This Western Kingbird was engaged in aerial combat with a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). Well, it was actually more a harrassment then combat. Kingbirds and other flycatchers harrass all hawks and Ravens on general principal - never give 'em an inch!
This Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) woke me up every morning for a week this spring at 4:15 a.m. He sings it over and over and over and....... for about a half hour. There are minor variations, interspersed with very low volume, highly modulated vocalizations.
Here's what happens if two Western Kingbirds think you're getting a little too close to their baby, which is sitting in the tree right above your head (you discover after you are repeatedly dive-bombed while recording). Note how similar their "alarm" call is to so many other bird species'.
