Bird
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
A summer resident that nests in Alabama. Found in all 67 counties, across 24 habitats.
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 24

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 24
- Habitat models
- Summer
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Alabama 24
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.





Streams, rivers and their banks


Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
Granite and other acidic rock outcrops
Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.
Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Tree plantations and managed pine
Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits



Other habitats in its models (185)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.
In Alabama 1
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer.
Elsewhere in the South (93)
- Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
- East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer.
- East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
- Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer.
- Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer.
- Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer.
- Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer.
- Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer.
- Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer.
- Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer.
- Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer.
- Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
- Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Summer.
- South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer.
- South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer.
- South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Summer.
- South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer.
- Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer.
- Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer.
- Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer, beside its main habitat.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer, beside its main habitat.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
- Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer.
Northeast (12)
- Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
- Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer.
- Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer.
- Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
- North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
- North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
- Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer.
Midwest (12)
- Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer.
- North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
- North-Central Oak Barrens Summer.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer.
Land cover and other classes (67)
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer.
- Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer.
- Barren Land Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
- Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
- Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer.
- Recently Burned Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Summer.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer.
- Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Seasons in Alabama
- Summer: nests here, in all 67 counties.
Food plants
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.
Native plants in these genera 145
- Flowering DogwoodCornus florida
- Stiff DogwoodCornus stricta
- Rough Leaf DogwoodCornus drummondii
- Roughleaf DogwoodCornus asperifolia
- American PlumPrunus americana
- Black CherryPrunus serotina
- Allegheny Plum; Allegheny SloePrunus alabamensis
- Carolina Laurel CherryPrunus caroliniana
- Chickasaw PlumPrunus angustifolia
- Hog PlumPrunus umbellata
- Mexican PlumPrunus mexicana
- Wild Goose PlumPrunus munsoniana
- Mustang GrapeVitis mustangensis
- Red GrapeVitis palmata
- Florida GrapeVitis simpsonii
- Fox GrapeVitis labrusca
- Frost GrapeVitis vulpina
- Possum GrapeVitis baileyana
- Riverbank GrapeVitis riparia
- Silver Leaf GrapeVitis aestivalis var. bicolor
- Summer GrapeVitis aestivalis var. aestivalis
- Vitis cinereaVitis cinerea
- Common ElderberrySambucus canadensis
- Rough-fruit AmaranthAmaranthus tuberculatus
Plant genera in its diet records (27)
- Cornus Fruit. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
- Prunus Fruit. 4 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
- Vitis Fruit. 3 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
- Sambucus Fruit. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
- Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
- Amelanchier Fruit. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
- Aronia Fruit. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
- Condalia Fruit. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
- Ficus Fruit. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
- Fragaria Fruit. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
- Gaylussacia Fruit. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in Alabama
- Juniperus Fruit. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
- Lindera Fruit. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
- Morella Fruit. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
- Morus Fruit. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
- Parthenocissus Fruit. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
- Phytolacca Fruit. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
- Rhamnus Fruit. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
- Rhus Fruit. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
- Rhynchospora Seeds. 1 diet record. 60 native plants in Alabama
- Ribes Fruit. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
- Rubus Fruit. 1 diet record. 7 native plants in Alabama
- Sassafras Fruit. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
- Setaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
- Solanum Fruit. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Alabama
- Taraxacum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
- Vaccinium Fruit. 1 diet record. 11 native plants in Alabama
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Eastern Kingbird uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 105
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Wilson's WarblerWilsonia pusilla
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
Plants 418
- Elliott's BlueberryVaccinium elliottii
- White Panicled Aster; Eastern Lined AsterSymphyotrichum lanceolatum var. latifolium
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- Appalachian Orange ConeflowerRudbeckia umbrosa
- Rudbeckia fulgida var. spathulataRudbeckia spathulata
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- Southern Shagbark HickoryCarya carolinae-septentrionalis
- Spruce Pine; Walters Pine; Cedar PinePinus glabra
- Spreading SedgeCarex laxiculmis
- Louisiana SedgeCarex louisianica
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
Dry forests and woodlands
Birds 80
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
Plants 224
- Chestnut OakQuercus montana
- Georgia OakQuercus georgiana
- American ChestnutCastanea dentata
- Boynton's OakQuercus boyntonii
- White ThoroughwortEupatorium album
- Sessileleaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium sessilifolium
- Painted SedgeCarex picta
- Ernests SpiderwortTradescantia ernestiana
- Leavenworth's SedgeCarex leavenworthii
- Southern Whitetinge SedgeCarex albicans var. australis
- Southern LoosestrifeSteironema tonsa
- Alabama SkullcapScutellaria alabamensis
Swamps
Birds 103
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Reddish EgretEgretta rufescens
- RedheadAythya americana
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
Plants 327
- Black Highbush BlueberryVaccinium fuscatum
- Dahoon HollyIlex cassine
- May HawthornCrataegus aestivalis
- Carolina AshFraxinus caroliniana
- Dense-flower SmartweedPersicaria densiflora
- Swamp TupeloNyssa biflora
- Water HickoryCarya aquatica
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Collins's SedgeCarex collinsii
- Cypress-swamp SedgeCarex joorii
- Dark-green SedgeCarex venusta
- Fringed SedgeCarex crinita
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP summer habitat model for Eastern Kingbird Elevation sea level to 914 m. Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus

































































