Eastern Kingbird

This Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) posed cooperatively; I was using the our car as a blind (it was hot and very humid, and it's often a good tactic even in better weather). It's a relatively large so-called tyrant flycatcher (not surprisingly with its scientific name), breeding in summer in much of the United States and wintering in South America. The white band across the end of the tail is its most distinctive feature.

We had left Northampton on our way to Maine at midday, and had time for a bit of birding toward the end of the afternoon. We were at Plum Island on the Atlantic coast in northeast Massachusetts; it's more formally known as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.