Kingbird
Encyclopedia
The genus Tyrannus is a group of large insect-eating bird
s in the Tyrant flycatcher
family Tyrannidae. The majority are named as Kingbirds.
They prefer semi-open or open areas. These birds wait on an exposed perch and then catch insects in flight. They have long pointed wings and large broad bills.
These birds tend to defend their breeding territories aggressively, often chasing away much larger birds. The genus name means "tyrant
".
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the Tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
family Tyrannidae. The majority are named as Kingbirds.
They prefer semi-open or open areas. These birds wait on an exposed perch and then catch insects in flight. They have long pointed wings and large broad bills.
These birds tend to defend their breeding territories aggressively, often chasing away much larger birds. The genus name means "tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
".
Species
- Snowy-throated KingbirdSnowy-throated KingbirdThe Snowy-throated Kingbird is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru....
, Tyrannus niveigularis - White-throated KingbirdWhite-throated KingbirdThe White-throated Kingbird is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, and in the Guianas of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests...
, Tyrannus albogularis - Tropical KingbirdTropical KingbirdThe Tropical Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the USA through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina and western Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago...
, Tyrannus melancholicus - Couch's KingbirdCouch's KingbirdThe Couch's Kingbird, Tyrannus couchii, is a passerine tyrant flycatcher of the kingbird genus. It is found from southern Texas along the Gulf Coast to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize and northern Guatemala...
, Tyrannus couchii - Cassin's KingbirdCassin's KingbirdThe Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.Adults have a gray head with slightly darker cheeks; a dark unforked tail with a buffy fringe and gray-olive underparts.They have a pale throat and deep yellow lower breast....
, Tyrannus vociferans - Thick-billed KingbirdThick-billed KingbirdThe Thick-billed Kingbird, Tyrannus crassirostris, is a large bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers. This bird breeds from southeastern Arizona, extreme southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora, , in the United States and Mexico, through western and western-coastal Mexico,...
, Tyrannus crassirostris - Western KingbirdWestern KingbirdThe Western Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-olive on the upperparts with a grey head and a dark line through the eyes; the underparts are light becoming light orange-yellow on the lower breast and belly. They have a long black tail with white outer feathers...
, Tyrannus verticalis - Eastern KingbirdEastern KingbirdThe Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.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...
, Tyrannus tyrannus - Gray KingbirdGray KingbirdThe Gray Kingbird, also known as Pitirre, Tyrannus dominicensis, is a passerine bird. It breeds from the extreme southeast of the USA through Central America, from Cuba to Puerto Rico as well as eastward towards all across the Lesser West Indies, south to Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago the Guiana and...
, Tyrannus dominicensis - Loggerhead KingbirdLoggerhead KingbirdThe Loggerhead Kingbird is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and, very rarely, in the United States....
, Tyrannus caudifasciatus - Giant KingbirdGiant KingbirdThe Giant Kingbird is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is endemic to Cuba, although there are historical records of it on other islands...
, Tyrannus cubensis - Scissor-tailed FlycatcherScissor-tailed FlycatcherThe Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a long-tailed insectivorous bird of the genus, whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbirds are a group of large insectivorous birds in the tyrant flycatcher family...
, Tyrannus forficatus - Fork-tailed FlycatcherFork-tailed FlycatcherThe Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus savana, is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds.-Description and ecology:...
, Tyrannus savana