The Kingbird 
“Frequently when he is passing along with the even flight of a sober- 
minded crow and you are quietly admiring the salmon lining of his wings, 
he shoots rattling into the air, and as you stare after him, drops back as 
suddenly as he rose. He does this apparently because the spirit moves 
him, as a boy slings a stone at the sky, but fervor is added by the appear¬ 
ance of a rival or an enemy, for he is much like a Tyrannus in his masterful 
way of controlling his landscape. He will attack caracaras and white¬ 
necked ravens, lighting on their backs and giving them vicious blows 
while screaming in their ears.” (Handbook of Birds of the Western 
United States.) 
No. 164 
Kingbird 
A. O. U. No. 444. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnseus). 
Synonyms.— Eastern Kingbird. Bee Martin. Tyrant Flycatcher. 
Description. — Adult: Above slaty black, changing to pure black on head, and 
fuscous on wings; crown with a concealed orange-red (orange-chrome to cadmium 
orange) central patch, or “crest,” the orange feathers black-tipped and overlying others 
broadly white at base; wings with whitish and brownish ash edgings; tail black, all the 
feathers broadly white-tipped, and the outermost pair often white-edged; below white, 
washed with grayish on breast. Bill and feet black. Immature birds lack the crown- 
patch, and are more or less tinged with fulvous or buffy on the parts which are light- 
colored in the adult. Length 203-228.6 (8.00-9.00); wing 116.8 (4.60); tail 84.1 (3.31); 
bill from nostril 13.2 (.52). 
Recognition Marks. —Towhee size; blackish ash above; white below; black 
tail conspicuously tipped with white; noisy and quarrelsome. 
Nesting. — Nest: At moderate heights in trees, usually over water; of weed- 
stalks, plant-fibers, and trash, with a felted mat of plant-down or wool, and an inner 
lining of fine grasses, feathers, rootlets, etc. Eggs: 3 or 4, sometimes 5; white or pale 
creamy white, distinctly but sparingly spotted with chocolate of several shades and 
vinaceous gra}-. Av. size 24.1 x 18.2 (.95 x .72). Season: 1st week in June; one brood. 
General Range. —North America from the British Provinces south; in winter 
through eastern Mexico, Central and South America. Less common west of the 
Rocky Mountains. Not recorded from northern Mexico and Arizona. 
Occurrence in California. —Rare or casual, in summer in the extreme north¬ 
eastern portions of the State. Has occurred on Owens Lake (June 29, 1891, by A. K. 
Fisher). Accidental at Santa Monica (Aug. 31, 1895, by W. B. Judson). 
Authorities.—Fisher, N. Am. Fauna, no. 7, 1893, p. 59 (Olancha, near Owens 
Lake, June 29, 1891, one seen); Grinnell, Pasadena Acad. Sci. Pub., no. 2, 1898, p. 29 
(Santa Monica, Aug. 31, 1895, one spec.); Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, vol. ii., 
1895, p. 236, pi. 1, figs. 14, 15 (habits); Beal, U. S. Dept. Agric., Biol. Surv. Bull., no. 
44, 1912, p. 11, pi. 1 (food). 
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