kingbird

noun

king·​bird ˈkiŋ-ˌbərd How to pronounce kingbird (audio)
: any of various American tyrant flycatchers (genus Tyrannus) that are gray above and white, gray, or yellow below

Examples of kingbird in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In their endemic ranges, these wasps are eaten by skunks, squirrels, or bears, or snagged in flight by kingbirds and tanagers. Hannah Hoag, USA TODAY, 28 May 2024 Expect to see resident birds such as the black phoebe, Cassin’s kingbird, California and spotted towhee, song sparrow and red-tailed, red-shoulder and Cooper’s hawks. Kim Janssen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023 Worcester County: An Eastern kingbird in New Braintree, three black vultures in Athol, a late snow bunting at the Bolton Flats Wildlife Management Area in Bolton, a snowy egret in Rutland, and a chimney swift in Westboro. Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Apr. 2023 Plymouth County: There was a Western kingbird near Howland Pond in Plymouth, a wandering cackling goose elsewhere in Plymouth, a prairie warbler at Pawtucket Park, and a greater white-fronted goose off Vaughan Hill Road in Rochester. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Nov. 2021 Martha’s Vineyard: a Black skimmer at Sarson’s Island, 2 Common ravens at Menemsha, and a White-eyed vireo. Nantucket: a rare western Cassin’s kingbird – one of fewer than five previous state records – in addition to a migrant Hudsonian godwit at Sesachacha Pond. Jesús Marrero Suárez, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Oct. 2022 In addition to large gull concentrations off the east side, sightings included a brown booby, the continued presence of an American white pelican, a late piping plover, a snowy egret, a Western kingbird, and two common ravens. BostonGlobe.com, 6 Nov. 2021 Nantucket: five willets at Smith Point, a Baird’s sandpiper at Low Beach, an eastern kingbird at Jackson Point, and a veery at Siasconset. Maria Elena Little Endara, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2022 At Plum Island, a Western kingbird was present most of last week, along with a snowy egret and a pectoral sandpiper, and another cattle egret has been lingering in the vicinity of Rogers Street in West Newbury. BostonGlobe.com, 13 Nov. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1778, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kingbird was in 1778

Dictionary Entries Near kingbird

Cite this Entry

“Kingbird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kingbird. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

kingbird

noun
king·​bird -ˌbərd How to pronounce kingbird (audio)
: any of several American tyrant flycatchers

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