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Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird
Scientific Classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus:Tyrannus
Species:tyrannus
Binomial name
Tyrannus tyrannus

The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.

Adults are grey-black on the upperparts with light underparts; they have a long black tail with a white end and long pointed wings. They have a red patch on their crown, seldom seen.

Their breeding habitat is open areas across North America. They make a sturdy cup nest in a tree or shrub, sometimes on top of a stump or pole. These birds agressively defend their territory, even against much larger birds.

These birds migrate in flocks to South America.

They wait on an open perch and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering to pick food off vegetation. They also eat berries and fruit, mainly in their wintering areas.

These birds remove cowbird eggs from their nests.

The call is a high-pitched unmusical chirp.