Thick-billed Kingbird

Table

Thick-billed Kingbird – Accepted
1. 19 Oct 1965		Tijuana R. valley SD	1986-038	10
2. 26–27 Dec 1966		Bonita SD	1986-037	10	ph., Unitt (2004)
3. 18–23 Oct 1967		Pt. Loma SD	1986-122	11
4. 27 Oct–19 Dec 1974		McLaren Park SF	1974-083	3	ph., Roberson (1980)
5. 05 Aug–16 Sep 1978	AHY	vic. Palo Verde Dam RIV	1980-059	6	ph., end date per Rosenberg et al. (1991)
6. late Nov–23 Dec 1979		Lost Lake RIV	1988-103	14	ph., Rosenberg et al. (1991:243)
7. 19 Dec 1982–09 Apr 1983		Peters Canyon ORA	1982-110	8	ph., AB 37:339
and 26 Nov 1983–03 Jan 1984			1986-097	11
and 08 Nov 1984–06 Apr 1985	*		2004-543	30
and 26 Oct 1985–09 Mar 1986			1986-016	11	see records not submitted
and 04 Nov 1987–05 Mar 1988			1988-089	13
and 29 Nov 1988–05 Mar 1989			1989-074	13
and 24 Nov 1989–06 Apr 1990			1989-204	15
and 16 Dec 1990–16 Mar 1991			1991-021	16	ph.
and 08 Dec 1991–25 Jan 1992			1992-068	17
8. 03 Nov 1984–10 May 1985		Claremont LA	1984-266	10	ph., Dunn (1988)
9. 29 Oct 1991–25 Apr 1992	HY	Seal Beach ORA	1991-204	17	Fig. 353, ph.
and 09 Oct 1992–20 Mar 1993			1993-007	18	Small (1994:plate 55)
10. 24 Dec 1991–01 Apr 1992	HY %	Lone Pine INY	1992-092	17	ph., AB 46:316
11. 07–08 Mar 1993		Pomona LA	1994-057	19	audio
and 19 Oct 1993–04 Mar 1994			1994-057	19
and 30 Nov 1995–18 Apr 1996			1995-126	21	ph.
and 09 Sep 1996–21 Mar 1997			1996-157	22
and 18 Sep 1997–8 Mar 1998			1997-203	23
and 14 Oct 1998–01 Mar 1999			1998-175	24
and 02 Nov 1999–02 Mar 2000			1999-196	25
and 29 Oct–23 Dec 2000			2000-152	26
and 27 Nov 2001–28 Feb 2002			2002-024	27
12. 02 Nov 1993		vic. Chula Vista SD	1994-040	19
13. 14 Jan 1997		Pomona LA	1996-157A	23
14. 19 Dec 1998–07 Mar 1999	HY	Half Moon Bay SM	1998-233	24	ph.
and 18 Dec 1999–27 Mar 2000			2000-065	25
and 10 Dec 2000–27 Mar 2001			2001-063	26
15. 23 Feb–03 Mar 1999		Santa Paula VEN	1999-086	25	video, audio
and 18 Dec 1999–22 Apr 2000	*		2004-603	28,30
and winter 2000-2001	*		2004-604	28,30
and 19 Nov–04 Dec 2002			2002-220	28	ph.; see also Appendix H
Thick-billed Kingbird – Not accepted, identification not established
14 Sep 1975		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-201	14
22 Apr 1995		Puente Hills LA	1995-043	23
Thick-billed Kingbird – Not submitted
03 Dec 1966		Pt. Loma SD		14	AFN 21:78, Garrett & Dunn (1981), Unitt (1984)
09 Nov 1986–01 Mar 1987		Peters Canyon ORA			AB 41:145, 1280; see table entry 7

Figure

Figure 353. Two-thirds of California’s Thick-billed Kingbird records involve overwintering birds, some of which have returned to the same locales several years in a row. The first-year individual shown at left—photographed during its first winter at Seal Beach, Orange County, 29 October 1991–14 March 1992—returned for only one more winter (1991-204; James R. Gallagher).

Thick-billed Kingbird

THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD Tyrannus crassirostris Swainson, 1826

Accepted: 15 (88%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 2	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 2	Color image: none

This chunky flycatcher breeds from southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south along the Pacific slope of Mexico to western Oaxaca. Its breeding was recently documented in southern Baja California Sur (NAB 60:442). During fall and winter the northernmost birds withdraw south and the range expands to include parts of Chiapas. Extralimital records, most from fall and winter, extend as far as southwestern British Columbia, central Colorado, southern Nevada (Elphick 2001), northwestern Baja California, western and northern Texas, including a few breeding records in western Texas (Lockwood and Freeman 2004), the Upper Texas Coast (Lockwood 2005, 2006), and southern Guatemala.

California’s first Thick-billed Kingbird, found on 19 October 1965 in San Diego County’s Tijuana River valley, was quickly followed by two more in the same county (McCaskie et al. 1967a). The species has since established itself as a casual fall and winter vagrant in the state, found most often on the southern coastal slope. Five records involve known or likely fall transients (5 August–19 December); the other ten involve known or likely wintering birds (9 September–10 May). The most northerly records refer to birds in San Francisco, San Francisco County, 27 October–19 December 1974; Lone Pine, Inyo County, 24 December 1991–1 April 1992; and Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, three winters between 1998/1999 and 2000/2001. Along the Colorado River, one was recorded near Palo Verde Dam, Riverside County, 5 August–16 September 1978, and another was at nearby Lost Lake, Riverside County, late November–23 December 1979. Some of the wintering birds have shown extraordinary philopatry, including one that returned for ten straight years to Peters Canyon, Orange County, and another that spent nine winters in Pomona, Los Angeles County. See also Appendix H.