The funeral royal tyrant [1] ( lat. Tyrannus melancholicus ) is a songbird from the tyrannous family. The species is widespread in almost all of South and Central America and is the most numerous species of royal tyrants. The population is estimated at 200 million birds.
| Mourning Royal Tyrant |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Suborder : | Screaming passerines |
| Infrastructure : | Tyrannides |
| View: | Mourning Royal Tyrant |
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| International scientific name |
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Tyrannus melancholicus Vieillot , 1819 |
| Security status |
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22700485 |
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The body length of adult birds is 18-24 cm, and the average weight is 35 grams [2] .
The top of the head and neck are gray. A black bridle passes from the base of the beak to the eyes. The throat is white. The back and wings are gray-green. The belly is bright yellow. The tail is slightly forked and brown.
The breeding range extends from southern Arizona and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas through Central America to the central region of Argentina and western Peru. The species is also found in Trinidad and Tobago. Nesting birds in the far north and south of the range are migratory. The rest is sedentary.
The habitat of the species are semi-open landscapes with free-standing trees and shrubs. It is also found in settlements, in gardens and along roads.
Insectivorous birds, waiting for their prey, sitting high on perches. Insects are usually caught in the air. Tyrants aggressively defend their territory even from birds, much larger than themselves.
A cup-shaped nest is built on trees. In clutch 2-3 cream-colored eggs with reddish-brown specks. Only the female incubates. Young birds leave the nest 18-19 days after hatching.
