Couch's kingbird

Couch's kingbird (Tyrannus couchii) is a passerine tyrant flycatcher of the kingbird genus. It is found from southern Texas along the Gulf Coast to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize and northern Guatemala. It is also found in the lower stretches of the Rio Grande river valley, locally named Rio Grande Valley.[2]

Couch's kingbird
Couch's kingbird from Mexican Boundary Survey, (Empidonax in background)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Tyrannus
Species:
T. couchii
Binomial name
Tyrannus couchii
Baird, SF, 1858

The name of this bird commemorates the soldier and naturalist Darius N. Couch.

Description

It is about 7 inches long. It has a large head and bill. It has a dark, forked tail. The head is pale gray with contrasting darker cheeks. The upperparts are grayish-olive. It has a pale throat and a darker breast. The lower breast is bright yellow. Juveniles have browner underparts than the adult and pale edges to their wings.

Santa Ana State Park - Texas

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Tyrannus couchii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. A vagrant caused bird-watchers' excitement in New York City in December 2014 (New York post "Couch's kingbird spotted for first time in New York", 29 December 2014: accessed 29 December 2014).
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