Christopher Taylor Bird Nature Wildlife Mammal Photography
bird photography
GALLERIES > BIRDS > PASSERIFORMES > TYRANNIDAE > TYRANNINAE > WESTERN KINGBIRD [Tyrannus verticalis]

Western Kingbird Picture
 
 
Location: Arivaca, AZ
GPS: 31.6W, -111.3N MAP
Date: August 23, 2008
ID: 7C2V7347
Western Kingbird Image
 
 
Location: Arivaca, AZ
GPS: 31.6W, -111.3N MAP
Date: August 23, 2008
ID: 7C2V7349

bird photography
Western Kingbird Image
 
 
Location: Solvang, CA
GPS: 34.6W, -120.1N MAP
Date: July 15, 2007
ID: ?

nature photography

SPECIES INFO

The Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 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.

Their breeding habitat is open areas in western North America. They make a sturdy cup nest in a tree or shrub, sometimes on top of a pole or other man-made structure. The name kingbird is derived from their "take-charge" behavior. These birds aggressively defend their territory, even against much larger birds such as hawks.

These birds migrate in flocks to Florida and the Pacific coast of southern Mexico and Central America.

They wait on an open perch and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering and then dropping to catch food on the ground. They also eat berries.

The song is a squeaky chatter. The call is a sharp loud whit.



bird photography
western_kingbird's Range Map Click here to see the Western Kingbird's range map!
Listen to the Western Kingbird Call:



ABOUT ME · GALLERY · STOCKLIST · VIDEO · SEARCH · CONTACT · CALENDAR · MY BLOG RSS Feed  · NEW STUFF!
bird photography
All images and video © Copyright 2006-2010 Christopher Taylor, Content and maps by their respective owner. All rights reserved.

     

Fatbirder's Top 500 Birding Websites