n overlooked. It would be easy to miss the kingbird’s 
migration if it occurred in just a few days on a very 
row front. One migration of the sort observed by 
ingworth (1950) in Iowa would account for a large 
nber of kingbirds. It is also possible, if improbable, 
t the eastern kingbird’s fall migration largely misses 
1ois. We cannot explain the poor counts of kingbirds 
he fall, but feel that the counts may not be realistic. 
d Habits 
Gross & Forbes (1909) roughly summarized the food 
the eastern kingbird in Illinois as being about 90 
cent insects taken on the wing and a modest amount 
vild fruit. Forbes’ (1878, 1881, 1882a) studies on the 
1 of the kingbird are sketchy, involving only a few 
cimens, and being uncharacteristically poor in details. 
an orchard in Tazewell County with a heavy 
station of cankerworms, about 25 percent of the food 
three kingbirds was cankerworms, and nearly 70 
sent was beetles, especially scarabs. Stomachs of nine 
sbird specimens presumably taken in Illinois (dates 
localities not given) also showed beetles to be 
minent in the diet, which also included unspecified 
idoptera and Orthoptera and some Hymenoptera 
spiders. Nelson (1876-1877) recorded an instance in 
ch a kingbird captured aquatic insects (unidentified) 
lunging into a stream somewhat in the fashion of a 
ed kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). This method of 
ing is suggestive of the kingbird’s method of bathing 
plunging kingfisher-like into a pool of water 
igmile 1937). The food habits of this species are 
ously much in need of study. 
STERN KINGBIRD (Tyrannus verticalis) 
(Fig. 6 and 7) 
[he western kingbird has been extending its range 
ward in the past century, and now nests regularly as 
> to Illinois as western Iowa and western Missouri. 
re are about 40 acceptable records of the species in 
ois, including three definite breeding records. 
Che western kingbird was first recorded in Ilinois June 
/24 when a male specimen was found dead on a road 
ake County (Coale 1924). The 1930’s brought more 
ern kingbird records to Illinois, and the number of 
rds increased in succeeding decades. In recent 
des it is quite likely that at least a few western 
birds have been occurring in Illinois every year, but 
of them go undetected because of the paucity of 
ble observers. Western kingbirds have been reported 
linois virtually every year since 1964 (Dillon 1973; 
‘s 1965, 1966a, 1973; Petersen 1966, 1967; Princen 
, 1970; Kleen & Bush 1972651973). 
une and July records of the western kingbird in or 
near northeastern Illinois in 1924, 1935, and 1938 
le 1924, Sanborn 1935, Work 1939, Ford 1956) may 
been indicative of nesting even in those early years. 
k's (1939) record is particularly suggestive because of 
ighting of several kingbirds together that may have 
been a family group. The first certain breeding record of 
the western kingbird in Ilinois known to us was a nest 
found one-half mile north of Kilbourne (Mason County), 
Illinois, and reported to Dr. William Starrett in June, 
1965. On June 9, 1965 Frank Bellrose and Jean and 
Richard Graber visited the site and observed the nest, 
which was near the top of a signal light post by the C & M 
railroad tracks in open country. Though the contents of 
the nest were not seen, one of the birds was observed on 
the nest. Both birds also demonstrated vociferously when 
Fig. 6. — Western kingbird, a species similar in size and shape to 
the eastern kingbird, but with yellow belly and gray head and back. 
Also note white outer webs of tail feathers. 
