Critter Catalog

What do they look like?

Eastern kingbirds are relatively small flycatchers, from 19.5 to 23 cm long. Males and females are similar, although males are slightly larger. They are striking birds, with rich, black feathers on their backs and white chins, breasts, and bellies. Kingbirds have a crest of feathers on their head, which males tend to hold up more than females. Eastern kingbirds also have a small red patch of feathers on the crest. They have a distinctive white edge at the end of the tail. The bill, claws, and legs are black.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

• Range length

  19.5 to 23 cm

  7.68 to 9.06 in

Where do they live?

Eastern kingbirds breed throughout most of eastern North America, from the Gulf of Mexico north to central Canada, as far east at the Atlantic ocean and as far west as the Rocky Mountains and eastern Washington and Oregon. They spend the winter in South America, mainly in the western Amazon basin.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic
  • native
• neotropical
  • native

What kind of habitat do they need?

Eastern kingbirds are found in open, savanna-like habitats, often near water. They occur in fields and grasslands with scattered tall trees for nesting and perching, including parks, forests along rivers, forest openings, golf courses, and suburban and urban areas. In winter they are found in forest-edges, forests along rivers, and near wetlands.

• These animals are found in the following types of habitat
• temperate
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland

• Other Habitat Features
• urban
• suburban
• agricultural
• riparian

How do they reproduce?

Eastern kingbirds form mated pairs that stay together for a breeding season. Males attract females by flying in short zig-zags while also calling.

• Mating System
• monogamous

Eastern kingbirds breed from April to June. Females build nests of twigs, bark, and roots lined with softer material. Nests are built high in trees in open habitats. Females lay 2 to 5 cream colored eggs with reddish spots. Incubation is for 14 to 17 days and young can fly 16 to 17 days after hatching. Eastern kingbirds can breed in their first year after hatching.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• oviparous

• How often does reproduction occur?

  Eastern kingbirds breed once each year.

• Breeding season

  Eastern kingbirds breed from April to June.

• Range eggs per season

  2 to 5

• Average eggs per season

  3

• Range time to hatching

  14 to 17 days

• Range fledging age

  16 to 17 days

• Average time to independence

  30 days

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  1 (low) years

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  1 (low) years

Young are naked and helpless at hatching. Only females incubate the eggs and keep the young warm. Males and females feed nestlings, but females feed more than males. Young are fed insects as much as possible, but parents will feed them fruit as well. They remove stingers from bees and wasps before feeding them to the young. Parents continue to feed and protect their young up to 5 weeks after they can fly, at 7 to 8 weeks old. Young begin to feed themselves at about 4 weeks old.

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

How long do they live?

It is not known how long eastern kingbirds live. Most young die from being preyed on in their first year.

How do they behave?

Eastern kingbirds do not usually walk or hop, instead they fly from place to place. They are fast and agile flyers. They are active during the day and aggressively defend territories during the breeding season. They will not tolerate other birds nearby. During migration and winter, however, they are very social, forming large flocks of up to several thousand birds to migrate. Migrating flocks may stop over for several days in areas with abundant food.

• Key Behaviors
• flies
• diurnal
• motile
• migratory
• territorial
• social

Home Range

Eastern kingbirds defend their nesting territories, the sizes of home ranges are not known.

How do they communicate with each other?

Eastern kingbirds use a variety of calls to communicate, especially during the breeding season. Males sing a complex song in the early morning. Calls are harsh and buzzing "zeers." Males call more often than females. Eastern kingbirds snap their bills at threats as well and make whirring sounds with their wings. During mating males perform displays in flight to attract females.

• Communication Channels
• visual
• acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

What do they eat?

Eastern kingbirds eat insects during the breeding season and both insects and fruit in winter. Insects make up 85% of the diet from May to September, including bees and wasps, beetles, grasshoppers, bugs, and flies. Insect prey is mainly taken by hawking from a perch. They dart out from perches to capture insects in their air. They will also take insects from the water or ground by hovering. Small insects are eaten immediately, larger insects are taken back to the perch and smashed until they can be eaten. Eastern kingbirds drink water, instead they get enough moisture from insects and prey.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore

• Animal Foods
• amphibians
• insects

• Plant Foods
• fruit

What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?

Most predators take eggs and nestlings. Eastern kingbird adults are sometimes taken by birds of prey, such as American kestrels. Eastern kingbirds are aggressive and will energetically attack threats, such as large hawks, crows, blue jays, squirrels, and snakes, whenever they are nearby. They will dive at a threat with their crest raised, exposing the red crown feathers, and with the mouth wide open, exposing their bright red mouth lining. They repeatedly attack the threat until they retreat. Eggs and nestlings are preyed on by crows, blue jays, tree squirrels and red squirrels, and tree-climbing snakes.

• Known Predators

  • American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
  • crows (Corvus)
  • blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata)
  • tree squirrels (Sciurus)
  • red squirrels (Tamiasciurus)
  • arboreal snakes (Serpentes)

What roles do they have in the ecosystem?

Eastern kingbirds are important predators of insects during the breeding season. They eat fruits and may disperse seeds as well. They may nest near Swainson's hawks or ferruginous hawks, which prey on their nest predators, such as crows and blue jays. Hatchlings are parasitized by mites. Brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in eastern kingbird nests sometimes.

Do they cause problems?

Eastern kingbirds don't harm humans, although they may harass humans they see as threats near nests.

How do they interact with us?

Eastern kingbird may help to control insect pest populations in some areas.

• Ways that people benefit from these animals:
• controls pest population

Are they endangered?

Eastern kingbirds are widespread and populations are large, they are not considered threatened. They are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• US Migratory Bird Act

  Protected

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  No special status

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (author), Animal Diversity Web.

References

Murphy, M. 1996. Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus). The Birds of North America Online, 253: 1-20. Accessed April 17, 2009 at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.proxy.lib.umich.edu/bna/species/253.