Eastern Kingbird

Overview

Eastern Kingbird: Large flycatcher, blue-black back, wings, black tail with white terminal band, white underparts. Head is black, has inconspicuous red crown feathers visible when bird is displaying. Black bill, legs, feet. Fluttering stiff-winged direct flight with shallow wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Kingbird: Breeds from British Columbia across interior Canada to Maritime Provinces and south to northern California, central Texas, the Gulf coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Inhabits open woodlands, clearings, rural roadsides, farms, orchards, edges of fields, streams, and suburbs.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Eastern Kingbird is highly aggressive toward nest predators and larger birds. Hawks and crows are attacked regularly. A kingbird was observed to knock a Blue Jay out of a tree and cause it to hide under bush to escape the attack.
Despite its name, its range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.
A group of kingbirds are collectively known as a "coronation", "court", and "tyranny" of kingbirds.

The Eastern Kingbird has a large range, estimated globally at 9,100,000 square kilometers. It is native to the nations of North America as well as Central America and much of South America and prefers forest, shrubland, and wetlands ecosystems, though it has been known to reside in rural and urban areas. The global population of this bird is estimated to be 13,000,000 individuals and it does not appear to meet population decline criteria that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. The current evaluation status of Costa's the Eastern Kingbird is Least Concern.