Gray Kingbird
Tyrannus dominicensis
A relatively pale kingbird, medium-gray above and white below with a darker face mask. Primarily a Caribbean species with limited range in U.S.; found around the edge of dense woodland, especially near the coast. Also seen in more suburban areas. Often perches conspicuously on a snag, treetop, or powerline. Feeds on insects. Listen for its high-pitched twittering calls. Compare with Eastern and Loggerhead Kingbirds; Gray Kingbird has lighter gray upperparts, a thicker bill, and lacks white tail tips.
Identification
The adult gray kingbird is an average-sized kingbird. It measures 23 cm (9.1 in) in length and weighs from 37 to 52 g (1.3 to 1.8 oz). The upperparts are gray, with brownish wings and tail, and the underparts are white with a gray tinge to the chest. The head has a concealed yellow crown stripe, and a dusky mask through the eyes. The dark bill is heavier than that of the related, slightly smaller, tropical kingbird. The sexes are similar, but young birds have rufous edges on the wing coverts, rump and tail.<p>The call is a loud rolling trill, pipiri, pipiri, which is the reason behind many of its local onomatopoeiac names, like pestigre or pitirre, in the Spanish-speaking Greater Antilles, or petchary in some of the English-speaking islands.
Taxonomy
The gray kingbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the shrikes in the genus Lanius and coined the binomial name Lanius dominicensis. The specific epithet is from the locality Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola. Gmelin based his description on "Le tyran de S. Domingue" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The gray kingbird is now one of 13 species placed in the kingbird genus Tyrannus that was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède. A molecular genetic study published in 2020 found that the gray kingbird was sister to the giant kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis).<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Tyrannus dominicensis
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Tyrannus
Range and habitat
It is found in increasing numbers in the state of Florida, and is more often found inland though it had been previously restricted to the coast. It breeds from the extreme southeast of the United States, mainly in Florida, as well as Central America, and through the West Indies south to Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, the Guianas, and Colombia. Northern populations are migratory, wintering on the Caribbean coast of Central America and northern South America. Several vagrant populations are known to exist in the Northeastern United States. It favors tall trees and shrubs, including the edges of savanna and marshes.
- Breeding range
- NA : se USA and West Indies
- Non-breeding range
- Panama to Guyana
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Like other kingbirds, these birds aggressively defend their territory against intruders, including mammals and much larger birds such as crested caracaras, red-tailed hawks and broad-winged hawks by mobbing.<p>Gray kingbirds wait on an exposed perch high in a tree, occasionally sallying out to feed on insects (such as bees, dragonflies, wasps and beetles), their staple diet. They also eat small fruits and berries depending on its availability. Fruits and berries make up one fifth of their daily diet. Spiders and small lizards are occasionally eaten.<p>It makes a flimsy cup nest in a tree. The female incubates the typical clutch of two cream eggs, which are marked with reddish brown.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-headed Malimbe
Malimbus rubricollis
A striking black-and-red forest malimbe lacking a breastband in either sex. Male has red from the forehead to the upper back, with spurs creating a half-collar on the neck. Female is like the male but the forehead is black to the center of the crown. Juvenile is like the female, with a paler bill and a brown forehead. A common resident in its range, preferring the canopy of primary and secondary lowland forest, farmbush, woodland, and occasionally gardens. Forages nuthatch-style in pairs and small groups and often dangles upside down, clinging to branches and examining crevices. Vocalizations include whistles accelerating into sizzling notes “whetdoteew-dzrsrsrrrr.”
Red-lored Amazon
Amazona autumnalis
Fairly large, bright green parrot of humid tropical lowlands. Fairly common. Found in forest, edge, and semiopen areas with scattered tall trees and forest patches. Most often seen flying overhead early and late in the day, often fairly high and usually in pairs or loose groups made up of pairs. Best field mark is the contrasting yellow cheek patch; also note red forehead. Like other parrots in the same genus, in flight shows a red patch on the flight feathers.
Dark Chanting-Goshawk
Melierax metabates
A tall, long-tailed, slaty-gray hawk with pink-orange legs and bill base. The flight feathers and wing tips are dark on both the upper and under wings, creating a uniformly dark wing pattern in flight. Pairs inhabit broadleaved woodland and well-wooded savanna. Chanting-goshawks give a strong, gull-like “kleeeu” call, hence their name. Dark Chanting-Goshawk always has a gray-barred rump, while other chanting-goshawks are paler, prefer drier habitats, and have unbarred white rumps. Eastern Chanting-Goshawk has yellow skin at the base of the bill. Pale Chanting-Goshawk has pale inner flight feathers and dark wing tips, creating a very contrasting wing pattern.
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