Eastern Kingbirds are relatively large flycatchers with a white underside and a black back. Their tail is all black with a tiny white tip, which is very visible when flying. Their head is black with white just below the beak line/area. They have thick gray bills with hooked tips, gray feet, and their tail is fairly long. Juveniles have a rough broken breast-band of black and gray and orange “lips”. Juveniles also lack the white at the tip of the tail.

The Eastern Phoebe is very similar to the Eastern Kingbird, but note that Eastern Phoebes are smaller, browner, and lack the white tip of the tail that kingbirds have. They usually perch and flycatch near or a few feet over ponds and streams, occasionally perching on rocks in streams. Eastern Phoebes prefer more wooded areas and produce a call that sounds like their name: phea-bee!

Great-crested Flycatchers are similar in size to Eastern Kingbirds, but have an all brown back, a rufous tail, and a yellow and gray underbelly. They also produce different calls, but be wary, as Kingbirds can always surprise you with their extraordinarily wide repertoire. They prefer the same habitats, but Great-cresteds will venture into more wooded areas.