Species: Tyrannus melancholicus
Tropical Kingbird
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
See Kaufman (1992, Am. Birds 46:323-326) for information on identification.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Tyrannidae
Genus
Tyrannus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Suiriri-Tropical - Tirano Tropical, Suirirà Grande - Tyran mélancolique
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Tyrannidae - Tyrannus - Populations in Arizona and western Mexico sometimes have been treated as a separate species, T. OCCIDENTALIS [West Mexican Kingbird], but the latter is not distinguishable from the wide-ranging Middle American subspecies of T. MELANCHOLICUS (Sibley and Monroe 1990, AOU 1998). T. MELANCHOLICUS and T. COUCHII have been regarded as conspecific by some authors, but Traylor (1979, Auk 96:221-233) found them to be distinct species that are extensively sympatric.
Ecology and Life History
See Kaufman (1992, Am. Birds 46:323-326) for information on identification.
Migration
true - true - true - Breeding populations in U.S. and northern Mexico are migratory. Southernmost populations are partially migratory (AOU 1983).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Catches flying insects in the air; also picks insects off low vegetation or on the ground. Frequently eats berries, plucked while perched or in flight.
Reproduction Comments
Egg dates: March-July in Costa Rica, April-July in Mexico; May-June in Arizona (Terres 1980). Clutch size usually is 2-3 or 3-4. Incubation, by female, lasts 15-16 days. Young leave nest 18-19 days after hatching (Terres 1980).
Length
24
Weight
40
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-12-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-12-02
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AZ=S3&US.TX=S1&US.WA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
BREEDS: southeastern Arizona (uncommon and local), south through portions of Mexico and Central America south to central Peru, Guianas, and central Argentina. NORTHERN WINTER: Sonora and northeastern Mexico south through breeding range (Terres 1980).