{"id":36910,"date":"2016-03-09T06:14:19","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T13:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=36910"},"modified":"2021-06-15T09:14:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:14:57","slug":"western-and-eastern-kingbird-juveniles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/09\/western-and-eastern-kingbird-juveniles\/","title":{"rendered":"Western and Eastern Kingbird Juveniles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CrouchingCrouching juvenile Western Kingbird – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It won’t be long before I start seeing Eastern and Western Kingbirds showing up here in northern Utah for their breeding season. Both species perch near open areas and catch insects in flight or dive towards the insects on the ground. Both species are very aggressive in their territories and will even attack much larger raptors that might come close to their nests.<\/p>\n

I feel fortunate that I am able to see and photograph both the Western and Eastern Kingbird juveniles here in northern Utah. I have photographed Western Kingbirds building their nests and incubating their eggs but haven’t had that same opportunity with Eastern Kingbirds.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Eastern Kingbird perched on a fence post – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I have had many opportunities to photograph juvenile Eastern and Western Kingbirds in Utah, Idaho and Montana. They look very much like the adults after they have fledged but their colors seem softer and both species have pinkish gapes as juveniles that the adults do not have.<\/p>\n

I’ve found that both species can be challenging to photograph because they move very quickly and and don’t have a predictable take off pattern.<\/p>\n

Both the Western and Eastern Kingbirds are rather noisy and some times that is why I hear them before I see them and can pinpoint their location easily.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Western Kingbird photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Eastern Kingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

The Western Kingbird juvenile was photographed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in August of 2013 and the Eastern Kingbird juvenile was photographed at Farmington Bay WMA in August of 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I feel fortunate that I am able to see and photograph both the Western and Eastern Kingbird juveniles here in northern Utah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,1022,1519,697,26,534],"tags":[1521,3808,4884,4067,4071,56,3791,3772,4104,1635,4183,298,4411,4193,10119],"class_list":["post-36910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-davis-county-utah","category-eastern-kingbirds","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","category-western-kingbirds","tag-eastern-kingbird","tag-flycatcher","tag-flycatchers","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-juveniles-2","tag-kingbird","tag-kingbirds","tag-perched","tag-tyrannus-tyrannus","tag-tyrannus-verticalis","tag-tyrant-flycatchers-2","tag-western-kingbird","tag-young","tag-young-flycatcher"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2786.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-9Bk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47498,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/30\/juvenile-eastern-and-western-kingbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":36910,"position":0},"title":"Juvenile Eastern and Western Kingbirds – Their Ranges Overlap Here in Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Western Kingbird perched on an old fence post, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/western-kingbird-juvenile-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0593.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/western-kingbird-juvenile-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0593.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/western-kingbird-juvenile-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0593.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/western-kingbird-juvenile-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0593.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9293,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/08\/31\/an-eastern-kingbird-in-southwestern-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":36910,"position":1},"title":"An Eastern Kingbird in Southwestern Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastern Kingbirds; like their western counterpart, are fearless and will attack birds as large as Bald Eagles to defend their nests.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Kingbird in the Centennial Valley of Montana, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5209,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/21\/perched-eastern-kingbird\/","url_meta":{"origin":36910,"position":2},"title":"Perched Eastern Kingbird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I always look forward to seeing and photographing Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) during the warmer months of the year. I was fortunate to see a few yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Kingbird perched on an old fence post, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-perched-mia-mcpherson-8943.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-perched-mia-mcpherson-8943.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-perched-mia-mcpherson-8943.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-perched-mia-mcpherson-8943.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128683,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/23\/spring-eastern-kingbird-photos-from-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":36910,"position":3},"title":"Spring Eastern Kingbird Photos From Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Since my arrival in Oklahoma, I've had fun taking Eastern Kingbird photos at the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. 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