Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird has declined: down 48% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Eastern Kingbird
The Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a North American member of the Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the aerial insectivores.
- Size
- 4.5–9 in long (12–23 cm) — a small to medium flycatcher (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Open airspace over fields, water and towns; nests in cavities, earthen banks or on structures.
- Diet
- Flying insects caught on the wing.
- Range
- Recorded on 3,112 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 47 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Tyrannidae · Aerial insectivores
Notable Eastern Kingbird Trends
No notable trend signals for Eastern Kingbird. See the full index history below.
Eastern Kingbird Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Eastern Kingbird is projected to fall about 28% by 2029 — from 2.9 in 2024 to a central estimate of 2.1 (95% range 1.2–2.9). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±14.6%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| 2026 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| 2027 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| 2028 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| 2029 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.9 |
Where the Eastern Kingbird Is Detected
BBS routes recording Eastern Kingbird, sized by most recent count.
Eastern Kingbird Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -51% | 1968 | 108 |
| Arkansas | -63% | 1969 | 59 |
| California | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| Colorado | -75% | 1970 | 71 |
| Connecticut | -79% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | +45% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -60% | 1968 | 105 |
| Georgia | -39% | 1968 | 109 |
| Idaho | -62% | 1970 | 43 |
| Illinois | -8% | 1968 | 105 |
| Indiana | -2% | 1968 | 67 |
| Iowa | -30% | 1969 | 39 |
| Kansas | -61% | 1969 | 67 |
| Kentucky | -28% | 1968 | 62 |
| Louisiana | -56% | 1969 | 98 |
| Maine | -77% | 1968 | 68 |
| Maryland | -2% | 1968 | 76 |
| Massachusetts | -68% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | -46% | 1968 | 101 |
| Minnesota | -17% | 1969 | 92 |
| Mississippi | -73% | 1968 | 71 |
| Missouri | -28% | 1969 | 95 |
| Montana | +40% | 1970 | 105 |
| Nebraska | -7% | 1969 | 74 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| New Hampshire | -79% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | -50% | 1968 | 43 |
| New Mexico | +21% | 1991 | 8 |
| New York | -42% | 1968 | 128 |
| North Carolina | -30% | 1968 | 104 |
| North Dakota | +70% | 1969 | 51 |
| Ohio | +21% | 1968 | 88 |
| Oklahoma | -74% | 1969 | 65 |
| Oregon | +9% | 1971 | 37 |
| Pennsylvania | +15% | 1968 | 131 |
| Rhode Island | -33% | 1968 | 6 |
| South Carolina | -47% | 1968 | 51 |
| South Dakota | -42% | 1969 | 57 |
| Tennessee | -35% | 1968 | 52 |
| Texas | -71% | 1969 | 148 |
| Utah | +1% | 1992 | 21 |
| Vermont | -79% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -68% | 1968 | 73 |
| Washington | -45% | 1970 | 62 |
| West Virginia | -25% | 1968 | 60 |
| Wisconsin | -33% | 1968 | 98 |
| Wyoming | +23% | 1970 | 87 |
Eastern Kingbird Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Great Basin | -19% | 1970 | 108 |
| Northern Rockies | +15% | 1970 | 137 |
| Prairie Potholes | +3% | 1969 | 124 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -68% | 1968 | 121 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -38% | 1968 | 86 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -77% | 1968 | 145 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | -78% | 1970 | 28 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -13% | 1969 | 126 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -34% | 1969 | 100 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -32% | 1969 | 117 |
| Edwards Plateau | -79% | 1979 | 8 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -59% | 1969 | 66 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -14% | 1968 | 277 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | -11% | 1968 | 160 |
| Central Hardwoods | -26% | 1968 | 163 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -69% | 1969 | 108 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -56% | 1968 | 69 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -39% | 1968 | 340 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -32% | 1968 | 369 |
| Piedmont | -42% | 1968 | 169 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -55% | 1968 | 163 |
| Peninsular Florida | -92% | 1968 | 61 |
| Tamaulipan Brushlands | -28% | 1974 | 14 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -75% | 1969 | 43 |
Eastern Kingbird Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 48% since 1968. Aerial insectivores have fallen sharply across the continent, a decline widely linked to dwindling insect prey.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.