Gray Kingbird
Tyrannus dominicensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyTyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
- GenusTyrannus (Kingbirds)
- SpeciesTyrannus dominicensis (Gray Kingbird)
About the Gray Kingbird
The gray kingbird or grey kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis), also known as pitirre, petchary or white-breasted kingbird, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatchers family Tyrannidae. The species was first described on the island of Hispaniola, then called Santo Domingo, thus the dominicensis name.
The gray kingbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the shrikes in the genus Lanius and coined the binomial name Lanius dominicensis. The specific epithet is from the locality Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola. Gmelin based his description on "Le tyran de S. Domingue" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The gray kingbird is now one of 13 species placed in the kingbird genus Tyrannus that was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède. A molecular genetic study published in 2020 found that the gray kingbird was sister to the giant kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis).
Two subspecies are recognised: T. d. dominicensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788) – southeast USA to Colombia... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Gray Kingbird in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
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Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Gray Kingbird in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Kingbird sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Gray Kingbird in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for Gray Kingbird in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park in our monthly data.