinguished from females by the notching of their 9th and 10th primaries, whereas only the 10th primary is notched in females. They are striking birds, with rich, black plumage dorsally and white plumage ventrally. They have an inconspicuous grey band across the chest. Kingbirds have an erectile crest of feathers on their head, although it isn't always observed. Males tend to erect their crown feathers more than females. Eastern kingbirds also have a small red or orange patch of feathers on the crown, which is rarely seen. They have a distinctive white trailing edge on the tail. The bill, claws, and legs are black. There are no recognized subspecies, but there is geographic variation in some measurements and in the width of the white tail tips.
Range length: 19.5 to 23 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Eastern kingbirds are monogamous, although they seem to have a skewed sex ratio, with fewer females than males. Male mates that are lost are quickly replaced by other males. There is some evidence of occasional extra pair copulations or quasiparasitism, where a second female mates with the resident male and lays eggs in the first female's nest. Males perform aerial displays to attract females, they fly in short, zig-zag patterns with their wings fluttering while vocalizing.
Mating System: monogamous
Eastern kingbirds breed from April to June, mostly in May. Females build nests of twigs, bark, and roots lined with softer material, like cattail down or willow catkins. Nests are constructed 2 to 8 m high in trees in open habitats. Females can lay 2nd or 3rd clutches if previous clutches are lost, but if a clutch is successful, there are no additional broods. Females lay 2 to 5, usually 3 cream colored eggs with reddish spots. Eggs are usually laid one per day until the clutch is complete. Incubation is for 14 to 17 days and young fledge 16 to 17 days after hatching. They can reproduce in their first year after hatching, although breeding may be delayed.
Breeding interval: Eastern kingbirds breed once each year.
Breeding season: Eastern kingbirds breed from April to June.
Range eggs per season: 2 to 5.
Average eggs per season: 3.
Range time to hatching: 14 to 17 days.
Range fledging age: 16 to 17 days.
Average time to independence: 30 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 (low) years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 (low) years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Young are naked at hatching. Only females incubate and brood the young. Males and females feed nestlings, but females feed more than males. Young are fed insects as much as possible, but parents will provide fruit as well. They remove stingers from bees and wasps before feeding them to the young. Parents continue to feed and protect their young up to 5 weeks after fledging, at 7 to 8 weeks old. Young begin to feed themselves at about 4 weeks old.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
A medium-sized (8 inches) flycatcher, the Eastern Kingbird is most easily identified by its dark gray head and back, pale breast, and black tail with conspicuous white band on tip. This species is most easily distinguished from the related Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) by that species’ paler body and bright yellow belly. Male and female Eastern Kingbirds are similar to one another in all seasons. The Eastern Kingbird breeds across much of the United States and south-central Canada. This species is primarily absent as a breeding bird from the far north, the desert southwest, and the U.S. Pacific coast. Eastern Kingbirds spend the winter in the South American Amazon. Eastern Kingbirds breed in a variety of open and semi-open habitats, including forest edges, fields, and wetlands. During the winter, this species may be found in swampy or open habitats in humid tropical forests. Like most of their relatives, Eastern Kingbirds primarily eat small flying insects during the summer, but these birds also eat fruits and berries during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Eastern Kingbirds are most easily seen scanning the surrounding area from a prominent perch. These birds hunt by flying out from perches to capture prey in the air, displaying their characteristic white-on-black tail pattern as they do so. Eastern Kingbirds are primarily active during the day.
A medium-sized (8 inches) flycatcher, the Eastern Kingbird is most easily identified by its dark gray head and back, pale breast, and black tail with conspicuous white band on tip. This species is most easily distinguished from the related Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) by that species’ paler body and bright yellow belly. Male and female Eastern Kingbirds are similar to one another in all seasons. The Eastern Kingbird breeds across much of the United States and south-central Canada. This species is primarily absent as a breeding bird from the far north, the desert southwest, and the U.S. Pacific coast. Eastern Kingbirds spend the winter in the South American Amazon. Eastern Kingbirds breed in a variety of open and semi-open habitats, including forest edges, fields, and wetlands. During the winter, this species may be found in swampy or open habitats in humid tropical forests. Like most of their relatives, Eastern Kingbirds primarily eat small flying insects during the summer, but these birds also eat fruits and berries during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Eastern Kingbirds are most easily seen scanning the surrounding area from a prominent perch. These birds hunt by flying out from perches to capture prey in the air, displaying their characteristic white-on-black tail pattern as they do so. Eastern Kingbirds are primarily active during the day.
The eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large tyrant flycatcher native to the Americas. The bird is predominantly dark gray with white underbelly and pointed wings.[2] Eastern kingbirds are conspicuous and are commonly found in open areas with scattered trees and bushes, where they perch while foraging for insects.[3] The Eastern kingbird is migratory, with its breeding range spread across North America and its wintering range in Central and South America.[1]
The eastern kingbird measures 19-23 cm in length. The species, described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, is monotypic with no recognized subspecies. Their diet consists of insects, which they catch in flight, as well as berries and fruit, particularly in their wintering areas. The birds aggressively defend their territory, with both male and female participating in nest defense. Known predators of kingbird nests include blue jays, American crows, squirrels, and tree-climbing snakes, while American kestrels may prey on adult kingbirds.
The eastern kingbird was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name of Lanius tyrannus.[4] The present genus Tyrannus was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with the eastern kingbird as the type species.[5] The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised.[6]
Adults are grey-black on the upperparts with light underparts; they have a long black tail with a white end and long, pointed wings. They have a red patch on their crown, seldom seen. They are of average size for a kingbird, at 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in), 33–38 cm (13–15 in) across the wings and weighing 33–55 g (1.2–1.9 oz).[2]
The call is a high-pitched, buzzing and unmusical chirp, frequently compared to an electric fence.[7]
Their breeding habitat is open areas across North America. They make a sturdy cup nest in a tree or shrub, sometimes on top of a stump or pole. These birds aggressively defend their territory, even against much larger birds.[8]
These birds migrate in flocks to South America. There are three European records, all from the British Isles: two from Ireland in October 2012 and September 2013, and one from Scotland in September 2016.
Some eastern kingbirds place their nests in the open, while others hide their nests well. Eastern kingbirds in southern British Columbia may nest in open fields, in shrubs over open water, high up in trees, and even in the tops of small stumps. Both male and female participate in nest defense, but females may stay on well-hidden nests longer than females with open nests, who may leave nests earlier to chase away predators. Those pairs nesting in the open may be able to see predators coming earlier and rely on aggressive behavior to protect their young.
The aggressive mobbing behavior of eastern kingbirds has been shown to keep ravens and crows from finding experimental nests placed near kingbird nests. Similar experimental nests placed further from the kingbird nests were more likely to be spotted by crows and ravens. Blue jays, American crows, squirrels, and tree-climbing snakes are on occasion kingbird nest predators. American kestrels likely prey on the adults.[9]
Eastern kingbirds wait on an open perch and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering to pick prey off vegetation. They also eat berries and fruit, mainly in their wintering areas.[10]
Spots its prey
Attacks
Returns to exactly the same spot
Calling eastern kingbird, in central Virginia
The eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large tyrant flycatcher native to the Americas. The bird is predominantly dark gray with white underbelly and pointed wings. Eastern kingbirds are conspicuous and are commonly found in open areas with scattered trees and bushes, where they perch while foraging for insects. The Eastern kingbird is migratory, with its breeding range spread across North America and its wintering range in Central and South America.
The eastern kingbird measures 19-23 cm in length. The species, described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, is monotypic with no recognized subspecies. Their diet consists of insects, which they catch in flight, as well as berries and fruit, particularly in their wintering areas. The birds aggressively defend their territory, with both male and female participating in nest defense. Known predators of kingbird nests include blue jays, American crows, squirrels, and tree-climbing snakes, while American kestrels may prey on adult kingbirds.
