Couch’s Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Tyrannus couchii
At a Glance
This Texas specialty is almost identical to the Tropical Kingbird, and was considered a race of that species until the 1980s. However, their voices are quite different, and they live side by side in eastern Mexico without interbreeding. Couch's Kingbirds are common around woodland edges and near ponds and rivers in southern Texas during the summer, and a few remain all winter there.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds, Tyrant Flycatchers
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
Florida, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight, Hovering
Population
1.100.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Present all year in southern Texas, but more common in summer; winter numbers are variable. Rarely strays north along Gulf Coast; accidental east to Florida.
Description
8 1/2" (22 cm). Like Western and Cassin's Kingbirds but tail dusky brown, with notch at tip; yellow extends farther up chest; bill heavier. Tropical Kingbird, uncommon in south Texas, almost identical but has different voice.
Size
About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Gray, Green, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Forked, Notched
Songs and Calls
A series of queer notes, followed by puit-puwit-puwit-pawitcheew. Call a short kip.
Call Pattern
Falling, Flat, Rising, Undulating
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Hi, Scream, Trill, Whistle
Habitat
River groves, scattered trees. In southern Texas, found mainly in native woodland near rivers, also in dense brushland or chaparral, especially near water. May also occur around larger trees in towns. In Mexico, found in semi-open country, roadsides, forest edges.
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Behavior
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 5. Pinkish to warm buff, blotched with brown and lavender. Details of incubation not well known, but probably by female, a little over 2 weeks.
Young
Probably both parents feed young. Age of young at first flight not well known, probably between 2 and 3 weeks.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly by watching from a perch, then flying out to capture insects, returning to perch to eat them. Many insects are caught in mid-air; also hovers briefly while taking them from foliage, and may swoop down to take insects from just above (or on) the ground.
Diet
Mostly insects. Diet is not known in detail, but apparently feeds mostly on insects, including large ones such as beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, and large flies. Also eats some berries and small fruits.
Nesting
Nesting behavior is not well known, probably similar to that of Tropical Kingbird. Adults are aggressive in chasing larger birds away from the vicinity of the nest. Nest site is usually on horizontal limb of tree, 8-25' above the ground. Nest (probably built by female) is a bulky flat cup of twigs, leaves, Spanish moss, weeds, and strips of bark, lined with fine materials such as plant down, rootlets, and softer parts of Spanish moss.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Numbers in Texas probably stable. In Mexico, may have increased in some areas with partial clearing of forest, decreased in other areas where clearing has been total.
Climate Threats Facing the Couch's Kingbird
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