Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)

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Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)

Length: 9 in.
Habitat: Coastal, in mangrove thickets, and in small groves of palms and oaks.
Range: Coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the West Indies, and smaller islands in the Caribbean. Winters from the Greater Antilles to Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas.

This is a stocky, large-headed, pale gray flycatcher of coastal habitats. Look for a dusky blackish patch through eye, heavy bill, and whitish underparts. The tail is notched, without white.

Like other kingbirds, this species is fearless, even chasing hawks and crows and attacking humans who come too close to its nests. Nest is a cup of twigs, grasses, rootlets lined with finer grass, usually loosely built, so that eggs may even be visible from below. Noisy as well as belligerent, it frequently emits harsh notes as it sits on telephone wires or exposed branches ready to dart after flying insects.

Widepsread in the Caribbean, this big flycatcher enters our country mainly in Florida. There, it is numerous in summer, chiefly along the coast, less common toward the north. IT feeds on a variety of insects, including bees, wasps, beetles and dragonflies. Also eats small lizards. At some season, berries and small fruits may be as much as one-fifth of its diet.