Tyrannus couchii

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Tyrannidae

A Family of insectivorous passerine birds. Some eat fruit, some have erectile crests , most have strong bills.

Physical Description

Habitat

Vegetation: gallery forests, tropical deciduous forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands, arid lowland scrubs, riparian thickets • Maximum Elevation: 800 meters • Zoogeographic Region: o • Foraging Strata: Canopy • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,326 meters (0 to 7,631 feet).Mean = 61.150 meters (200.623 feet), Standard Deviation = 187.290 based on 2,073 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Terrestrial

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 1.6Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 3.6Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Moist 14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

Biology

Diet

Primarily: Insects

Lesser Quantities of: Fruit

Reproduction

• Breeding Habitat : N/A
• Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
• Nest Type: Open-cup
• Clutch Size: 3-4

Migration

Northern birds migrate

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Tyrannus couchii Baird, 1858
2. Tyrannus couchii Baird, SF 1858
3. Tyrannus melancholicus subsp. chloronotus Berlepsch, 1907
4. Tyrannus melancholicus subsp. couchi S. F. Baird, 1858

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 29-Nov-2006

Similar Species

Tropical Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird

Members of the genus Tyrannus

There are approximately 50 species in this genus:

T. albogularis · T. antillarum · T. carolinensis · T. caudifasciatus (Loggerhead Kingbird) · T. caudifasciatus bahamensis · T. caudifasciatus caudifasciatus · T. caudifasciatus caymanensis · T. caudifasciatus flavescens · T. caudifasciatus gabbii · T. caudifasciatus jamaicensis · T. caudifasciatus taylori · T. couchii (Couch's Kingbird) · T. crassirostris (Thick-Billed Kingbird) · T. crassirostris crassirostris · T. crassirostris pompalis · T. crinitus · T. cubensis (Cuban Flycatcher) · T. dominicensis (Gray Kingbird) · T. dominicensis dominicensis (Gray Kingbird) · T. dominicensis vorax · T. forficata · T. forficatus (Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher) · T. griseus · T. intrepidus · T. melancholicus (Tropical Kingbird) · T. melancholicus chloronotus (Tropical Kingbird) · T. melancholicus couchi (Tropical Kingbird) · T. melancholicus couchii · T. melancholicus despotes · T. melancholicus melancholicus (Tropical Kingbird) · T. melancholicus occidentalis (Tropical Kingbird) · T. melancholicus satrapa · T. monachus · T. niveigularis · T. pipiri · T. rostratus · T. rufinus · T. savana (Fork-Tailed Flycatcher) · T. savana circumdatus · T. savana monachus · T. savana sanctaemartae · T. savana savana (Fork-Tailed Flycatcher) · T. savana tyrannus · T. subgen. · T. sulfuratus · T. tyrannus (Eastern Kingbird) · T. verticalis (Western Kingbird) · T. verticalus · T. vociferans (Cassin's Kingbird) · T. vociferans vociferans (Cassin's Kingbird)

Bibliography

• Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
• Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
• Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 8 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3845816
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-178291
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13798242
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 178291
• IUCN ID: 50062
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPAE52020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13953

Footnotes

©2004-2008 the BayScience Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.