Giant Kingbird

The giant kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis) is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae endemic to Cuba.

Giant kingbird
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Tyrannus
Species:	T. cubensis
Binomial name
Tyrannus cubensis Richmond, 1898

The species is probably mostly closely related to the loggerhead kingbird, which also occurs in Cuba as well as several other nearby Caribbean islands.

While this species has been reported in the past to average only 23 cm (9 in) long, this may be excessively conservative with the overall length being 23 to 26 cm (9.1 to 10.2 in). Although it is not the largest tyrant flycatcher, its body mass as reported is significantly higher than the next largest known kingbird, the thick-billed kingbird, with an average of 93.6 g (3.30 oz), sometimes scaling up to 108 g (3.8 oz), meaning it can be nearly as heavy as the largest tyrant flycatcher, the great shrike tyrant.

 

T. cubensis is endemic to Cuba, but is considered extirpated from the Turks and Caicos Islands and The Bahamas. Vagrant individuals have been sighted in Mexico and Hispaniola (Haiti). The giant kingbird is found in tall lowland forest. In particular, it favors pine forests and the wooded borders of waterways. It is also found in mixed pine barrens, open woodlands, swamps and savanna. It has also been seen in cloud forest.

It is threatened by habitat loss.