The great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus ), called bem-te-vi in Brazil and benteveo in Argentina, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus Pitangus.
It breeds in open woodland with some tall trees, including cultivation and around human habitation. It is mainly found in Belize, and from the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas and northern Mexico. Occurs throughout Brazil and Venezuela (especially the central and south-southeastern regions) south to Argentina and Uruguay, Paraguay and central Argentina, the Guyana coastline, and on Trinidad. It was introduced to Bermuda in 1957, and to Tobago in about 1970.
The adult great kiskadee is one of the largest of the tyrant flycatchers. It is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11.0 in) in length and weighs 53 to 71.5 g (1.87 to 2.52 oz). The head is black with a strong white supercilium and a concealed yellow crown stripe. The upperparts are brown, and the wings and tail are brown with usually strong rufous fringes. The bill is short, thick, and black in color. The similar boat-billed flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua ) has a more massive black bill, an olive-brown back and very little rufous in the tail and wings. A few other tyrant flycatchers — the social flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis ), for example — share a similar color pattern, but these species are markedly smaller.
The call is an exuberant BEE-tee-WEE, and the bird has an onomatopoeic name in different languages and countries: In Brazil its popular name is bem-te-vi ("I saw you well") and in Spanish-speaking countries it is often bien-te-veo ("I see you well") and sometimes shortened to benteveo. In Venezuela it is called "cristofué" or "Christ did it".
The great kiskadee occupies a wide range of habitats, from open grassland with scattered trees to urban areas. Its range extends from the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas south through Central America to southern Argentina. It does not occur in Chile. The great kiskadee was introduced to Bermuda in 1957. Two hundred birds were imported from Trinidad in an attempt to control the number of lizards, especially the tree lizard (Anolis grahami ) which had itself been introduced. The birds bred successfully and by 1976 the population on the island had expanded to around 60,000. The great kiskadee is omnivorous and has failed to control the number of lizards.
The great kiskadee is a common, noisy and conspicuous bird. It is almost omnivorous and hunts like a shrike or flycatcher, waiting on an open perch high in a tree to sally out and catch insects in flight or to pounce upon rodents and similar small vertebrates (such as other birds' chicks). It will also take prey (such as small lizards and frogs) and some fruit from vegetation by gleaning and jumping for it or ripping it off in mid-hover, and occasionally dives for fish or tadpoles in shallow water, making it one of the few fishing passerines. Kiskadees like to hunt on their own or in pairs, and though they might be expected to make good use of prey flushed by but too large for the smaller birds of the understory, they do not seem to join mixed-species feeding flocks very often. When they do, they hunt in the familiar manner. Such opportunistic feeding behavior makes it one of the commonest birds in urban areas around Latin America; its flashy belly and its shrill call make it one of the most conspicuous.
This alert and aggressive bird has a strong and maneuverable flight, which it uses to good effect when it feels annoyed by raptors. Even much larger birds are attacked by the great kiskadee, usually by diving down or zooming straight at them while they are in mid-air. Harsh calls are also often given during these attacks, alerting all potential prey in the area of the predator's presence. If not very hungry, any raptor subject to a great kiskadee's mobbing behavior is likely to leave, as it is well-nigh impossible to make a good catch when subject to the tyrant flycatcher's unwelcome attention. In general, avian predators are liable to steer clear of an alert great kiskadee, lest their hunting success be spoiled, and will hunt the great kiskadee itself – though it is as meaty as a fat thrush – only opportunistically.
To mammalian and squamate predators that can sneak up to nesting or sleeping birds, it is more vulnerable however. Even omnivorous mammals as small as the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus ) will try to plunder great kiskadee nests – at least during the dry season when fruits are scarce – despite the birds' attempts to defend their offspring. One of two birds studied in the Parque Nacional de La Macarena of Colombia was parasitized by microfilariae.
Great kiskadees are monogamous and defend a territory. Both sexes build the large domed nest that has a side entrance. It is chiefly composed of grasses and small twigs but can also incorporate lichen, string and plastic. The birds will steal material from other nests. The nest is placed in a wide range of sites, often in an exposed position high up in a tree or on man-made structures. Occasionally the nest is placed in a cavity. The clutch is 3 to 4 eggs. These are moderately glossy, light yellowish cream in colour with purplish black and purplish brown spots. The average size is 27.9 mm × 20.0 mm (1.10 in × 0.79 in). Only the female incubates the eggs; the male guards the nest while she leaves the nest to feed. The eggs hatch after 16–17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge after 17–18 days.
Not being appreciated as a songbird, the great kiskadee is not usually kept caged and therefore has escaped the depredations of poaching for the pet trade. Also, its feeding mostly on live prey makes it extremely difficult to keep in captivity. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
