The bright yellow belly of an actively 'sallying' Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) is on full display in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado.

This species of Kingbird is a member of the 'tyrant flycatcher' species group, so named because many of these species are aggressive and more than willing to punch above their weight as they drive away much larger birds that venture too close to their territory. The tyrant group is also the largest taxonomic family of birds in the world, including over 400 species. Here in Colorado the Western Kingbird overlaps with the Eastern Kingbird (T. tyrannus), which we also saw on this particular day. Upon first glance, one might be hard-pressed to make the connection that these two species are closely related as the Eastern Kingbird is largely black and white.

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D750
Exposure:	1/3200 sec
Aperture:	f/5.6
ISO Speed:	1250
Focal Length:	400 mm
Lens:	80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6