Loggerhead Kingbird, Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, FL

Loggerhead Kingbird made big news in 2007 with an individual from Fort Zachary Taylor, Key West, Monroe Co., Florida, 8-26 March.  The Key West bird was officially added to the Florida State Bird List later in 2007.  Another Loggerhead Kingbird has been reported at the National Park Service's Fort Jefferson, part of Dry Tortugas National Park, located on Garden Key.  The bird was first found and photographed, but was left unidentified by visiting Canadians, Gordon and Laure Neish on Friday, 14 March.   The bird was located near the north coaling docks near the brick pile.  Laure showed her photographs to Larry Manfredi who identified the bird as a Loggerhead Kingbird.  A phone call alerted the Park Naturalist on Fort Jefferson about their Loggerhead Kingbird.  As a result, the bird, relocated almost a week after it was first found, was seen again on 21 March in the same area.

Loggerhead Kingbird, Tyrannus caudifasciatus, has an interesting history in the ABA Area. A bird photographed at Islamorada, December 1971–January 1972, was accepted by Robertson and Woolfenden in Birds of Florida, as were three other photographs from the 1970s.  James Bond, Birds of the West Indies, considered the first bird to be a Giant Kingbird (in litt., cited from Stevenson and Anderson 1994).  Smith et.al. (2000) reviewed the records of the Loggerhead Kingbird from Florida, and he determined that none of the records were conclusive to species. The Florida State Records Committee removed Loggerhead Kingbird from their official list in 2003 as did the AOU Checklist Committee in 2002 and the ABA's CLC in 2002.

From the files of the Florida Records Committee comes this information on the identity of the 2007 Key West bird.  First found by Carl Goodrich, the photographs clearly show a white-bellied, dark-backed kingbird, with a long relatively narrow bill.  The long bill, big head, and short wings eliminate Eastern Kingbird (T. tyrannus).  The entire head is black, contrasting with the dark brown mantle, unlike the Gray Kingbird (T. dominicensis), which has a much grayer crown.  The rather spike-like bill is less wide and deep, and less arched, than that of Giant Kingbird (T. cubensis) of Cuba.  Vocalizations obtained of the Key West bird were also diagnostic for Loggerhead Kingbird.   The Committee, using J. S. Greenlaw’s analysis of geographic variation in the species (in litt.), determined that the bird probably originated from the Cuban (T. c. caudifasciatus) or Isle of Pines (T. c. flavescens) populations, as the subspecies from the Bahamas (T. c. bahamensis) is more yellow below.  Those from Puerto Rico (T. c. taylori) and Hispaniola (T. c. gabbi) do not have a pale tail tip, the subspecies from the Cayman Islands (T. c. caymanensis) is more olive-backed, and the subspecies from Jamaica (T. c. jamaicensis) has a darker back and more distinct white tail tip .  The subspecies from  Isle of Pines differs from the Cuban subspecies by its subtly more olive back and more yellow underwing linings.

Bill Maynard

Editor - Winging It

Comments

[Erika Wilson]

Bill,

Many thanks for your excellent summaries of each rarity that you have posted on this blog. The historical information is just great as it sets the context for each sighting. Keep up the good work.