Cassin's kingbird (''Tyrannus vociferans'') is a large
tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most dive ...
native to western North America. The name of this bird commemorates the American ornithologist
John Cassin
John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the Acad ...
.
Taxonomy
Cassin's kingbird was
formally described in 1826 by English naturalist
William John Swainson under the current
binomial name ''Tyrannus vociferans''. The
type locality is
Temascaltepec
Temascaltepec is a municipality located in the Ixtapan Region of the State of Mexico in Mexico. Temascaltepec has an area of 547.5 km2. It borders the municipalities of Valle de Bravo, Amanalco de Becerra, Tejupilco, San Simón de Guerrero, ...
, Mexico. The specific epithet ''vociferans'' is Latin for "shouting".
Two
subspecies are recognised:
* ''T. v. vociferans''
Swainson, 1826 – southwest USA to central Mexico
* ''T. v. xenopterus''
Griscom, 1934 – southwest Mexico
Description
Adults have a gray head with slightly darker cheeks; a dark unforked tail with a
buffy fringe and gray-olive underparts. They have a pale throat and deep yellow lower breast.
Juveniles are duller and have pale edges on their wings.
Measurements:
* Length:
* Weight:
* Wingspan: 41 cm
Similar species
Cassin's kingbird and the western kingbird are similar in appearance. Cassin's is a little larger than the western and the upper parts are a darker gray than the western. The most distinctive difference between these birds is that the Cassin's has a thin white edge along the distal end of the tail feathers, while the western kingbird has a thin white edge that runs along the side of the tail feathers.
[The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 4th edition, page 298] This difference can be seen in the adjacent image.
Distribution and habitat
In the summer, these birds can be found in California and from Montana to Utah, along the eastern
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
. Their habitat includes
rangeland
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, sava ...
s and
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s.
These birds
migrate to their winter quarters between
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
and northern
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. They are permanent residents in south-central Mexico, and their main wintering ranges are west of the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
on
Baja California Sur, and east of the sea on the mainland of western Mexico.
Behavior
They build a bulky nest on a horizontal tree limb in mid-story or the canopy of trees. The three to five spotted white eggs have an incubation period of 18 to 19 days.
The Cassin's kingbird primarily feeds on insects it preys upon from high perches by
hawking
Hawking may refer to:
People
* Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist
* Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name)
Film
* ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...
. It also eats berries and fruits in lesser quantities.
The call is a high-pitched shorter followed by a longer chirp, sounding like ''chi-beer''.
Mating ritual
In early spring, presumably after having chosen (or shown up with) their mate, they launch into a peculiar dance. With excited high-pitched calls, they hover in unison, wings outstretched, over a favorite perch. This dance takes place several times a day over several days, over several separate sites in an area covering . The sites chosen for the dance appear to be the same sites used as hunting perches during the spring and summer.
References
External links
*
Photo of Cassin's kingbird at Coal Oil Point Reserve - UCNRS.org*
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1261628
Cassin's kingbird
Native birds of the Southwestern United States
Birds of Mexico
Cassin's kingbird