Kingbird casts pellet

 

An Eastern Kingbird sits on his fence, exuding a regal and stately air befitting its name. I photographed this flycatcher up in Presque Isle County, Michigan, one of numerous kingbirds that I saw there. The scientific name is Tyrannus tyrannus, and tyrants they are. Kingbirds don't seem afraid of much, and have no qualms about scrambling skyward to harass intruding raptors, crows, or ravens.

This bird paid me no mind, and using my car as a blind I set out to make some images of the handsome tyrannid when I saw it was about to engage in something rather cool.

As I clicked away, the kingbird suddenly began to upchuck a pellet! Luckily I had the camera on burst mode, which is the equivalent of a photographic machine gun. By holding down the shutter button, I could burst off about six shots a second and thus capture the following series of images.

Owls are probably the best known group of birds when it comes to casting pellets. Indeed, experienced birders often find roosting owls by the presence of pellets. A pellet, as applied to birds, is just a condensed mass of indigestible bits from its prey. In the case of owls, a pellet would be mostly bone and fur. Rather than expel the stuff through the posterior end, birds cast the pellets back out through the mouth.

But owls are by no means the only group of birds that form and expel pellets. Probably most species that make a habit of eating animals that are partially comprised of hard dry matter such as bones and fur form and cast pellets. In the case of the kingbird, its pellets are primarily chitin - the hard indigestible parts of insect exoskeletons.

A fraction of a second after I made this shot, the bird gagged out the pellet. The elapsed time for this entire sequence of photos was only a second or so. It was just fortunate that I already had the camera trained on the bird. There would not have been enough time from noticing the imminent casting of the pellet and getting the camera up and in position to fire off the shots.

With a final quick gagging flourish of the head, the pellet was cast out and the bird resumed its normal posture. I may be easily amused, but it was quite interesting to witness and I'm glad that I was able to photo-document the event, crude as my photos may be.

I have only one regret, that I didn't think to go over to where the bird was perched and try to find the pellet. It likely would have been largely made up of dragonfly parts and beetle shells. Well, maybe next time.

Eastern Kingbird, a tyrant indeed

Eastern Kingbirds have long been a favorite bird of mine. In fact, just a few days ago I was asked "ten questions" for an interview (you can read it HERE) and one of them was the obligatory "what's your favorite bird" line of inquiry. Since I don't have one favorite bird, I rattled off a half-dozen or so notables, and the kingbird was one of them.

So when I ran across the following photos yesterday, I just had to try and get permission to share them. The photographer, Allan Claybon, kindly consented. I've seen Allan's work here and there for quite some while, and his skills with a camera rise far above the norm. Check out his stuff HERE, and prepare to be dazzled.

Photo: Allan Claybon

Eastern Kingbirds ooze personality. These feathered tough guys brook no invasion of their personal space by birds for which they have no tolerance, and that includes species many times their size such as crows, hawks, and eagles. If one of these comparative jumbos dares to violate the airspace over a kingbird's nesting territory, it is going to learn of its mistake right quick.

Like a feathered SAM (surface to air missile), one of the kingbird pair will quickly scramble skyward when an offending party lumbers into restricted airspace. The ensuing dogfight is a sight to behold. It's really not much of a dogfight, actually - the much clumsier and less agile hawk, heron, vulture or whatever the case may be starts madly rowing its wings to escape the kingbird's wrath. Reminiscent of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane, the kingbird rapidly gains altitude and gets above the interloper. It then dive bombs its target, brutally strafing the topside of the now panicked enemy. I have actually seen a kingbird land on the back of a Red-tailed Hawk and hammer away at it, while the poor raptor tries to shake its tormentor away.

Small wonder they named this ferocious flycatcher Tyrannus tyrannus.

Back to Allan's amazing photo, above. What a shot! The white-tipped tail, looking as if it was dunked in white paint, is on clear display. But best of all, we can see the scarlet crown patch - definitely not something one often can observe. Kingbirds normally conceal this war paint amongst the other crown feathers. But when battle time rolls around and enemy engagement is called for, the bird flares that feathered warning flag in can't miss fashion.

Here's what the protective parents are safe-guarding. A newly hatched kingbird can rest safe knowing that its parents are among the most savage of songbirds, and they're looking out for baby. I made this photo several years ago in Ashland County, and the nest was only about five feet off the ground in an autumn-olive shrub. I've also found kingbird nests as high as 50 feet up in a sycamore tree. It seems that they are rather general in their nest placement parameters, but one thing doesn't change - the kingbirds will protect that nest against all invaders, at least of the feathered kind.

Photo: Allan Claybon

Warpaint flared, and kingbird hot on the heels of a hapless American Crow. It almost seems as if the crow is saying "Oh My God", and you can be sure it is hotfooting it the heck out of that kingbird's turf. Smart cookies that they are, it's likely that this crow will remember this bully, and not trespass here again.

There's much more to these interesting flycatchers, but that'd require another post. But Allan's stunning images certainly bring out one of their most interesting character traits. Perhaps you see why Eastern Kingbirds rank high among my favorite birds.

Thanks again to Allan for graciously sharing his work with us.