192 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



KINGBIRD 



Tyrannus tyrannus {Lmnccus) 



A. O. U. Number 444 See Color Plate 67 



Other Names.— Field Martin ; Bee Martin ; Bee- 

 bird ; Tyrant Flycatcher. 



General Description.— Length, 8 inches. Upper 

 parts, black and gray ; under parts, white. Tail, square 

 or slightly rounded. 



Color. — Crown and sides of head {except cheeks), 

 black (slightly glossy), the crown with a large con- 

 cealed patch of orange or orange-red, sometimes inter- 



Photu li\' 11. r. .MulJlcton 



YOUNG KINGBIRDS 



mixed with yellow on margins, underlaid laterally and 

 behind by white ; hindneck, slaty-black, passing into 

 plain slate color on sides of neck, back, rump, shoulders 

 and lesser wing-coverts, the feathers of lower rump 



margined terminally with pale gray or grayish-white; 

 upper tail-coverts, black, margined with white ; tail, 

 black, abruptly tipped with white, the lateral feathers 

 margined with white for some distance from tip 

 especially the exterior one ; wings, dusky, the middle 

 and greater coverts and secondaries edged with white, 

 the primary coverts and primaries more narrowly edged 

 with pale gray; cheeks and under parts, white, the 

 chest shaded with gray, the sides of chest with a dis- 

 tinct gray patch ; under wing-coverts, white or yellow- 

 ish-white terminally, pale brownish-gray basally, those 

 along edge of wing, dusky broadly margined with white; 

 bill, black; iris, brown; legs and feet, brownish-black. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Frequently in the orchard, 

 sometimes in tall sycamores near streams, a substantial 

 structure of twigs, weed stalks, grass, roots, particles 

 of wool and down well combined and symmetrically 

 edged, lined with feathers, horsehair, fine rootlets, and 

 wool. Eggs : 3 or 4, white to pale pink with strong 

 bold spots of umber and chestnut. 



Distribution. — North and South America ; breeds 

 from southern British Columbia, southern Mackenzie, 

 southern Keewatin, northern Ontario, central Quebec, 

 and Newfoundland south to central Oregon, northern 

 New Mexico, central Texas, and central Florida ; 

 winters from southern Mexico to Colombia, British 

 Guiana, Peru, and Bolivia; casual in Cuba in migration; 

 accidental in Greenland. 



The Kingbird's remarkable courage and per- 

 sistent aggressiveness in attacking his natural 

 enemies, especially Hawks and Crows, have made 

 his name one to conjure with in the feathered 

 world. Perhaps no American bird, great or 

 small, displays these characteristics in a more 

 marked degree : certainly none makes a more 

 conspicuous display of them ; for a Kingbird in 

 hot pursuit of a Hawk or a Crow, dashing down 

 on the bigger bird and striking him repeatedly 

 with his bill, or even actually alighting on his 

 enemy's back and clinging there to do all the 

 damage he can, and screaming incessantly mean- 

 while, is one of the real spectacles of bird-life. 

 Other birds, to be sure, attack Crows and Hawks, 

 but none are so fearless and persistent as is the 

 Kingbird. In this sense he is a veritable king 

 among birds, though the scientists slander him 

 when they give him a name implying that he is 

 a tyrant, for he attacks consistently only birds 

 he has good reason to hate. Of course, he is 

 likely to declare himself if other birds loiter too 

 near his brooding mate, but any self-respecting 

 bird would do that. 



Kingbirds are industrious and skillful fly- 

 catchers, a practice which causes them to perch 

 invariably on dead limbs, tree-tops, fence posts. 



Courtesy of Am. Mas. Nat. Hist. 



KINGBIRD (J nat. size) 



Remarkable for his courage and persistency in attacking his 

 enemies 



