Eastern Kingbird

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Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher

Tyrant flycatcher

The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North America and South America, but are mainly Neotropical in distribution....
.

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.

The call is a high-pitched unmusical chirp.

Their breeding habitat is open areas across North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. They make a sturdy cup nest in a tree or shrub, sometimes on top of a stump or pole.

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Encyclopedia

The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher

Tyrant flycatcher

North America

Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
in flocks to South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

They wait on an open perch and fly out to catch insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s in flight, sometimes hovering to pick food off vegetation. They also eat berries

Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
and fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
, mainly in their wintering areas.

Some Eastern Kingbirds place their nests in the open while others hide nests very well. Eastern Kingbirds in Southern British Columbia can nest in open fields; in shrubs over open water; high in tall trees and even in the tops of small stumps. It has been shown that those pairs that hide their nests well tend to be less aggressive towards intruders near the nest (perhaps relying on nest cover), while pairs that nest in the open tend to be more overtly aggressive to intruders. 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 behavior of Eastern Kingbirds has been shown to keep ravens and crows from finding experimental nests placed near kingbird nests. Similar experimental nests placed far from the kingbird nests were found far more often by crows and ravens. They also remove cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasite icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds bird migration to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat about March/April....
egg

Egg (biology)

In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo....
s from their nests.

Footnotes

External links

- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- South Dakota Birds and Birding