Eastern Kingbird
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| Eastern Kingbird | ||||||||||||||
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| Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The 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.
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.
These birds migrate in flocks to South America.
They wait on an open perch and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering to pick food off vegetation. They also eat berries and fruit, mainly in their wintering areas.
These birds remove cowbird eggs from their nests.
The call is a high-pitched unmusical chirp.