COUCH’S KINGBIRD
(Tyrannus couchii)
eBird provides this description of the Couch’s Kingbird: Large yellow-bellied flycatcher with gray head, greenish back, and brownish wings and tail. Relatively stout bill. Nearly identical to Tropical Kingbird and very similar to other yellow-bellied kingbirds. Distinguished from Tropical Kingbird by voice: single “pick” or “breer” calls rather than sharp excited twitters. Larger than Western and Cassin’s Kingbirds, with richer green back and brighter yellow belly. Primarily a Mexican species with very limited range in the U.S. where it is found in brushy woodlands, often near water. All About Birds offers this descriptive information: Couch’s Kingbird is a large, yellow-and-gray flycatcher that looks nearly identical to the more widespread Tropical Kingbird. Couch’s Kingbirds have a slightly greener cast to the upperparts and on balance a shorter bill, but the best way to distinguish the two species is to listen to their calls—Couch’s makes a distinctive, grating kip-kip-breeeer. Couch’s Kingbird uses lightly wooded areas such as thorn forest, wooded stream edges, and suburbs; whereas Tropical tends to occupy more open habitats.
I saw my first Couch’s Kingbird perched on a high wire as I left Choke Canyon State Park on the afternoon of June 21, 2020. I am glad I stopped to check it out and take photos — it is a beautiful bird!
“Cool Facts” About The Couch’s Kingbird From All About Birds…
- The Couch’s Kingbird is named for Lieutenant Darius Nash Couch, a naturalist and soldier from the United States who collected the first scientific specimen near San Diego, Nuevo León, Mexico, in 1853.
- Soon after it was described as a species, in 1859, the Couch’s Kingbird was regarded as a subspecies of the Tropical Kingbird. It was only in the 1960s that ornithologists keyed in on the different calls of the two species. In 1980, Couch’s status as a full species was restored.
- Couch’s Kingbirds share part of their range with Tropical and Western Kingbirds. Both of these species occupy more open areas, while Couch’s favors lightly wooded habitats.
- The Couch’s Kingbird is one of many western and Mexican species that offer an excellent opportunity for people to make pioneering contributions to basic natural history: there are still no studies of its diet, foraging, breeding, or general ecology!
- Song is the best way to distinguish Couch’s Kingbird from Tropical Kingbird. The shallower notch in the Couch’s tail and the greener back are difficult to detect. The slightly larger Couch’s usually has a longer wing but a shorter bill than the Tropical Kingbird, but these differences are only detectable by taking measurements of birds in the hand.