Bird names are a fun subject all their own, ranging from fun and quirky to names that are flat-out wrong, and yet were kept regardless. But one of the more fun names belongs to the dapper fellow pictured above, Tyrannus tyrannus.
The largest of the tyrant flycatchers in the Americas – and “tyrant flycatcher” is still a fun name itself – these black and white-colored birds are more commonly known as the eastern kingbird.
In my experience, they can most often be found near water, be that lakeshores or marshes and swamps. Somewhat smaller than an American robin, eastern kingbirds nevertheless deserve their tyrant Latin moniker; they are ferocious. A kingbird’s territory is his kingdom, and they are well known to drive off other birds, including species significantly larger than themselves.
They’ll sometimes have a go at kayakers and photographers, speaking from my own experience.
This individual was chill, perched in the dead lower limbs of an old tree at a fishing access point. I was photographing from my car, and while I have no doubt that he knew I was there, he chose to ignore me as he preened and surveyed his domain.