Tyrannus tyrannus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large tyrant flycatcher native to the Americas. The bird is predominantly dark gray with white underbelly and pointed wings. Eastern kingbirds are conspicuous and are commonly found in open areas with scattered trees and bushes, where they perch while foraging for insects. The Eastern kingbird is migratory, with its breeding range spread across North America and its wintering range in Central and South America.
The eastern kingbird was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name of Lanius tyrannus. The present genus Tyrannus was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with the eastern kingbird as the type species. The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised.
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. They are of average size for a kingbird, at 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in), 33–38 cm (13–15 in) across the wings and weighing 33–55 g (1.2–1.9 oz).
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| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Kingbird sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 112 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 157th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Kingbird in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 30 mm in March.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Kingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
18th of 63
Of the 63 parks where we can rate Eastern Kingbird sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 18th at under 5%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 60%), Badlands National Park (United States, about 40%) and Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same genus: Tyrannus
The closest relatives of the Eastern Kingbird that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (genus Tyrannus, Kingbirds) are Couch's Kingbird (about 40%) and Tropical Kingbird (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Kingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (112 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
