Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Silhouette: Kai Caspar · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyTyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
- GenusPitangus (Great Kiskadees)
- SpeciesPitangus sulphuratus (Great Kiskadee)
About the Great Kiskadee
The great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus Pitangus. It breeds in open woodland with some tall trees, including cultivation and around human habitation. It is found from the extreme southern United States south to Argentina. It was introduced to Bermuda in 1957, and to Tobago in about 1970.
The great kiskadee was described and illustrated in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in the Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. He used the name Pitangua-guaçu, the word for a large flycatcher in the Tupi language. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the species in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. He used the French name La Pie-Griesche jaune de Cayenne and the Latin name Lanius Cayanensis Luteus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition in 1766 he added 240 species that had been previously... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Great Kiskadee in Tortuguero National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Tortuguero National Park
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Tyrannus melancholicus
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Todirostrum cinereum
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Megarynchus pitangua
Bright-rumped Attila
Attila spadiceus
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Contopus virens
Guatemalan Paltry Tyrannulet
Zimmerius vilissimus
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitus
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Myiozetetes granadensis
Brown-capped Tyrannulet
Ornithion brunneicapillus
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Myiarchus tuberculifer
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Great Kiskadee in Tortuguero National Park?
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Great Kiskadee sighting in Tortuguero National Park, based on 2,694 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Great Kiskadee in Tortuguero National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Great Kiskadee in Tortuguero National Park in our monthly data.