Bird Guide

Couch's Kingbird vs Piratic Flycatcher

Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii)

Couch's Kingbird

Tyrannus couchii

Small39 gForest

Couch's kingbird 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. Couch's kingbird can easily be confused with the related tropical kingbird (T. melancholicus), which is extremely similar. In fact, Couch's kingbird was considered conspecific with the tropical kingbird until 1979.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Lauren · CC BY 4.0
Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius)

Piratic Flycatcher

Legatus leucophaius

Small22 gForest

The piratic flycatcher is 14.5 to 17 cm (5.7 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 19 to 26 g (0.67 to 0.92 oz). The sexes and the subspecies have the same plumage though subspecies L. l. variegatus is significantly larger than the nominate. Adults have a blackish forehead and crown with a partially hidden yellow patch on the latter. They have a wide dull whitish supercilium that extends around the head under the crown; it has some faint grayish streaks toward the rear. They have dusky lores, ear coverts, and moustachial stripe and white cheeks. Voice: The piratic flycatcher is highly vocal during the breeding season, and usually vocalizes from a high perch. Its call has been variously described as wee-o-dee!, "a whining querulous weé-yee", and "a loud, high, rising-falling whistle: wseeEEEeee".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Vincent A. Vos · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Couch's Kingbird and Piratic Flycatcher.