The Kingbird is one of many species of Flycatcher, famous for catching their insect prey on the wing. Have you watched the kingbirds along the streets of your town? Do you find them annoying or superbly entertaining?
Grasshoppers offer a visible and audible companionship to a walk during the growing season. Western kingbirds eat grasshoppers. Kingbirds are vociferous birds with a definite sense of propriety. During the buffalo prairie days, far fewer Western kingbirds lived on the Southern Llano Estacado . The population numbers of Cassin's Kingbirds in the Trans Pecos has probably not changed since settlement. Kingbirds require a nest site that is at least twenty feet above the ground
Kingbirds have several standard procedures. They always use grass roots as part of the nest lining. Not only does the nest contain plant roots (and formerly buffalo hair), but it is also adorned with ornamentation. Feathers are often decoratively interwoven with the other construction materials, and one bird mentioned in scientific literature reportedly color-coordinated the feathers. Flowers are often picked and aesthetically arranged on the outside of the nest. When available, bloom sprays of sage (Artemisia) are included.
Other behaviors appear ritualistic at times. Nestlings face the sunrise, and watch the sunset before nodding off. The adult Kingbirds watch the sunrise and sunset, for last light and first light are prompts for garrulous and voluble discussions, which at times become deafening. In the middle of moonlit nights, Kingbirds make a strange kitten-like mew, unlike their normal voice.
Kingbirds utilize favorite perches, claiming the highest and most open, returning consistently, and defending the perch from other species of birds. Males dive and turn somersaults, yelling loudly. Three, four, seven males swarm a tree where a female preens. As one male begins to win favor, the other males continue to show off, only to be left behind and avoided.
Later, school is held for the young Kingbird. When the young are beginning to test their wings, the adult brings food but doesn’t feed the young. Instead, the parent releases the insect, urging the young to fly after the escaping prey. Over and over, for hours, the adult brings prey for the young.
The next day, the family moves to the best feeding grounds and the adults put on a display of fancy swoops and dives as they catch flying prey. The young chatter in admiring supplication for a share of the spoils. During the day the young begin to catch prey on their own, with the adults supervising their efforts. When a young bird attempts to catch a female bee (with stinger) adults intervene to stop the unknowing youngster. Kingbirds are able to recognize male bees that have no stinger after a little of such training.
School includes lessons in drinking and bathing, which are both performed on the wing. A correct tilt of the head at a certain speed enables a kingbird to scoop up a drink without wetting a single feather. For a bath, a different angle of attack allows the kingbird to smack their belly on the water, using the surface tension to bounce them back out of the water.
Kingbirds are fun to watch because of their bossy behavior. They are easy to find, for their incessant chatter resounds through their territory. Kingbirds chase raptors for fun. The first screams and screams, bringing up to a dozen more, until a contest develops to see who can tease the raptor in the most dare-devilish way. The bravest ones yank feathers from the predator, and even manage to score a peck on the back of its head from time to time. In the earliest days of aviation, slow little biplanes got hassled!
Nature Notes is sponsored by the Dixon Water Foundation and is produced by KRTS Marfa Public Radio in cooperation with the Sibley Nature Center in Midland, Texas. This episode was written by Burr Williams of the Sibley Nature Center.
