LBRC LONG FORM
1.
English
and Scientific Names:
Tropical
Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus
2.
Number
of individuals, sexes, ages, general plumage:
Two
– possible adult and fledgling.
3.
Locality:
Louisiana (parish): / Specific Locality:
Cameron
Parish – East Jetty Woods Road in pasture on east side of road approximately
one half mile from intersection with Davis? Road.
Date(s)
when observed:
August
17, 2011
4.
Time(s)
of day when observed:
Approximately
4:05 PM CDST. Note: I looked for the birds at the site around 10:00 AM CDST and
could not locate them.
5.
Reporting
observer and address:
Jay
V. Huner, 428 Hickory Hill Drive, Boyce, LA 71409.
6.
Other
observers accompanying reporter who also identified bird(s):
None.
7.
Other
observers who independently identified the bird(s):
Paul
Conover and David Patton
8.
Light
conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount
of light):
Mid-afternoon,
light clouds, good views of birds in several directions in relation to ambient
light.
9.
Optical
equipment (type, power, condition):
Zeiss,
10 x 40 binoculars
10. Distance to bird(s):
Various
15 to 100 yards.
11. Duration of observation:
Approximately
10 minutes.
12. Habitat:
Coastal chenier area. Cattle pasture with
some live oak groves.
13. Behavior of bird ….:
First
bird found in pasture on east side of road about half way between major corral
and a 90 degree eastward turn in the road. It was flycatching
from a 12” grass stalk about 15’ behind and below an
Eastern Kingbird that was also flycatching but from a
24” grass stalk perch.
The
first bird flew around a bit to the north toward a 30’ tall live oak growing on
the fence row along the road. It was joined by another Tropical Kingbird and
these two birds flew about on the east side of the road over the pasture and
road over the top of me and then back to the live oak tree where they perched.
I played Tropical Kingbird song on my BirdJam. They
perked up and flew over the top of me and landed on support beams in the fence
at chest level. They remained there and then flew back to the live oak. I
recall the birds giving the twittering/chittering
call as they landed in the live oak and this sounded, to me, like the BirdJam recording. I
walked toward the oak and took several pictures of one of the birds that was exposed near the top of the tree on a bare branch. I
then left the area. Total time with the birds was about 10 minutes.
Description
….:
Western
type flycatcher with gray back and yellow belly. White throat.
Strong bill with black eye line. Deeply
indented tail.
14. Voice:
Identical
to BirdJam call. Chittering and
twittering.
15. Similar species.
Other
western-type kingbirds.
Separated from Western and Cassin’s Kingbirds by indented
tail. Separated from Couch’s Kingbird by response to
song and chittering/twittering song/call.
Color and features were wrong for Western Kingbird and the birds did not
respond to Western Kingbird song/call. I did not play Couch’s Kingbird
song/call so I don’t know if they would respond to the song/call. However,
after listening to the call/song, the chittering/twittering
of the two birds did not sound a bit like Couch’s Kingbird. I will note that
there has been a good bit of discussion on LABIRD listserv about chittering/twittering
in fledgling Couch’s Kingbird. Consensus has been that the Cameron birds were
Tropical Kingbirds. However, at least one tape of the song/call is available
for LBRC review.
16. Photographs or tape recording
obtained? (by whom? Attached?):
Photographs
sent to Paul Conover. No recordings of song.
17. Previous experience with species.
Seen/heard
at least once in south Texas and Violet area below New Orleans, LA.
Jay V. Huner
428
Hickory Hill Drive
Boyce,
LA 71409
September
1, 2011 3:40 PM