How did European settlement practices influence the eastward expansion of the Western Kingbird's range into the Dakotas?

The clearing of woodlands and erection of utility poles and fences provided necessary perches

The species' range expansion eastward across Texas and into the prairies of the Dakotas during the early 1900s is a direct consequence of human activity transforming the landscape. Historically, the Western Kingbird's dispersal was constrained by a lack of suitable tall perches in the open country they prefer. European settlement practices involved extensive clearing of woodlands, which opened up the land for agriculture, but more importantly, it introduced an abundance of artificial structures like utility poles and fences. These structures provided the necessary elevated, open-air hunting posts—the preferred vantage points for their aerial insectivory foraging strategy—that were previously scarce. This anthropogenic change effectively removed a critical ecological limitation, allowing the species to exploit newly available habitat structures and successfully expand its range eastward into previously unsuitable territories.