The Story
I made this photo of a Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) at Zacambu Lodge on the Yavarí, in Loreto, Peru. The Tropical Kingbird breeds in semi-open areas with trees and shrubs, including gardens and roadsides. In most of its range pairs are permanent residents and stay together all year. Its prey includes beetles, bees, wasps, termites, butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers. It breeds from southern Arizona and Texas through Central and South America to central Argentina. The Yavarí is a clear-water tributary of the Amazon, about 1,050 km long, that forms the border between Brazil and Peru along its whole course. IUCN lists the Tropical Kingbird as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. Trips from Leticia to Zacambu include walks in the flooded forest and a visit to a village where monkeys are being released.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List