Gray Kingbird

A large, conspicuous, boisterous tyrannid, the Gray Kingbird is at home among the mangrove swamps of south Florida and the Caribbean region. Generally "tame" and tolerant of humans, it is familiar to those of the countryside of West Indian islands, where it is most abundant. It seems to have thrived as native forests have been destroyed, and its petulant voice and feisty disposition have given it almost folk-hero status. Local names derived onomatopoetically from its characteristic call differ from island to island, but rendered in the native tongue impart the same vehemence. The Gray Kingbird perches in the open, snapping up flying insects, thus paying rent for the territories it claims and for its harassment of family dogs. It often builds its crude twig nest near human habitations.