THE GREAT KINGBIRD DEBATE A mystery kingbird appeared along County Road 7, about 10 km east of Lake-on-the-Mountain in Prince Edward County at two diffferent locations. The following photos were taken through the window at the first location on November 9th, 2004. Nearby, the same bird appeared in another local backyard on November 17, 20 and 21st. Here are some comments from a few birders who are well versed in the finer details of bird plumage.
1) Well, it is difficult to say anything definitive based on that one photo. The white band at the tip of the tail appears too bold and too sharply defined for a Cassin's Kingbird. Also, the contrast between the chin/upper throat and lower throat/breast does not appear quite sharp enough for a Cassin's Kingbird. The gray also looks a bit dark for Western, but in general, the photo appears dark so this may not mean too much. Depending on how bold the white outer edges were to the tail, the above points do suggest a hybrid Western X Eastern Kingbird. The main problem is that I do not see any other obvious indications of Eastern on your bird, something that I would have suspected would have been more obvious. It does not appear to be a pure Western Kingbird.
2-a) Thanks for sending along the photo. I'm assuming that the image you sent was the largest file size that is available of the bird? It comes through pretty tiny on my monitor, so I can only do so much with it. If you or others have some written documentation of this bird, that would be great to look over as well in coming to any conclusions about what the bird is.
Having said all that, I am assuming that what makes this bird peculiar (other than being in Ontario in November) is that it appears to show white tips to the tail feathers (i.e., Eastern Kingbird-like) on a bird that otherwise appears much like a Western Kingbird. Based on this one photo alone, my first question would be whether the white tail tipping was noticed in the field and observable in a variety of lighting conditions. In the one photo, the entire bird appears to be strongly backlit, with the sun behind and to the left of the bird. This harsh light may be creating an artifact of a white tail tip due to its angle. If the tail tipping is real and white, then something else is going on. The bird does not really appear dark enough across the breast and on the head to be a Cassin's Kingbird, with too little contrast between the white malar and throat, and the darker rest of the face and breast (with the caveat that photos can be misleading). Aside from the peculiarities of the tail, the bird is otherwise a good fit for Western Kingbird. Certainly, Eastern and Western kingbirds do hybridize at some very low frequency, and these young can show a range of intermediate characters. One set of hybrid progeny (from a nest attended by a Western and Eastern) was described as being like Western Kingbirds except for having white tips to the tail feathers. So your bird could certainly fit that description. 2-b) Thanks again for sending along the additional comments from others regarding the identification of this kingbird. It sounds as though a lot of careful thought is going toward determining the identity of this bird. What is really lacking still is any sort of description of what the observers in the field actually saw. There are a few things that observers may have noted that could have a bearing on the identity of the bird. I'll make a few general comments about differences and similarities between Cassin's and Western, based on some of the comments I have read.
The photo if the Prince Edward County kingbird is quite small, is backlit, and is overexposed. One can fiddle with photoshop, and come up with more natural levels (i.e., proper exposure), which affects tones, darkness of grays,etc. Even after adjusting levels, I still feel that this bird is rather pale for a Cassin's. Cassin's can occasionally be rather pale headed in juvenile plumage, however, so a bird showing signs of juvenile plumage might still be this pale, as some Cassin's apparently undergo their preformative molt on their wintering grounds. After the preformative molt, even paler birds are darker in the face, with the more classic Cassin's pattern. It is important to note, however, that the face patterns of Western and Cassin's kingbirds are essentially the same, it is primarily the darkness of the gray that results in the differences observed in the field. The malar of both is white as is the upper throat and chin.
The malar of Cassin's is typically thicker and squared off where it ends under the eye, whereas on Western, it seems to taper to a narrower point under or beyond the eye. It is the darkness of the gray in Cassin's which makes the white malar and chin stand out so much. But much of the time (i.e., under many lighting conditions), a white malar and chin can be seen to contrast with the rest of the face and chest on Western Kingbird. The degree of contrast visible in the photo to my eyes is typical of many Westerns that I observe in the field. The masked affect (i.e. a broad darker stripe running through the eye) is a feature more typical of Western Kingbird (as well as Tropical and Couch's), but is less typical of Cassin's, where again, the darkness of the gray head obscures any underlying mask. The subtle malar shape difference between these two species is equivocal in the photo to my eyes. An example of how dark Westerns can appear in some photos can be found here:
http://www.birdphotography.com/species/weki.htmlhttp://www.avesphoto.com/website/NA/species/KGBWST-1.htmhttp://www.southwestbirders.com/p040402/w%20kingbird.jpghttp://pages.sbcglobal.net/whbauer/images/wkb-3.gif
As you can see from these photos, lighting can play a huge role in how pale or dark headed these kingbirds appear. I just don't think you can rule out the Prince Edward County bird as being too dark for a Western based on the one photo (though, I would stress that I am not
identifying it as a Western, particularly with it having an atypical tail pattern, as it apparently does).
A few quick comments about the tails of kingbirds. It may come as a bit of a shock to some that Eastern, Western, and Cassin's all have a paler, contrasting outer vane to the outermost tail feather (rectrix 6). That vane is white in Western and Eastern, and in Eastern, it often tends to be overlooked because attention is drawn to the much broader terminal white tipping on the tail feathers. The outer vane of Cassin's outermost rectrix is a creamy buff color, as is the tail-tipping, though it is narrower and less pronounced than on Western. This is a critical distinction that may have been noted in the field (i.e., a truly white tip is not typical of Cassin's). Also,
the tails of Western and Eastern kingbirds are otherwise black, whereas the tail of Cassin's is dark brown (still the darkest part of the bird, but not black). At this season, Cassin's Kingbirds have much more evident pale fringing to the wing coverts than Western Kingbirds, and this is another potential distinction that may have been noted in the field.
This may be one of those situations where the details of the sighting are just too scant to really come to a conclusion about the identity of this bird. As someone who has studied kingbirds in detail over many years, I would really want to see more documentation before coming to a conclusion about the identity of this bird. It appears somewhat atypical for a Cassin's Kingbird to me, though if one does not entertain a notion of a hybrid solution, Cassin's becomes the best fit. And I cannot rule out Cassin's with certainty, based on the single photo. I will mention again that Tony Leukering reported on a nest being attended by an Eastern Kingbird and a Western kingbird that produced young that phenotypically resembled Western Kingbirds with Eastern Kingbird-like tails. I have not seen hybrid birds myself in life. While hybridization is rare between these two species, it is not unknown. Based on the one photo alone, that scenario would be as good a fit as Cassin's.
Nothing like a good birding puzzle to liven up Fall birding.
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 3)I believe the bird in question is a Cassin's Kingbird based on the following.
There are four contenders for the ID of this bird are, Tropical, Couch's, Cassin's and Western. If you look at the photo just below the fence pole at the left side of the bird you can see the tail, this tail has a distinct white tip to it. Tropical and Couch's both have no white in the tail either on the tip or on the sides, also these two both do not show an upper breast patch (bib) of grey, ruling out those two species. That just leaves Cassin's and Western. Western has white on the sides of the tail only and not on the tip, thus ruling out Western. As you can see in the photo the tip of the tail is white ruling out the other three, also the bib is grey, Western's bib should be pale whitish grey and not as dark as in the photo. Also, and mainly, the bird shows the diagnostic narrow white malar stripe with grey below the white, the other three species
should all have a broad white area showing little contrast with the pale upper throat and sides of the upper neck.
4)
From the photo and brief descriptions, it's impossible to identify the kingbird. We asked Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum of Nature for his opinion. He said, "The throat contrast seems too light for Cassin's, and I would be hesitant to call it a hybrid only on the basis backlit tail tips.
5)
I believe the photos are in fact telltale. I am by no means an expert, though I've seen many Western and Cassin's Kingbird on trips to California and Arizona and feel comfortable telling them apart. Cassin's kingbirds, can be quickly recognized by the very pale malar which contrasts distinctly from the darker upper body of the bird. The western is much paler over all, so the malar is less distinct to begin with and tends to blend in to the throat much more gradually. A bold malar is noticeable in both pictures. As a back up, you can look at the tail pattern; a quick glance at the 'flycatcher1' image shows a light band at the end of the tail, typical of Cassin's. Western Kingbirds have white outer tail feathers but no band. I believe you would be safe to call this bird a Cassin's Kingbird. I don't believe that there is any reason to suspect some sort of hybrid. Or at least that is my opinion.
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 6-a)
Interesting Kingbird indeed. Unless it's just the lighting in the photo, or perhaps shadows, the breast and head looks too dark to me for this to be a Western. ( same comment for both Tropical and Couch's also). I agree that a Cassin's Kingbird can't be ruled out (but neither can hybridization between Western and Eastern). The white terminal band on the undertail is very tantalizing! Either the presence of the branch in the photo is blocking out the existence of white outer tail feathers or else no white outer tail feathers are present. Also very tantalizing!
Did the observer make any comments about bill size? I tried to enhance the photo here but it just wasn't possible to do with the software I have. It would be great if this bird re-appeared so that more detailed observations and perhaps photographs might be obtained. I'll await anxiously further reports of this most interesting Kingbird.
6-b)
I've done a bit more work on trying to enhance the photo you sent me with little luck. I'd like though to go thru my thoughts on this bird and keep in mind that I'm FAR from being an expert on Kingbirds. I'm still seeing the breast area of this bird darker than what one might expect to see on a Western Kingbird. While your observer described "very light under the chin rather than dark grey" , most Kingbirds have this feature as I'm sure I don't have to tell you. I would admit though that while this whitish area to the throat is reduced on a Cassin's, it's still nonetheless there. What appears to be a white terminal band on the tail is rather confusing. I've seen many Cassin's Kingbirds in my time and what I see in the photo is consistant with that species and not with a Western. I'm also not seeing white outer tail feathers which may or may not be present on a Western this time of year due to wear. But it still is a factor to consider. Now.............the bill. I've magnified the photo some and am now beginning to see that the bill might very well be larger than first thought and this is REALLY confusing! This of course, not consistant with Cassin's nor Western but more with a Tropical or a Couch's. The "dark line through the eye" is present to greatly varying degrees on all Kingbirds so without a more definitive description, this is of little assistance. In the photo you sent me I'm looking at a patch of white beneath the eye at about the level of the lower bill and wonder if this is the diminished whitish throat area apparent on Cassin's? I'm seeing a bit of a notch on the tail which very well might indicate a Couch's. I think I'm now more confused about the ID of this bird than what I was before I began looking more closely. We have separate features that might in themselves point to all four south-western Kingbirds. Western, Cassin's, Tropical and Couch's. And from these four the least likely by what I see, is a Western. Perhaps we are indeed looking at a hybrid between either two SW Kingbirds or possibly an Eastern thrown in to further confuse the issue. If you can Terry, try to get a more definitive look at the bill size. As I said up above, it now looks to me to be larger than what one expect to see in either a Western or a Cassin's. But it also could be just the angle at which the photo was taken......but I don't think so.
I'd very much like to hear what others FAR more experienced in south-western birds are saying to you.
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7)
Its really unfortunate this bird is gone.
Its also very unfortunate there aren't any other photos to examine.
This remarkable bird would have made an excellent study.
FYI (if you didn't know already), there is a fall record of Cassin's Kingbird for Ottawa.
Here is what I see in this single, grossly-pixilated photo:
* pale chin on contrasting darker head with appearance of gray chin strap (reminiscent of Cassin's KB)
* gray breast tapering into lemon yellow belly (reminiscent of Cassin's KB)
* prominent white tip to dark squarish tail (reminiscent of Eastern KB)
* relatively large black bill with dark eye-line on grayish head (reminiscent of Tropical KB)
So...there you have it, a multi-cultural Tyrannus.
Some thoughts:
* This first one is probably the most important - I have seen Cassin's Kingbirds under backlighting conditions where they appeared to have pale outer tail feathers and very pale tail tips (But, not pure white tip as suggested by the photo. However, see first link below).
* I would have expected more paleness on the breast if a pure white-breasted Eastern KB were involved with any of the yellow-bellied KB. This would especially be true if Western were involved since they are very pale on the breast.
* The (imperfect) photo doesn't reveal any of the reported white outer tail feathers
Some moot thoughts on the bill size in the highly pixilated image:
* Although the photo lacks great detail, and the bird's head is slightly angled in its pose, the bill has the superficial appearance of being fairly large for Eastern, Cassin's or Western KB.
* The bill seems as large as Tropical
* Although still fairly heavy-billed, Couch's has a shorter bill than Tropical (I have carefully studied several Couch's and Tropical, side-by-side, actively calling in the Yucatan, and this is the strongest character difference).
Here is my summary:
As you might expect, this phenomenal bird remains unidentified.
I only wish I could have seen the creature for myself (sigh).
My first glance at the photo gave the impression of Cassin's. And, I am leaning heavily toward it being this species.
However, after studying the photo, various characters of different Tyrannus flycatchers are suggested.
Although the suggestion of Western X Eastern is valid, I suggest that Tropical/Couch's X Eastern or Cassin's X Eastern should also be considered.
But, even these have their inconsistencies (only one Eastern Kingbird character - tail tip).
Perhaps, the bird is simply a mutant Cassin's.
Regardless of all the above, here are some links to images that support Cassin's. Assuming the backlit, underexposed image of the first link is correctly identified, seriously consider how white the tail tip appears. Note also how some images show thin white outer margins of outer tail feathers:
http://www.avesphoto.com/website/NA/species/KGBCAS-2.htmhttp://www.birdseen.co.uk/images/video/arizona/cassins.jpghttp://www.birdingamerica.com/California/sepulveda.htm
8)
My experience with Cassin's is to say the least limited (0) but I have seen
an awful lot of Westerns, Grays & Tropicals. In my view the pictures
strongly point to Western: the shape, size and "gis" are perfect as are
other plumage features, indeed the only odd feature is the apparently
extensive pale tip to the retrices. Immature Westerns have a pale
emargination to the tips of their retrices, showing as a fine pale edge in
good lighting, but nowhere near as broad as in this bird. Could this be an
artifact of lighting? I leave that to the photographic experts out there
(take it away Tony). I would have expected a hybrid to display some other
"Eastern" features.
9)
Hi to all,
sure looks like a Western to me. This bird has a very slight bill and is
quite pale on the throat and upper breast. My recent recollections of
Cassin's (from 2004 and 1998) is a bird with a heavier bill, darker upper
breast and throat, contrasting starkly with a pale cheek below the dark eye
path. Westerns gradually become paler between the upper breast and throat,
leaving much less contrast with the cheeks. Also, Cassin's is a much
stockier bird.
10)
Hi Terry (and all)
What a difference when you have several images from different angles and
different light.
First: Let me acknowledge there are many dangers when trying to identify a
rare bird with poor quality images.
Regardless, we do what we can to rise to the challenge.
Second: The white tail tip was described by the observers, and supported by
some of the photos. So we know it exists on this bird.
My original response was based on only one image - the backlit one at eye level.
However, after studying all 4 images, I must repeat what Mark Gawn wrote:
"...the pictures strongly point to Western...indeed the only odd feature is
the apparently extensive pale tip to the rectrices."
One additional problem, albeit, not a serious one, is the lack of strong
white on outer rectrices.
However, they do appear in one image, and was described by observers.
The bird clearly has a short, thin bill, and the plumage character, when
viewed from a higher angle and from the side, matches the light gray and
contrast of a Western. The back has the hint of olive in light gray of
Western, and the shape is classic.
The problem with the tail tip is still serious however, since it is thick on
two of the images, even when the sun shines off it (when viewing the bird's
side).
I'm not aware of this ever occurring on any Western.
Regardless, this kind of aberration can occur on any bird. After all, the
bird is off course, so something is not fully operational with it.
 I spent a couple of frustrating hours (stupid computers) searching the net
for photos of Westerns with pale
tail tips. Unfortunately, none of them match the mystery bird. In fact, they
all fall short of it. The vast majority of images on the net showed the
opposite (dark tips).
One exception is this photo of fledglings. However, even these are not as bold as the mystery bird. Note also that other images of different fledglings did not show this character:These links of full grown birds are the best the net has to offer in support of pale tail tips on Western:
http://kaweahoaks.com/html/kingbird.htmlhttp://www.hawksaloft.org/imgs/western-king2.jpghttp://www.pjkelly.net/images/weki1.jpghttp://thebirdguide.com/digiscoping/photos/western_kingbird.htm
And the e-mails continue to arrive concerning this mystery. This one arrived on April 03, 2006
Hi Terry,
It is my choice for Cassins. I have found this species in a special area in our Bull Mt. north of Bilings 30 miles or so.The tail marks and throat and chest point me for Cassins.
I'm sure you will get other choices. Ok.
Cheers and happy birding
Bill Roney
2104 Clark
Billings Montana 59102
I believe the bird in question is a Cassin's Kingbird based on the following.
"...Tropical and Couch's both have no white in the tail either on the tip or on the sides,..." From:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/kingbirdsX.htm "Both Couch's and Tropical kingbirds show extensive white or whitish edging up the length of the tail feathers, while this character seems not to be shown in Western."
Craig Taylor
Do you have an opinion you would like to add to the above. E-mail it to Terry Sprague and we will post it.
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