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Tyrannus melancholicus

Vieillot, 1819

Tropical Kingbird

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105427
Element CodeABPAE52010
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-Tropical (PT) Tirano Tropical, Suirirí Grande (ES) tropical kingbird (EN) Tyran mélancolique (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/.
Taxonomic Comments
Populations in Arizona and western Mexico sometimes have been treated as a separate species, T. occidentalis [West Mexican Kingbird], but the latter is not distinguishable from the wide-ranging Middle American subspecies of T. melancholicus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, AOU 1998). T. melancholicus and T. couchii have been regarded as conspecific by some authors, but Traylor (1979, Auk 96:221-233) found them to be distinct species that are extensively sympatric.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-02
Change Date1996-12-02
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: southeastern Arizona (uncommon and local), south through portions of Mexico and Central America south to central Peru, Guianas, and central Argentina. NORTHERN WINTER: Sonora and northeastern Mexico south through breeding range (Terres 1980).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

See Kaufman (1992, Am. Birds 46:323-326) for information on identification.

Habitat

Situations with scattered trees, savanna, open woodland, forest edge, plantations, residential areas and agricultural lands (Tropical to Temperate zones) (AOU 1983). Occurs in lowlands near water in Arizona. In Arizona, often nests in cottonwoods. Usually nests on a horizontal branch of a tree, 2-12 m (usually below 4.5 m) above ground (Terres 1980), also in shrubs, sometimes low above water (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Reproduction

Egg dates: March-July in Costa Rica, April-July in Mexico; May-June in Arizona (Terres 1980). Clutch size usually is 2-3 or 3-4. Incubation, by female, lasts 15-16 days. Young leave nest 18-19 days after hatching (Terres 1980).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodSavannaOld fieldCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3B
ProvinceRankNative
TexasS1B,S2NYes
ArizonaS3Yes
WashingtonSNAYes
Roadless Areas (2)
Arizona (2)
AreaForestAcres
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
References (26)
  1. Alves, V. S., A. B. A. Soares, G. S. do Couto, A. B. B. Ribeiro, and M. A. Efe. 1997. Aves do Arquipelago dos Abrolhos, Bahia, Brasil. Ararajuba 5:209-218.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  3. 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/.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. 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.
  7. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  8. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  9. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  10. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  11. Mathura, N., S. O´Garro, D. Thompson, F. E. Hayes, and U. S. Nandy. 2006. Foraging behavior of two tyrant flycatchers in Trinidad: the Great Kiskadee (<i>Pitangus sulphuratus</i>) and Tropical Kingbird (<i>Tyrannus melancholicus</i>). Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 18:18-21.
  12. 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.
  13. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  14. 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.
  15. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  16. 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.
  17. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  18. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  19. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  23. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  24. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  25. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  26. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.