Eastern Kingbirds

On Wednesday morning, we had a family of Kingbirds in the trees in the front yard- two adults and at least one fledgling. The adults were chasing the Blue Jays and making a clicking noise. The Jays were just coming in for their peanut breakfast, but the Kingbirds were not having it. The power struggle went on for quite some time and the Jays stayed back until the Kingbirds moved on. It's the first time we've seen Kingbirds in the front and so close to the feeders. We usually see them out back, perched in one of the dead trees. Nice to know they are nesting nearby.

Cool Facts (from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Kingbird/lifehistory)

* The Eastern Kingbird is highly aggressive toward nest predators and larger birds. Hawks and crows are attacked regularly. A kingbird was observed to knock a Blue Jay out of a tree and cause it to hide under bush to escape the attack.
* During the summer the Eastern Kingbird eats mostly flying insects and maintains a breeding territory that it defends vigorously against all other kingbirds. In the winter along the Amazon, however, it has a completely different lifestyle: it travels in flocks and eats fruit
* Parent Eastern Kingbirds feed their young for about seven weeks. Because of this relatively long period of dependence, a pair generally raises only one brood of young per nesting season.

Habitat:
* Breeds in open environments with scattered perches, such as fields, orchards, shelterbelts, and forest edges. Uses urban parks and golf courses.
* Winters in river- and lake-edge habitats and canopy of tropical forests.

Food: Flying insects, fruits especially in winter.

Clutch Size: 2–5 eggs
Egg Description: Creamy white with heavy dark spots, concentrated around large end.

Nest Description: Nest an open cup of twigs, roots, dry weed stems, and strips of bark lined with plant down, fine rootlets, and hair. Nest placed on horizontal limb in tree, in crotch of tree limb, or on top of snag or fence post.

Widespread and common, but populations may be decreasing.