Couch's Kingbird

Tyrannus couchii

About This Species

A large flycatcher of open woodland, scrub, and semi-arid brushland from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America, often seen perched conspicuously on wires, fence posts, or bare branches while watching for flying insects. Its loud, rolling call is often the first clue to its presence, and it will sally out from a perch to snatch prey before returning to the same spot. Spring and summer, during the breeding season in its northern range, are the best time to find it actively calling and hunting.

Ethical Viewing Guidelines

A distance of 15 to 20 metres with binoculars is usually enough, since this species will often continue hunting from its perch even with a quiet observer nearby, though it becomes markedly more defensive near an active nest.
In the United States it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, while protections elsewhere in its Latin American range vary by country, so avoid assuming a single standard applies throughout.
Keep well back from nests, particularly during incubation and early chick-rearing.

LCAvesPasseriformesTyrannidae

Seasonal Activity

268,694 sightings · 2000–2026

Citizen science records via GBIF

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Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae

Photo

CC-BY-NC-4.0

Occurrence data from GBIF.