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Tyrannus dominicensis

(Gmelin, 1788)

Gray Kingbird

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106125
Element CodeABPAE52070
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyTyrannidae
GenusTyrannus
Other Common Names
Suiriri-Cinza (PT) Tirano Gris (ES) Tyran gris (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Review Date2014-03-04
Change Date1996-12-02
Edition Date2014-03-04
Edition AuthorsJue, Sally S. and Dean K.
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern (Birdlife International, 2014).
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: along Atlantic and Gulf coasts from South Carolina (at least formerly) south to Florida Keys, and west to southern Alabama and islands off Mississippi; throughout West Indies; sporadically in northern South America (islands off Venezuela, central llanos of Venezuela). NON-BREEDING: eastern Caribbean islands, Panama, northern Colombia, Venezuela (south to northwestern Amazonas), and Guianas.
Occurrences Comments
Found on all islands in Bahamas and also throughout Cuba (Smith and Jackson, 2002), with Partners in Flight (2013) estimating a global population of 2 million
Threat Impact Comments
Generally believed to be tolerant of human activity. Some likely or potential threats include pesticides and coastal development. (Smith and Jackson, 2002)
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Open situations with scattered trees, most frequently in insular or coastal areas, including in mangroves and along beaches (AOU 1983), and pine plantations (Collazo and Bonilla 1988). Jamaica: low-lying open woodland, chiefly near cleared areas; locally in mangroves; abundant in open wooded cultivation at mid-levels and in mountains (Lack 1976). BREEDING: Nests in mangroves, and in pines and other trees; in towns in inland areas.

Reproduction

Clutch size 2-5 (usually 3).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedSavannaOld fieldSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3B
ProvinceRankNative
AlabamaS1BYes
South CarolinaS2Yes
MississippiS1B,S1NYes
North CarolinaSNAYes
GeorgiaS2Yes
FloridaS4BYes
Roadless Areas (2)
Puerto Rico (2)
AreaForestAcres
El Toro AreaCaribbean National Forest12,584
Mameyes AreaCaribbean National Forest11,150
References (32)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. Bent, A.C. 1942. Life histories of North American flycatchers, larks, swallows, and their allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 179. Washington, DC.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. BirdLife International. (2013-2014). IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on various dates in 2013 and 2014. http://www.birdlife.org/
  7. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  8. Collazo, J. A., and G. I. Bonilla-Martinez. 1988. Comparacion de la riqueza de aves entre plantaciones de pino hondureno (<i>Pinus caribea</i>) y areas de bosque nativo en el Bosque Estatal de Carite, Cayey, Puerto Rico. Caribbean J. Sci. 24:1-10.
  9. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  10. Hilty, S.L. and W. L. Brown. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 836 pp.
  11. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  12. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  13. Lack, D. 1976. Island biology illustrated by the land birds of Jamaica. Studies in Ecology, Vol. 3. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 445 pp.
  14. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  15. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  16. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  17. Partners in Flight Science Committee. 2013. Population Estimates Database, version 2013. Available at http://rmbo.org/pifpopestimates. Accessed in 2014 and 2018.
  18. Raffaele, H. A. 1983a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 255 pp.
  19. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  20. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  21. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  22. Ridgely, R. S. and P. J. Greenfield. 2001. The birds of Ecuador: Status, distribution, and taxonomy. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.
  23. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  24. Smith, G.A. and J.A. Jackson. 2002. Gray Kingbird (<i>Tyrannus dominicensis</i>). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.bnaproxy.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/668
  25. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  26. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  27. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  28. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  29. Wetmore, A. 1916. Birds of Porto Rico. U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. 326.
  30. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  31. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  32. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.