Couch's Kingbird

About the Couch's Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird is the yellow-bellied kingbird of deep South Texas - olive-backed with a gray head, darker mask, notched brown-black tail, and bright lemon underparts. It is nearly identical to the Tropical Kingbird, and the two were long considered one species; voice is the honest way to tell them apart. Couch's gives a rising, breezy "breeer" and sharp pip notes, very different from the Tropical's rapid twitter.

Like all kingbirds it is a bold, conspicuous flycatcher, sitting upright on exposed wires and bare branches and launching out to hawk passing insects, with fruit added in season. Pairs are aggressive near the nest, chasing hawks and grackles alike.

In Texas, Couch's Kingbird is a year-round resident of the Rio Grande Valley and coastal brush country, expanding slowly northward, with wanderers occasionally reaching Central Texas in fall and winter.