Great Kiskadee

About the Great Kiskadee

Big, bold, and impossible to ignore, the Great Kiskadee is one of the signature birds of deep South Texas. It wears a bright lemon-yellow belly, rufous-edged wings, and a striking black-and-white striped head. As loud as it is colorful, it shouts its own name in a ringing kis-ka-dee that carries across the resacas and thorn forest of the Rio Grande Valley.

Part flycatcher, part opportunist, the kiskadee sallies after insects, plucks berries, and will even plunge kingfisher-style into a pond for small fish - unusual behavior for a flycatcher. It perches in the open on wires, snags, and treetops, rarely staying quiet for long.

In the United States it reaches only the southernmost tip of Texas, where it is a common year-round resident of the Valley's parks, wooded edges, and backyards. For birders from elsewhere, it is a must-see Valley specialty.

A note from behind the lens: their loud calls and habit of perching in the open make them easy to find and a joy to photograph - that yellow against green thorn forest is hard to beat. Morning light on an exposed perch is all you need.