Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus

Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus derbianus. Photograph taken in the greater Zihuatanejo area, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuatanejo.

Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus derbianus. Photograph taken in Copala, Sinola, November 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus derbianus. Photograph taken in the coastal area of Yavaros, Sonora, October 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus guatimalensis. Photograph taken in the coastal region of Costa Rica, February 2016. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus guatimalensis. Birds photograph taken in Parque National Huatulco, Huatulco, Oaxaca, March 2021. Photographs and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

Background and Identification

The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus derbianus and Pitangus sulphuratus guatimalensis, are two of ten subspecies of Great Kiskadee, three of which are found in Mexico. They are a member of the Tyrannidae Family of Tyrant Flycatchers, which has four hundred twenty-five members placed in one hundred and one genera, and one of two global species of the Pitangus Genus. They are also known as the Derby Flycatcher and the Kiskadee Flycatcher and in Mexico as bienteveo común.

The Great Kiskadee is large in stature. The sexes have similar plumages year round. They have a large head that has a broad black and white stripe with a black crown and mask contrasting with white supercilium. Their chin and throat is white and the remaining underparts are bright yellow. Their underparts are brownish-olive and their wings and tail feathers have a rufous margin. Their bill is large and black, their iris is hazel to dark brown, and their legs and feet are black.

Habitat and Geographical Range

The Great Kiskadee is found in thorn-forests, tropical deciduous forests, tall chaparral, marshy lake margins, banana, coffee, and citrus plantations, forest edges, and rural, suburban, and urban areas with trees at elevations up to 1,800 m (5,900 feet). They are common in city parks, city plazas, and rural countryside’s. They consume a wide variety of flying insects, small fish, tadpoles and seasonal fruits as available. They are very aggressive in defending their nests from predation by monkeys, raptors, snakes and toucans and from predation by cowbirds.

In Mexico the Great Kiskadee is found within the coastal regions of both the Atlantic Slope and the Pacific Slope with the exception that they are absent from the States of Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora. The derbianus subspecies is found in the Pacific coastal plan and the interior of western and central Mexico from southern Sonora and Zacatecas south to Oaxaca. The guatimalensis subspecies is found in southeast Mexico in southern Veracruz, eastern Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco and the Yucatán Peninsula.

Common Misidentifications

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective the Great Kiskadee is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are known to visit backyard feeding stations to consume bananas, cooked rice and dog food.