Tyrannus couchii

Geographic Range

Couch’s kingbirds range from the mid-Texas coast and Tamaulipas south along eastern Mexico into the entire Yucatan Peninsula including Belize and northern Guatemala. There is some winter withdrawal from the northern part of the range, in Texas and Tamaulipas.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Couch’s kingbirds are found in scrubby woodland, forests and forest edges, plantations, savannas, hedges, and fencerows. In Yucatan they are common in scrubby interior forest and uncommon in arid beach scrub.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• tropical tropical

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• chaparral chaparral
• forest forest
• scrub forest scrub forest

• Other Habitat Features
• suburban suburban
• agricultural agricultural
• riparian riparian

Physical Description

Couch’s kingbirds are medium-sized flycatchers. Plumage features include a gray head that is paler on the chin and throat and dark lores and auriculars, which form a slightly contrasting mask that is widest behind the eye. A reddish-orange patch on top of the head is frequently concealed unless raised. The breast is dull yellow with some dusky olive plumage. The belly is bright lemon yellow, becoming more faded on the undertail coverts. The back and scapulars are olive-brown and the wings are brownish. The tail is dark brown with a slight notch. The eye, bill, legs, and feet are black. The bill is large and flattened, proportionally large for the head. Sexes are similar in plumage but can discerned in hand by the presence of a cloacal protuberance in males (poorly developed), or a brood patch in females from March to August. Juveniles are similar to adults, but their coloration tends to be more drab and they have buffy edges to the wing and upper tail coverts.

Couch’s kingbirds are similar to tropical kingbirds ( Tyrannus melancholicus ); they are nearly indistinguishable in the field. There are subtle differences in a few plumage and structural features that can be observed in the hand or with specimens. Some plumage differences include a slightly more greenish cast on the back in T. couchii compared to T. melancholicus , which is more grey-brown. Tropical kingbirds also have slightly more greenish tones to the breast. Two notable physical differences are bill size and primary length. Couch's kingbirds have shorter, wider, and deeper bills than tropical kingbirds. Couch's kingbirds also have a shallow notch in the tail, as compared to tropical kingbirds. While these features can be suggestive in the field, they are not dependable field marks.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike
• male larger

Reproduction

Little is known about the breeding behavior of Couch's kingbirds. Pair formation may be similar to their close relatives, tropical kingbirds ( T. melancholicus ). In tropical kingbirds pair bonding includes a nest site display. Pairs greet each other at or near nest by both giving a series of calls along with a wing-fluttering display. This display is initiated by the bird near the nest and the display is repeated by the incoming partner. The greeting display is typically only observed during breeding season, but has been documented occasionally in winter. The length of pair bonds is unknown.

In tropical kingbirds ( T. melancholicus ), apparent copulation was observed in a tree, 6 to 7 m above ground. The male perched on or hovered just above the back of the female for 3 to 5 seconds, before flying off to perch in nearby tree. No extra-pair copulations have been documented.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Little is known about the breeding behavior of Couch's kingbirds. Breeding timing varies from April to July in southern parts of range and May to August in Texas. Only one brood per season has been documented, with a clutch of 2 to 4 eggs, occasionally 5. Nests found late in the season are probably replacement nests from earlier failures. The length of incubation is not known. Eggs are subelliptical to long elliptical and cream-colored or buffy with dark brown or lilac spotting over most of the egg surface. Eggs are 24 x 19 mm in size. Nests are described as untidy bowls composed of twigs, weeds, strips of bark, and leaves, they are lined with rootlets, plant down, and sometimes Spanish moss. Nest sites are usually on a horizontal limb of a tree 8 to 25 feet above ground.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• oviparous oviparous

Little is known about the parental investment of Couch's kingbirds, but the pattern is likely to be similar to that of their close relative, tropical kingbirds ( T. melancholicus ). In tropical kingbirds, females incubate eggs for up to 2 weeks. Both parents feed and shade nestlings from the midday sun. Fledglings remain together near their nest, often on conspicuous perches on wires or trees. The young are fed by both parents for at least 2 weeks. Fledgling success rate in Texas was measured at 1 to 3 birds per nest.

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

No information about longevity is available from the literature. However, other Tyrannus species have been reported living over 11 years in the wild.

Behavior

Couch's kingbirds are primarily observed either flying or perching. No other forms of locomotion are cited in literature. Couch's kingbirds are strong fliers and are able to maneuver in fairly dense foliage. They fly with stiffer wingbeats when on their breeding territory, similar to other Tyrannus species. Couch's kingbirds stay active during the heat of the day more than other bird species in south Texas. As with other Tyrannus species, Couch's kingbirds are aggressive towards other birds and mammals, mostly towards perceived predators or intruders into breeding territory. They will attack and strike raptors on the back with their bills. They may form loose migratory flocks with only limited aggressive behavior.

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal arboreal
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• migratory migratory
• territorial territorial

Home Range

Territory size is not known, but averaged 5.3 territories in an 8-ha study plot in south Texas. Couch's kingbirds maintain territory only during the breeding season. They are more vigorous in defending territory earlier in the breeding season. Territories are most likely maintained by aggressive behavior and dawn songs.

Communication and Perception

Development of vocalizations is most likely innate and not learned. Calls of fledglings are recognizable as Couch’s kingbirds. The song is nasal, with slow phrasing and spacing and pauses between notes. It has been described as a breezy "breeer." Other calls are a longer "burry" phrase, or single "dik" or "kip" notes. Calls are given year-round, though birds are more likely to be silent during winter.

During greetings between mates or interactions with other kingbirds, the reddish-orange spot on the head is often raised.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• ultraviolet
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical
• magnetic magnetic

Food Habits

Foraging and food item selection is poorly understood in Couch's kingbirds. The diet probably consists primarily of flying insects; Coleoptera , Hymenoptera , Orthoptera , and Diptera have been documented. Some fruits and berries are also eaten, especially in fall and winter. Probably other non-insect arthropods are also consumed to some extent. Unidentified Couch's or tropical kingbirds in Texas have been observed taking small lizards as prey items (Haas pers. obs.).

Foraging habitats include treetops, forest clearings, and openings in or close to woodlands. Couch's kingbirds take fruit from trees and vines, but generally avoid dense foliage. Insect prey is captured almost entirely by hawking, in which kingbirds fly from perches to capture flying insects. Flight distances are usually 3 to 15 m, occasionally 25 to 30 m. Individuals usually return to the original perch after flight. They occasionally hover-glean and perch-glean for both insects and fruit, and they have been recorded swooping down on prey items located on the ground.

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

• Plant Foods
• fruit

Predation

No predators are reported in the literature. Birds of prey are major predators of other Tyrannus species. Fox squirrels ( Sciurus niger ) may be nest predators in southern Texas.

Ecosystem Roles

There is no reference in the literature to parasites of Couch’s kingbirds, although several are noted in tropical kingbirds ( T. melancholicus ). They are often found in mixed species flocks of other medium-sized passerines and other frugivorous species during winter in south Texas and Tamaulipas. Altamira orioles ( Icterus gularis ) are known to nest in the same trees as Couch’s kingbirds and may benefit from the aggressive behavior of kingbirds towards intruding bronzed cowbirds ( Molothrus aeneus , which are brood parasites) and great-tailed grackles ( Quiscalus mexicanus , which are nest predators). Bronzed cowbirds are known brood parasites of Couch’s kingbirds. Adult kingbirds have been observed feeding bronzed cowbird fledglings, suggesting that kingbirds do raise cowbird hatchlings. However, Couch’s kingbirds will chase bronzed cowbirds from nesting sites and will eject cowbird eggs laid in a nest. Couch's kingbirds undoubtedly facilitate passive seed dispersal from consumption of fruits.

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Couch's kingbirds are sought after by birders and other eco-tourists. They may provide some benefits as consumers of insect pests on commercial crops.

• Positive Impacts
• ecotourism ecotourism
• controls pest population

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known negative effects of this species on humans.

Conservation Status

Couch's kingbird populations are considered stable currently.

Other Comments

Tyrannus couchii was originally considered a subspecies of T. melancholicus . The species were separated by Traylor in 1979 when morphological studies separated the various populations into two discrete groups: one that had short bills with long 5th primaries ( T. couchii ), and one with longer bills and shorter 5th primaries ( T. melancholicus ). The two species are also allopatric and use different songs for attracting mates.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (), Animal Diversity Web, Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Skye Haas (author), Northern Michigan University, Alec R. Lindsay (editor, instructor), Northern Michigan University.

References

Baicich, P., C. Harrison. 1997. A field guide to the nests, eggs and nestlings of North American birds . San Diego, California: Academic Press.

Binford, L. 1989. A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.. Ornithology Monograph , 43: 1-10.

Brush, T., A. Cantu. 1998. Changes in the breeding bird community of subtropical evergreen forest in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, 1970s-1990s. Texas Journal of Science , 50: 123-132.

Brush, T. 1998. A closer look: Altamira Oriole. Birding , 30: 46-53.

Brush, T. 1999. "Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii), The Birds of North America Online" (On-line). Accessed April 18, 2008 at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/437 .

Clotfelter, E., T. Brush. 1995. Unusual parasitism by the Bronzed Cowbird. Condor , 97: 814-815.

Fitzpatrick, J. 1980. Foraging behavior of Neotropical flycatchers. Condor , 82: 43-57.

Howell, S., S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America . New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds . New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Books.

Martin, P., C. Robins, W. Heed. 1954. Birds and biogeography of the Sierra de Tamaulipas, an isolated pine-oak habitat. Wilson Bulletin , 66: 38-57.

Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds . Bolinas, California: Slate Creek Press.

Rupert, J., R. Boyd. 1992. Semi-evergreen broadleaf forest. Journal of Field Ornithology , 63: 13-14.

Sibley, D. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds of North America . New York, New York: Alfred Knopf.

Smith, W. 1966. Communication and relationships in the genus Tyrannus. Nuttall Ornithology , 6: 1-10.

Stouffer, P., R. Chesser. 1998. "Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus), The Birds of North America Online" (On-line). Accessed April 18, 2008 at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/358 .

Traylor, M. 1979. Two sibling species of Tyrannus (Tyrannidae). Auk , 96: 221-233.

Wood, D., D. Paulson. 1988. Status of Couch’s Kingbird in Belize. Journal of Field Ornithology , 59(4): 405-407.