Cassin's Kingbird
| Cassin's Kingbird | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Tyrannus |
| Species: | T. vociferans |
| Binomial name | |
| Tyrannus vociferans (Swainson, 1826) |
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The 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.
Juveniles are duller and have pale edges on their wings.
They build a bulky nest on a horizontal tree limb in mid-story or the canopy of trees. The three to five spotted white eggs have an incubation period of 18 to 19 days.
In the summer these birds can be found in California and from Montana to Utah, along the eastern Rocky Mountains. Their habitat includes rangelands and savannas.
These birds migrate to their winter quarters between Southern California and northern Central America. They are permanent residents in south-central Mexico, and their main wintering ranges are west of the Sea of Cortez on Baja California Sur, and east of the sea on the mainland of western Mexico.
The Cassin's Kingbird primarily feeds on insects it preys upon from high perches by hawking. It also eats berries and fruits in lesser quantities.
The call is a high-pitched shorter followed by a longer chirp, sounding like a 'chi-beer'.
The name of this bird commemorates the American ornithologist John Cassin.
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[edit] Mating Ritual
In early spring, presumably after having chosen (or shown up with) their mate, they launch into a peculiar dance. With excited high-pitched calls, they hover in unison, wings outstretched, over a favorite perch. This dance takes place several times a day over several days, over several separate sites in an area covering two or 3 acres (12,000 m2). The sites chosen for the dance appear to be the same sites used as hunting perches during the spring and summer.
[edit] Comparison of the Cassin's kingbird with the Western kingbird
The Cassin's kingbird and the western kingbird are similar in appearance. The Cassin's is a little larger than the western and the upper parts are a darker gray than the western but the most distinctive difference between the birds is that the Cassin's has a thin white strip along lower edge of the tail feathers and the western has a thin white strip that runs along the edge of the tail feathers.[1] This difference can be seen in the image on the left.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] References
- ^ The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 4th edition, page 298
- BirdLife International (2004). Tyrannus vociferans. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 13 July 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tyrannus vociferans |
- Cassin's Kingbird photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res--(Close-up)
- Photo
- Photo; Article CalPhotos-(Photo Gallery)
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This article about a tyrant flycatcher is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Tyrannus
- Native birds of the Southwestern United States
- Birds of the U.S. Rio Grande Valleys
- Native birds of the U.S. Rocky Mountains
- Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico
- Birds of the Sea of Cortez
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of Guatemala
- Western North American migratory birds
- Tyrant flycatcher stubs
