| The Piney Wood's Kingbird By Jay Hunter |
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| Z'eeeeet Z'eeeeet Z'eeeeet -
the call, sounding like sparks jumping between bare wires
- was clear as a bell in the early morning twilight as I
walked down the hill in front of my house to check lines
left out from my pier on Cotile Lake. Birders anticipate
the arrival of spring migrants and I had been waiting to
hear or see our first Eastern Kingbirds of the year in
early April. It was a bit too dark to see the pair of
kingbirds at the top of the oaks, gums and pines at
water's edge. However, as soon as there was enough light,
the pair of birds could be seen sallying forth chasing
flying insects and, occasionally fluttering together from
100 feet or more in the air to near the water's surface. This mockingbird-sized songbird is blackish above and white below with exception that the tail above and below is blackish. The broad tail is characterized by a broad white terminal band. There is an orange crown patch that is rarely seen. In fact, I have seen thousands of Eastern Kingbirds and do not recall ever seeing the patch! Eastern Kingbirds are found from the southwestern USA to the southeastern USA and northwards into Canada. They are found throughout our piney woods and typically nest and forage around the edges of wooded areas. Typical fly catching perches are the tops of fence posts and utility lines as well as the tops of trees. The normal diet is flying insects including bees but the birds will eat berries at some times of year especially during winters. Eastern Kingbirds are true neotropical birds. They arrive in good numbers in our region from mid-March into mid-April. They then nest in isolated pairs. Some remain into late October but they begin to assemble, often in very large flocks, in late August and begin their southward migration to the American tropics. A few Eastern Kingbirds, however, can be found in all months, usually along the coast, especially at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The common name "kingbird" implies something unique about the kingbirds. And, there is something really special about them. Anytime you see a large bird like a crow or hawk being pursued by a smaller bird during the spring-summer nesting season, the attacker is almost always a kingbird. Native Americans shared legends about the kingbird's bravery with European immigrants. The late George Lowery, Jr. notes that this so-called "bee martin...has a special grudge against crows and sometimes will chase one for a mile or more, all the while driving and pecking at the crow's back. Even hawks and vultures are not immune to attack and heaven help any kind of bird that happens to intrude near a kingbird's nest." Besides the Eastern Kingbird, there are several other kingbirds that breed in North America. These include the Tropical, Couch's, Cassin's, and Western Kingbirds which are basically gray above and yellow below and common to the southwestern USA. These are rarely found in the piney woods and they are difficult to tell apart even for veteran birders. The Gray Kingbird is occasionally found along the Gulf Coast but is only common in Florida. Jay V. Huner Back |
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