Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
True to their scientific name Tyrannus, these fierce birds will aggressively attack and chase away predators many times their size, including hawks, crows, and toucans.
- Scientific name
- Tyrannus melancholicus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Tyrannidae › Tyrannus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Semi-open areas, forest edges, savannas, agricultural lands, and urban parks.
- Diet
- Primarily flying insects (bees, wasps, beetles, dragonflies), supplemented by berries and small fruits.
- Range
- North America, Central America, South America
- Size
- 22 cm long, wingspan of 38 cm, weighing 32-43 grams
- Lifespan
- 5 to 10 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Pesticide runoff reducing insect populations, and extreme weather events during migration.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans. However, they are highly territorial during the nesting season and may dive-bomb anyone who gets too close to their nest. Maintain a respectful distance of at least 5-10 meters. If a kingbird swoops at you, simply walk away calmly; they rarely make physical contact and do not pose a danger.
The tropical kingbird ( Tyrannus melancholicus ) is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina and eastern Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago. Birds from the northernmost and southern breeding areas migrate to warmer parts of the range after breeding.
Photo: Esteban Poveda, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/27711d7e-0bc3-4bd3-8193-9393cde611ba.md