Eastern kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

The Eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Open fields and woodland edges in North America; winters in South America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, reptiles and frogs and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Tyrannus tyrannus
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Eastern kingbird lives

Open fields and woodland edges in North America; winters in South America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
🍎 Fruit10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It boldly chases hawks and crows far larger than itself.

Hear the Eastern kingbird

Recorded by Manuel Grosselet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1173826. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Eastern kingbird

Where does the Eastern kingbird live?

The Eastern kingbird lives in United States and Canada. Open fields and woodland edges in North America; winters in South America.

What does the Eastern kingbird eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fruit (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Eastern kingbird endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.