SP. CHAR. Wing with the outer primary only abruptly attenuated, and

narrowly linear (for about .85 of an inch); the second but slightly

emarginate; second quill longest; first and third equal. Tail very

deeply forked, the lateral feathers twice as long as the body, all

narrow and linear or subspatulate. Top and sides of the head very pale

ash; the back a little darker, and faintly tinged with light

brick-red; under parts nearly pure white, tinged towards the tail with

light vermilion, rather more rose on the under wing-coverts; a patch

on the side of the breast and along the fore-arm dark vermilion-red.

Tail-feathers rosy white, tipped at the end for two or three inches

with black. Rump dark brown, turning to black on the coverts. Wings

very dark brown; the coverts and quills, excepting the primaries (and

including the outer of these), edged with whitish. Crown with a

concealed patch of white, having some orange-red in the centre.

Length, 13.00; wing, 4.75; tail, 8.50; depth of fork, 5.80.

HAB. Middle America, from Panama northward; prairies and oak barrens

of Texas, Indian Territory, and occasionally Southwest Missouri and

Kansas. Accidental in Eastern States (New Jersey, TURNBULL; District

of Columbia? COUES); Xalapa (SCL. 1857, 204); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I,

121; Mus. S. I.); Honduras (SCL. II, 114); Costa Rica (CABAN. J.,

1861, 252); Vera Cruz, hot and temperate regions (SUM. M. B. S. I,

556).

This exquisitely beautiful and graceful bird is quite abundant on the

prairies of Southern Texas, and is everywhere conspicuous among its

kindred species. It is usually known as the Scissor-tail from the

habit of closing and opening the long feathers of the tail like the

blades of a pair of scissors. The adult female is very similar, though

rather smaller. The young is not conspicuously different, only lacking

the concealed patch of the head.

HABITS. The Swallow-tailed Flycatcher appears to be a common species

from Central Texas to the Rio Grande, and thence throughout Mexico to

Central America, as far south at least as Guatemala. It is also found

in the Indian Territory, where it breeds, specimens of the nest and

eggs having been obtained at the Kioway Agency by Dr. E. Palmer.

It was found very plentiful at Langui, in Honduras, by Mr. G. C.

Taylor, and also in fewer numbers in other localities. In the evening,

just before roosting time, they were in the habit of assembling on the

tops of certain favorite trees, where they remained until nearly dark.

They then all went off to the woods. He generally met with them on

open ground, not much encumbered by trees or brushwood.

Mr. Dresser states that he found this very graceful bird quite

abundant at Matamoras and in Western Texas, where it is known by the

name of “Texan Bird of Paradise.” He found it as far east as the river

Guadaloupe. It arrives, he states, in the neighborhood of San Antonio,

late in March, and remains until the middle or latter end of October.

It breeds abundantly near San Antonio, building its nest in a mesquite

or other tree, and lays from three to four eggs, which, as he states,

are pure white, blotched with large spots of a dark red color.

He adds that these birds are of a quarrelsome and fearless

disposition, rarely brooking intruders near their homes. During the

breeding-season Mr. Dresser has often, when travelling, stopped to

admire four or five of them fighting on the wing. They show their long

tail-feathers and the rich scarlet color under their wings to the

fullest advantage. After passing Guadaloupe River, he saw none of

these birds to the eastward, though he was told they have occasionally

been seen on Galveston Island.

This Flycatcher was met with at Eagle Pass, in Lower Texas, and in

Tamaulipas by Mr. Clark and Lieutenant Couch, in the Mexican Boundary

Survey. None were found occurring west of the valley of the Rio Pecos.

Mr. Clark states that he always saw them either following one another

through the air, or perched upon some solitary twig. In their

gyrations the scissors were always more or less expanded, suggesting

the idea of balancers. Their nests were built of sticks, lined on the

inside, though not very softly, with grass, and were placed almost

invariably on dry limbs of the mesquite. They contained from three to

five eggs, and, what was quite remarkable, more than one pair always

seemed to have an interest in the same nest, over which they were all

very watchful, and gave proofs of their courage by darting at the

intruders. He describes their notes as short and sharp, without much

variation, and they can be heard at quite a distance. The Mexicans

imagine that this Flycatcher lives on the brains of other birds.

Lieutenant Couch describes the Scissor-tail as shy, but of a very

lively disposition. Usually four or more are seen in company, and seem

to prefer the thinly wooded prairies to close thickets. In beauty,

Lieutenant Couch considers it the queen of all the birds found in

Northern Tamaulipas. This superiority is not owing so much to the

brilliancy of its plumage, for in that it is excelled by several

species, but to the inimitable grace and charm of its flight. Rising

from the topmost branch of some acacia, it seems to float, rather than

to fly; then descending perpendicularly, it retakes its position,

uttering its usual note. He did not see it west of the Cadereita. Dr.

Kennerly, in his march from the Gulf of Mexico into Western Texas,

frequently met with these Flycatchers along his route. He usually saw

them in the open prairie, or among the mesquite-bushes. When perched,

they were generally on the top of a bush or a tall weed, and their

tails were constantly in motion. When they darted off after some

passing insect, they usually circled around, displaying the singular

bifurcation of their tail, but seldom alighting again on the same

bush. It was occasionally seen on the open prairie, flying for a long

distance near the earth, as if in search of insects.

In Vera Cruz this species is an inhabitant of the hot lands. A few

individuals ascend, though very rarely, to the height of the city of

Orizaba, or about 3,700 feet.

Mr. Nuttall states that he met with this Flycatcher rather common

along the banks of the Red River, near the confluence of the Kiamesha.

He again met them, even more frequently, near the Great Salt River of

Arkansas, in August. They seemed to be preying upon grasshoppers.

Dr. Woodhouse not only found this species abundant in Texas, in the

vicinity of San Antonio, but in the Indian Territory also it was quite

common, particularly near the Cross Timbers. He found them breeding in

the beginning of the month of July, on the Great Prairie. Its nest was

built on the horizontal branch of a small scrub-oak, about six feet

from the ground, and was composed of coarse dry grass and sticks. It

contained four young birds nearly able to fly. On his approach the

female flew from the nest to a bush near by. The male bird flew to a

great height above him, circling round in the air, apparently watching

his movements, and at the same time uttering a coarse scolding chirp.

Dr. Gideon Lincecum, of Texas, writes that the Scissor-tail

Flycatchers have greatly increased in numbers in that State since

1848. They are severe hunters of insects, and make great havoc among

honey-bees. They are exclusively prairie birds. He adds that they

construct their nests far out on the top branches of the live-oak or

any other lone tree on the prairies. They seem to be a very playful

bird, and delight in shooting rapidly upwards, cutting the air with

their strong wings with such force that the sound may be heard to the

distance of three hundred yards or more. Their notes are harsh and

inharmonious. They leave Texas late in autumn, and return again about

the first of April. The resounding strokes of their wings and their

oft-repeated cries are heard just before the dawn of day. They usually

have but three eggs.

A single individual of _Milvulus_, and supposed to be one of this

species, was seen by Mr. C. Drexler, May 6, 1861, but was not

obtained, in the vicinity of Washington. Another bird of this species

is mentioned by Mr. Abbott as having been taken near Trenton, N. J.,

April 15, 1872. It was a male bird in full health and feather. Its

stomach was found to be full of small coleoptera, insects’ eggs,

flies, etc.

The eggs of this species vary greatly in size, from .92 by .75 to .80

by .60 of an inch. They are in shape a rounded oval, and tapering at

one end. The ground-color is white, marked with a few very large dark

red spots, and occasionally of an obscure purple.

GENUS TYRANNUS, CUVIER.

_Tyrannus_, CUVIER, Leçons Anat. Comp. 1799, 1800 (AGASSIZ).

[Line drawing: _Tyrannus carolinensis._

1513]

GEN. CHAR. Tail nearly even, or moderately forked; rather shorter than

the wings; the feathers broad, and widening somewhat at the ends.

Wings long and pointed; the outer primaries rather abruptly attenuated

near the end, the attenuated portion not linear, however. Head with a

concealed patch of red on the crown.

The species of this genus are especially characterized by their long,

attenuated primaries, their moderately forked or nearly even tail, and

the concealed colored crest in the crown. Their affinities are nearest

to _Milvulus_, from which the tail, shorter than the wings, instead of

twice as long, or more, will always serve as a point of distinction.

The attenuation of the primary differs in being less abrupt, and not

truly linear, sloping gradually, and not bounded behind by a notch. We

are unable to appreciate any other differences of importance.

The character and extent of the attenuation of the primaries, the

depth of the fork of the tail, with the size of the legs and bill, all

vary considerably, and may, perhaps, serve as ground for further

subdivisions. The bill, in particular, varies much in size in the

North American species, from that of _T. carolinensis_, where the

culmen is but little more than half the head, to that of _T.

dominicensis_ (genus _Melittarchus_ of Cabanis), where it is decidedly

longer than the head, and almost as stout as that of _Saurophagus_.

The North American species of _Tyrannus_ (with their nearest Mexican

allies) may be arranged by colors, accordingly as they are white

beneath or yellow, in the following manner:—

A. Under parts whitish, without any shade of yellow. A

faint grayish-plumbeous pectoral band.

1. T. carolinensis. Tail slightly rounded. Bill much

shorter than the head. Above black, shading into dark

plumbeous on the back. Tail abruptly and broadly

margined and tipped with pure white. (_Tyrannus._)

_Hab._ Whole of North America, north to the British

Provinces, and south to Panama. Rare in the Western

Province of North America.

2. T. dominicensis. Tail moderately forked. Bill

longer than the head. Above gray; the tail and wings

brownish. The edges and tips of the tail narrowly

margined with soiled white. (_Melittarchus._) _Hab._

West Indies, New Granada, Panama, Florida, Georgia,

and South Carolina.

B. Above ashy-olive, becoming purer ash on the head. Tail

brown or black. Beneath yellow; the chin paler; the breast

strongly shaded with olivaceous or ashy. (_Laphyctes._)

_a._ Tail nearly black; the outer edges of the outer

webs of the feathers with the fibres united closely

throughout, and colored similarly to the rest of the

feathers; beneath sulphur-yellow.

3. T. verticalis. Tail slightly forked; external

feather with the entire outer web and the outer half

of the shaft abruptly yellowish-white. Pectoral band

pale ashy, lighter than the back. _Hab._ Western

Province of United States.

4. T. vociferans. Tail nearly even or slightly

rounded; external feather with the shaft brown; the

outer edge only of the outer web obscurely

yellowish-white, and all the feathers fading into

paler at the tip. Throat and breast broadly tinged

with dark ashy-olive like the back. _Hab._ Plains and

southern Middle Province of United States, south into

Middle America.

_b._ Tail brown, scarcely darker than the wings; outer

edges of the outer webs of the tail-feathers olivaceous

like the back, in contrast with the brown; the fibres

loosened externally; shafts of tail-feathers white

beneath. Beneath bright gamboge-yellow.

5. T. melancholicus.[65] Tail quite deeply forked (.70

of an inch), brownish-black, the lighter edgings

obsolete, and those on wings indistinct. Throat ashy.

_Hab._ South America var. _melancholicus_.

Tail moderately forked (.30 of an inch),

grayish-brown, the light edges conspicuous, as are

also those of the wings. Throat white. _Hab._ Middle

America, north to southern boundary of United States

var. _couchi_.

In the Birds of North America a supposed new species, _T. couchi_, was

mentioned as coming so close to the boundary line of the United States

in Texas as to warrant its introduction into our fauna. We have,

however, concluded to give in the present work nothing but what has

actually been found within its prescribed limits.

[65] _Tyrannus melancholicus_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict. xxxv,

1819, 84.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 176.—SCLATER, Catal.

Am. Birds, 1862, 235. _Hab._ South America. A more northern

race scarcely distinguishable (Panama, Costa Rica, etc.),

separated as _T. satrapa_, LICHT.

Tyrannus carolinensis, BAIRD.

KINGBIRD; BEE MARTIN.

_? Lanius tyrannus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 136. This belongs to

the Cuban _T. matutinus_, according to Bonaparte. _Muscicapa

tyrannus_, (BRISSON?) WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 66, pl.

xiii.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 403; V, 1839, 420, pl.

lxxix.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 204, pl. lvi. _Lanius tyrannus_,

var. γ, _carolinensis_, δ, _ludovicianus_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat.

I, 1788, 302. _Muscicapa rex_, BARTON, Fragments N. H. Penna.

1799, 18. _Tyrannus pipiri_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807,

73, pl. xliv.—CAB. Journ. Orn. III, 1855, 478.—SCL. List,

1862, 236. _Tyrannus intrepidus_, VIEILLOT, Galerie Ois. I,

1824, 214, pl. cxxxiii.—SWAINSON, Mon. Ty. Shrikes, Quart.

Jour. 1826, 274. _Muscicapa animosa_, LICHT. Verz. Doubl. 1823,

No. 558. _Gobe Mouche de la Caroline_, BUFFON, Ois. V, 281,

enl. pl. 676. _Tyrannus leucogaster_, STEPHENS, Shaw, Gen.

Zoöl. XIII, II, 1826, 132. _Tyrannus carolinensis_, BAIRD,

Birds N. Am. 1858, 171.—CABAN. Mus. Hein. II, 79.—LORD, Pr.

R. A. Inst. IV, 64, 113.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, 167.—SAMUELS,

128.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 311.

[Illustration: _Tyrannus carolinensis._]

SP. CHAR. Two, sometimes three, outer primaries abruptly attenuated at

the end. Second quill longest; third little shorter; first rather

longer than fourth, or nearly equal. Tail slightly rounded. Above dark

bluish-ash. The top and sides of the head to beneath the eyes

bluish-black. A concealed crest on the crown vermilion in the centre,

white behind, and before partially mixed with orange. Lower parts pure

white, tinged with pale bluish-ash on the sides of the throat and

across the breast; sides of the breast and under the wings similar to,

but rather lighter than, the back. Axillaries pale grayish-brown

tipped with lighter. The wings dark brown, darkest towards the ends of

the quills; the greater coverts and quills edged with white, most so

on the tertials; the lesser coverts edged with paler. Upper

tail-coverts and upper surface of the tail glossy black, the latter

very dark brown beneath; all the feathers tipped, and the exterior

margined externally with white, forming a conspicuous terminal band

about .25 of an inch broad. Length, 8.50; wing, 4.65; tail, 3.70;

tarsus, .75.

HAB. Eastern North America to Rocky Mountains. Occasional in various

parts of the Western Province (Washington Territory, Salt Lake Valley,

Truckee River, Nevada, etc.). South to Panama. Oaxaca, lowlands, March

(SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 302); Honduras (MOORE, P. Z. S. 1859, 55);

Guatemala (SCL. Ibis I, 120); Cuba (CAB. J. III, 476; GUNDL. Rep.

1865, 239, “_T. pipiri_”); Panama, (Mus. S. I.; LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc.

VII, 295); Greytown, Nic. (LAWR. Ann. VIII, 183); East of San Antonio,

Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 472; breeds); Upper Amazon, Peru, Nauta

(SCL. and SALV. P. Z. S. 1866, 189); Vera Cruz, hot region, resident

(SUMICHRAST, M. B. S. I, 557).

The young of the year is similar; the colors duller, the concealed

colored patch on the crown wanting. The tail more rounded; the

primaries not attenuated.

Specimens vary in the amount of white margining the wing-feathers; the

upper tail-coverts are also margined sometimes with white.

HABITS. The common Kingbird or Bee Martin of North America is found

throughout the continent, from Texas and Florida, on the south, as far

to the north as the 57th parallel of north latitude. Westward, north

of the 44th parallel, it is found from the Atlantic to the Pacific,

but south of this it has not been found west of the Rocky Mountains.

It is included by Dr. Cooper among the birds of California, but I am

not aware that it has ever been taken within the limits of that State.

Mr. Allen regards the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains its extreme

western limit; but Mr. Ridgway states that this species was met with

by him in various portions of the Great Basin, though always in less

abundance than the _T. verticalis_. Among the cottonwoods of the

Truckee Valley, in Western Nevada, two or three pairs were seen in

July and August. In the fertile Salt Lake Valley it was nearly or

quite as common as the _T. verticalis_, and was also met with in the

fertile “parks” of the Wahsatch Mountains.

This species not only has this widely extended area, but is also quite

abundant wherever found. It is apparently as abundant throughout Nova

Scotia as it is in the State of Florida. Richardson even found it

common on the banks of the Saskatchewan, where he traced its northern

migrations beyond the 57th parallel of latitude. It was found at the

Carlton House early in May, and retired southward in September. It

winters in Central and South America, and has been received by Mr.

Lawrence from Panama.

Dr. Suckley found this species quite plentiful at the eastern base of

the Rocky Mountains, in Washington Territory, and more sparingly at

Puget Sound, where he obtained several specimens. They appeared to

shun the dense forests near Puget Sound, but were moderately plentiful

in the groves of low oaks, and among the cottonwood-trees fringing the

lakes on Nisqually Plains, where, August 5, he obtained a nest with

newly fledged young.

Mr. Joseph Leyland found this species near Omoa, in Honduras,

migratory. They came in flocks of two or three hundred, but remained

only a short time before departing farther south. They flew high, and

seemed very wild. This species was also met with, in May, at Playa

Vicente, in the low lands of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Mr.

Boucard, and during the winter months is found throughout Mexico.

No one of our common birds possesses more strongly marked

characteristics of manners and habits than this species. Its

pugnacious disposition during the breeding-season, the audacious

boldness with which it will attack any birds larger than itself, the

persistent tenacity with which it will continue these attacks, and the

reckless courage with which it will maintain its unequal warfare, are

well-known peculiarities of this interesting and familiar species. Its

name, Kingbird, is given it on the supposition that it is superior to

all other birds in these contests. My own observations lead me to the

conclusion that writers have somewhat exaggerated the quarrelsome

disposition of this bird. I have never, or very rarely, known it to

molest or attack any other birds than those which its own instinct

prompts it to drive away in self-defence, such as Hawks, Owls, Eagles,

Crows, Jays, Cuckoos, and Grakles. These it will always attack and

drive off to quite a distance from their nests. Nothing can be more

striking than the intrepidity with which one of these birds will

pounce upon and harass birds vastly larger and more powerful than

itself. The Kingbird is always prompt to perceive the approach of one

of these enemies, and always rushes out to meet it. Mounting in the

air high above, it pounces down upon its back, upon which it will even

rest, furiously pecking at the exposed flanks of its victim, and only

leaving it to descend again and again with the same unrelenting

animosity. In these encounters it always comes off conqueror.

Wilson states that his jealous affection for his mate and for his nest

and young makes him suspicious of every bird that happens to pass near

his residence. But this is not the case in all instances. A pair of

these birds nested, in the summer of 1871, and peacefully reared their

young, in an apple-tree near my residence, within four feet of the

nest of the Baltimore Oriole, and not more than eight or ten feet from

the nest of a Robin, all in the same tree. The three pairs were on

evident terms of amity and mutual good-will. The male Kingbird kept a

sharp lookout for danger from the topmost bough, and seemed to have

all under his special guardianship, but showed no disposition to

molest or annoy them.

The Purple Martin is said to be the implacable enemy of the Kingbird,

and one of the few birds with which the latter maintains an unequal

contest. Its superiority in flight gives the former great advantages,

while its equal courage and strength render it more than a match.

Audubon relates an instance in which the Kingbird was slain in one of

these struggles.

Wilson also narrates an encounter, of which he was an eyewitness,

between one of this species and a Red-headed Woodpecker, in which the

latter, while clinging on the rail of a fence, seemed to amuse itself

with the violence of the Kingbird, playing bo-peep with it round the

rail, while the latter became greatly irritated, and made repeated but

vain attempts to strike at him.

The Kingbird feeds almost exclusively upon winged insects, and

consumes a vast number. It is on this account one of our most useful

birds, but, unfortunately for its popularity, it is no respecter of

kinds, and destroys large numbers of bees. In districts where hives of

honey-bees abound, the Kingbird is not in good repute. Wilson suggests

that they only destroy the drones, and rarely, if ever, meddle with

the working bees. But this discrimination, even if real, is not

appreciated by the raisers of bees, who regard this bird as their

enemy.

The Kingbirds arrive in Pennsylvania the latter part of April, and in

New England early in May, and leave for the South in September. They

nest in May, selecting an upper branch, usually of an isolated tree,

and often in an exposed situation. Their nests are large, broad, and

comparatively shallow, and coarsely, though strongly, made of rude

materials, such as twigs, withered plants, bits of rags, strings, etc.

These are lined with fine rootlets, horse-hair, and fine grasses.

The Kingbird has no song, but, instead, utters an incessant monotonous

succession of twitterings, which vary in sharpness and loudness with

the emotions that prompt them.

The flight of the Kingbird when on the hunt for insects is peculiar

and characteristic. It flies slowly over the field, with rapid

vibrations of the wings, in the manner of Hawks, and soars or seems to

float in the air in a manner equally similar. At other times it flies

with great rapidity, and dives about in the air in the manner of a

Swallow. It also exhibits great power and rapidity of flight when

rushing forth to encounter a Hawk or an Eagle.

As they are known occasionally to plunge into the water, and, emerging

thence, to resume their seat on a high branch, to dry and dress their

plumage, it has been conjectured that they feed on small fish, but

this is unsupported by any positive evidence.

Though the Kingbird usually builds in trees, it does not always select

such situations. In the summer of 1851, passing over a bridge near the

village of Aylesford, in Nova Scotia, I observed a Kingbird fly from a

nest built on the projecting end of one of the planks of which the

bridge was made. So remarkably exposed a position, open to view, and

on a level with and within a few feet of a highway, must be quite

unusual.

The eggs of this bird are five, sometimes six, in number, and vary

considerably in size. Their ground-color is white with a more or less

decided roseate tinge, beautifully spotted with blotches and markings

of purple, brown, and red-brown. In some, these are disposed in a

confluent crown around the larger end; in others they are irregularly

distributed over the entire egg. In length they vary from 1.05 to .86

of an inch, and in breadth from .72 to .70 of an inch.

Tyrannus dominicensis, RICH.

GRAY KINGBIRD.

_Tyrannus dominicensis_, BRISSON, Ois. II, 1760, 394, pl. xxxviii.

fig. 2.—RICH. List, 1837.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 172.

_Lanius tyrannus_, var. β, _dominicensis_, GMELIN,

Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 302. _Muscicapa dominicensis_, AUD. Orn.

Biog. II, 1834, 392, pl. xlvi.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 201,

pl. lv. _Melittarchus dominicensis_, CABANIS, Journal für

Ornith. III, Nov. 1855, 478. _Tyrannus griseus_, VIEILLOT, Ois.

Am. Sept. I, 1807, 76, pl. xlvi.—SWAINSON, Mon. Shrikes,

Quart. Jour. XX, 1826, 276.—BP. Consp. 1850, 192 (Bonaparte

makes two species).—SCL. List, 1862, 236. _Tyrannus

matutinus_, VIEILL. De La Sagra, pl. xiv.

SP. CHAR. Bill very large and stout. Tail conspicuously forked. Wings

long; the first six quills attenuated abruptly, much longer than the

seventh. Tertials much developed, nearly intermediate in length

between the longest primaries and the shortest secondary. Above, and

on the sides of the head and neck, ash-gray, shaded in places with

brown, which forms the middle portion of each feather. Downy portion

at the base of each feather above light ash, then light brown, tipped

and edged with darker ash-gray. The mottled appearance is caused by

the brown showing from under the feathers; the ear-coverts darker. A

concealed colored patch on the crown, formed by the base of the

feathers, white before and behind, orange in the middle. Lower parts

grayish-white, tinged with ash across the breast, deepest anteriorly.

Sides of the breast similar to, but lighter than, the back. Under

wing-coverts and axillars pale sulphur-yellow. The wings brown, darker

to the tips; the secondaries narrowly, the tertials more broadly,

edged with dull white. Edges of the coverts paler. Alula dark brown.

Tail similar in color to the quills. Upper tail-coverts brown. Bill

and feet black. Length, 8.00; wing, 4.65; tail, 4.00; tarsus, .76.

_Young._ Lesser wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts distinctly

bordered with pale ochraceous; tail-feathers bordered all round with a

deeper shade of the same. No colored patch on the crown.

HAB. South Carolina coast, accidental; Florida Keys and West Indies;

Nicaragua; New Granada; Santa Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis I, 146, eggs);

Carthagena, N. G. (CASS. P. A. N. S. 1860, 143); Cuba (CAB. J. III,

478, breeds; GUNDL. Rep. 1865, 238, “_Mel. griseus_”); Jamaica (GOSSE,

B. J. 169, breeds; MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 287); St. Thomas (CASS. P.

A. N. S. 1860, 375); Sombrero (LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VIII, 1864, 99,

“_griseus_”); Greytown, Nicar. (LAWR. Ann. 183); Sta. Bartholemy

(SUND. 1869, 584); Massachusetts (MAYNARD, B. E. Mass. 1870, 124).

This species, though about the same size as the _T. carolinensis_, is

much more powerfully built, the bill and feet being much stronger, the

former considerably longer than the head, and as large as that of

_Saurophagus sulphuratus_, though less compressed.

Specimens from Nicaragua and New Granada appear to be almost perfectly

identical with those from Florida and the West Indies, differing only

in being just appreciably smaller, which, however, might be expected

from their more southern habitat.

HABITS. The Gray Kingbird—the Pipiry Flycatcher of Audubon, or Gray

Petchary of Jamaica—is, except in Florida, of scarcely more than

occasional occurrence within the limits of the United States. A single

specimen has been taken in Massachusetts. This was shot in Lynn,

October 23, 1868, and was in immature plumage. The bird was shot on a

tree near one of the streets of that city by Mr. Charles Goodall. Mr.

Audubon also found these birds quite common on the Florida Keys,

almost every Key, however small, having its pair. A pair was observed

breeding in the college yard at Charleston, S. C., by Dr. Bachman; and

for at least three years in succession they regularly returned each

year, and raised two broods in a season. This Flycatcher is abundant

in St. Croix, Cuba, Jamaica, and in the other West India Islands. In

the first-named locality Mr. Alfred Newton found it one of the most

conspicuous and commonest birds over the entire island. Its favorite

station, he states, was the top of the spearlike unexpanded frond of a

tall mountain-cabbage tree, from which place, in the breeding-season,

it darted down to attack almost any animal that passed near. Its

favorite object of attack was the Green Heron (_Butorides virescens_),

at which it would make several well-directed swoops, never leaving it

until it had driven it into some shelter, when, much pleased with its

prowess, it would return to its lookout station and celebrate its

victory with cries of triumph. On one occasion Mr. Newton observed a

Gray Kingbird pursue a Green Heron out to sea for a quarter of a mile

and back. It is described as a very clamorous bird, even when there is

apparently no need; taking alarm from the domestic poultry, its

oft-repeated notes were heard every morning before the dawn. This

noise it continued pertinaciously till sundown. Its food consists of

insects, which are caught with great dexterity on the wing. It also

feeds very largely on the black berries of a myrtle-leaved parasite

that grows abundantly on the orange-trees. The nest is often

placed under the fronds or among the spathes of a cocoanut or

mountain-cabbage tree, and sometimes in any ordinary situation. It is

described as flat in construction and large for the size of the bird,

being nearly a foot in diameter, composed of a platform of twigs, in

the midst of which is hollowed a cup lined with fine roots. In St.

Croix the eggs rarely exceeded three in number, and are spoken of as

exceedingly beautiful when fresh, of a delicate creamy white, marked

at the larger end with blotches and spots of pink or orange-brown,

often disposed in a zone. He found their eggs from May till August.

Mr. Richard Hill, of Spanishtown, Jamaica, in some interesting notes

furnished to Mr. Gosse, states that along the seaside savannas of that

island migrant flocks of these birds swarm early in September. Numbers

then congregate on the trees around the cattle ponds and about the

open meadows, pursuing the swarms of insects which fill the air at

sundown. These throngs are immediately joined by resident birds of

this species, which gather about the same places, and do not return to

their usual abodes until the breeding-season is at hand.

The Jamaica bird is not exclusively an insect-feeder, but eats very

freely of the sweet wild berries, especially those of the pimento.

These ripen in September, and in groves of these this bird may always

be found in abundance. By the end of September most of the migrant

birds have left the island.

This is among the earliest to breed of the birds of Jamaica. As early

as January the mated pair is said to be in possession of some lofty

tree, sounding at day-dawn a ceaseless shriek, which is composed of a

repetition of three or four notes, sounding like _pē-chēē-ry_,

according to Mr. Hill, and from which they derive their local name. In

these localities they remain until autumn, when they quit these haunts

and again congregate about the lowland ponds. In feeding, just before

sunset, they usually sit, eight or ten in a row, on some exposed twig,

darting from it in pursuit of their prey, and returning to it to

devour whatever they have caught. They are rapid in their movements,

ever constantly and hurriedly changing their positions in flight. As

they fly, they are able to check their speed suddenly, and to turn at

the smallest imaginable angle. At times they move off in a straight

line, gliding with motionless wings from one tree to another. When one

descends to pick an insect from the surface of the water, it has the

appearance of tumbling, and, in rising again, ascends with a singular

motion of the wings, as if hurled into the air and endeavoring to

recover itself.

In the manner in which the male of this species will perch on the top

of some lofty tree, and from that vantage-height scream defiance to

all around him, and pursue any large bird that approaches, as

described by Mr. Hill, all the audacity and courage of our Kingbird is

exhibited. At the approach of a Vulture or a Hawk, he starts off in a

horizontal line, after rising in the air to the same height as his

adversary, and, hovering over him for a moment, descends upon the

intruder’s back, rising and sinking as he repeats his attack, and

shrieking all the while. In these attacks he is always triumphant.

This Flycatcher is also charged by Mr. Hill with seizing upon the

Humming-Birds as they hover over the blossoms in the garden, killing

its prey by repeated blows struck on the branch, and then devouring

them.

The nest, according to Mr. Hill, is seldom found in any other tree

than that of the palm kind. Among the web of fibres around the

footstalk of each branch the nest is woven of cotton-wool and grass.

The eggs, he adds, are four or five, of an ivory color, blotched with

deep purple spots, intermingled with brown specks, the clusters

thickening at the greater end. Mr. Gosse, on the contrary, never found

the nest in a palm. One, taken from an upper limb of a bitterwood-tree

that grew close to a friend’s door, at no great height, was a cup made

of the stalks and tendrils of a small passion flower, the spiral

tendrils very prettily arranged around the edge, and very neatly and

thickly lined with black horse-hair. The other, made in a spondias

bush, was a rather loose structure, smaller and less compact, almost

entirely composed of tendrils, with no horse-hair, but a few shining

black frond-ribs of a fern.

Mr. March states that the migrant birds of this species return to

Jamaica about the last of March, gradually disperse, and, like the

resident birds, occupy their selected trees in solitary pairs, and

immediately set about preparing their nests. At St. Catharine’s the

first nest found was on the 14th of April, and the latest in the

middle of July. They seldom build in the tree in which they perch, but

select a lower tree near it. Some make their nests high, others low,

usually at the extremity of a lateral branch. He describes them as

loose structures of twigs and the stems of trailing plants, with the

cup of grass, horse-hair, and vegetable fibre. The eggs are three,

rarely four, of a long oval, with a ground of light cream-color,

dashed around the larger end more or less thickly with blotches of

burnt sienna, and with cloudings of pale bistre underneath.

Mr. Audubon states that this Flycatcher reaches the Florida Keys about

the first of April. He describes their usual flight as performed by a

constant flutter of the wings, except when in chase, when they exhibit

considerable power and speed. He noticed them pursue larger birds,

such as Herons, Crows, Cuckoos, Grakles, and Hawks, following them

quite a distance. They did not molest the Doves. They built their

nests in a manner similar to the Kingbird, on the horizontal branches

of the mangrove, almost invariably on the western side of the tree and

of the island. Some were not more than two feet above the water,

others were twenty feet. On one of the keys, although of small size,

he saw several of their nests, and more than a dozen of the birds

living amicably together.

Dr. J. G. Cooper, who visited Florida in the spring of 1859, informed

me, by letter, on his return, that when he reached Cape Florida, March

8, none of this species were to be seen on any of the keys. The first

he noticed were about the first of May, near Fort Dallas on the

mainland. As, however, it rarely appears at this place, he supposes

they reached the keys some weeks sooner. About May 14 he found several

pairs at the Cape, and, going up the coast to New Smyrna, he found

them abundant about the marshy islands. On the first of June, with a

companion, he went in a small boat for the express purpose of finding

their nests; and, pushing the boat about among the islands which

almost filled Mosquito Lagoon, he discovered three in one afternoon.

They were all built among the small branches of low dead

mangrove-trees, about ten feet from the ground, formed of a loose,

open flooring of small twigs, with scarcely any lining of a finer

material. One contained four eggs half hatched, another three young

and one egg, the third four young just hatched. He preserved one nest

and all the eggs, and presented them to the National Museum in

Washington. The old birds showed no resentment, and neither came near

nor followed him, differing very much in this respect from the

fearless and devoted Kingbird. The only notes this bird was heard to

utter were loud and harsh rattling cries. Dr. Bachman informed Dr.

Cooper that these birds had become quite regular summer visitants of

Charleston, where they continued to breed each season. Dr. Cooper saw

none away from the Florida coast, and thinks that none go inland.

The eggs of this species measure from 1 to 1.05 inches in length, and

from .70 to .72 of an inch in breadth. They are of an oblong oval

shape, variously marked with large blotches and smaller spots of

purple, red-brown, and a dark purplish-brown. The latter color, in a

few cases, is found in large masses, covering nearly a fifth of the

entire surface of the egg; not inaptly compared by Mr. Gosse to the

sinuous outlines of lands, as represented on a terrestrial globe.

Tyrannus verticalis, SAY.

ARKANSAS FLYCATCHER.

_Tyrannus verticalis_, SAY, Long’s Exped. II, 1823, 60.—NUTTALL,

Man. II, (2d ed.,) 1840, 306.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

173.—SCL. Catal. 1862, 235.—LORD, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 113

(Br. Col.).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, 168.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,

312. _Muscicapa verticalis_, BONAP. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 18, pl.

xi.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 422, pl. ccclix.—IB. Birds Am.

I, 1840, 199, pl. liv. _Laphyctes verticalis_, CABAN. Mus.

Hein. II, 1859, 77.—HEERM. X. _S_, 37.

SP. CHAR. The four exterior quills attenuated very gently at the end,

the first most so; third and fourth quills longest, second and fifth

successively a little shorter. Tail slightly forked; bill shorter than

the head. Crown, sides of head above the eyes, nape, and sides of neck

pale lead-color, or ash-gray; a concealed crest on the crown,

vermilion in the centre, and yellowish before and behind. Hind neck

and back ash-gray, strongly tinged with light olivaceous-green, the

gray turning to brown on the rump; upper tail-coverts nearly black,

lower dusky; chin and part of ear-coverts dull white; throat and upper

part of breast similar to the head, but lighter, and but slightly

contrasted with the chin; rest of lower parts, with the under

wing-coverts and axillars, yellow, deepening to gamboge on the belly,

tinged with olivaceous on the breast. Wing brown, the coverts with

indistinct ashy margins; secondaries and tertials edged with whitish;

inner webs of primaries whitish towards the base. Tail nearly black

above and glossy, duller brownish beneath; without olivaceous edgings.

Exterior feather, with the outer web and the shaft, yellowish-white;

inner edge of latter brown. Tips of remaining feathers paler. Bill and

feet dark brown. _Female_ rather smaller and colors less bright.

Length of male, 8.25; wing about 4.50.

HAB. Western North America, from the high Central Plains to the

Pacific; Colima, Mexico. Accidental in Eastern States (New Jersey,

TURNBULL; Plymton, Maine, Oct. 1865, BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc., X, 1865,

96).

The young bird is, in general, quite similar, with the exception of

the usual appearance of immaturity, the colored patch on the crown

wanting. In one specimen the first primary only is attenuated, in

others none exhibit this character.

A specimen of this bird, shot at Moorestown, N. J., is in the museum

of the Philadelphia Academy, but this locality can only be considered

as very exceptional.

HABITS. The Arkansas Flycatcher was first discovered by the party in

Long’s Expedition in 1823, and described by Mr. Say. It is a bird of

western North America, found from the great plains to the Pacific, and

only accidentally occurring east. A single specimen is said to have

been shot in Moorestown, N. J., near Philadelphia. It has been met

with in Texas as far east as the river Mimbres, and in Nebraska nearly

to the Missouri River. The specimen from which the first description

was made was obtained in the beginning of July, near the Platte River.

Mr. Nuttall, in his Western tour, first met with this species early in

July, among the scanty wood on the banks of the northwest branch of

the Platte River. He characterizes it as a bold and querulous bird. He

found it all the way from thence to the forests of the Columbia and

the Wahlamet, and throughout California to latitude 32°. He speaks of

them as remarkably noisy and quarrelsome with each other, and, like

the Kingbird, suffering nothing of the bird kind to approach them

without exhibiting their predilection for dispute. He describes

their note as a discordant, clicking warble, resembling

_tsh’k-tsh’k-tshivait_,—sounding not unlike the creaking of a rusty

door-hinge, something in the manner of a Kingbird, with a blending of

the notes of the common Purple Grakle.

Mr. Townsend mentions finding this bird numerous along the banks of

the Platte, particularly in the vicinity of trees. From that river to

the banks of the Columbia, and as far as the ocean, it was a very

common species. The males were wonderfully belligerent, fighting

almost constantly and with great fury.

Dr. J. G. Cooper states that in California this is an abundant

species, arriving in that State about the 20th of March. None are

known to remain within the State during the winter. Small parties of

males come first, and are very quarrelsome until each one has selected

its mate. This is not done for several weeks, and the earliest nest

with eggs that he has found was on the 12th of May at Santa Barbara.

The nest, built on a branch of a low oak near the town, was five

inches wide, constructed of lichens, twigs, coarse grass, and wool,

lined with hair. It contained four eggs, measuring .94 by .70 of an

inch. He describes them as creamy-white, spotted with purple of two

shades near the larger end.

These birds are said to be almost an exact counterpart of the

Kingbird, exhibiting the same courage in defence of their nests. Their

notes are more varied and noisy, and they utter them almost constantly

during the spring, often when flying and fighting. They are very

destructive to bees, but compensate for this damage by destroying

great quantities of noxious insects. They leave the State in October.

At Puget Sound, early in June, Dr. Cooper found this species

associating with the common Kingbird without any signs of

disagreement, though their similar habits would naturally lead to

disputes. He has even seen them together in parties of four about the

period of mating. They do not approach the coast in Washington

Territory.

Dr. Suckley found this species abundant in the central and western

portions of Oregon and Washington Territory. He first noted their

arrival from the South about May 15. The first notification of their

presence is given by the skirmishes and quarrels incident to the

love-season. Their battles are generally fought in the air, and

present ludicrous alternations of pursuit and flight. At Fort Dalles

their favorite breeding-places were oak-trees for the most part.

Mr. Charles D. Gibbes, of Stockton, informs us that these birds

occasionally build their nests in the shrubbery about the gardens, but

more frequently in large oak-trees, fifteen or twenty feet from the

ground. They are constructed of weeds and grass firmly woven together,

and lined with cotton, feathers, strings, and other soft materials.

They are usually secured to the limb on which they are placed by a

portion of the string. The diameter of the cavity of the nest is about

three inches, depth one and a half. Their eggs are laid in May and

June, and are four, five, or six in number. They are described as

white, marked with dark brown spots on the larger end. In some the

spots, decreasing in size, extend to the smaller end.

Dr. Hoy informs me that he has never detected this bird within the

limits of Wisconsin, though he has no doubt that they may occasionally

straggle into its limits, as have many of the birds peculiar to the

Missouri region.

Mr. Ridgway gives it as one of the most abundant and familiar of the

_Tyrannidæ_ in the Sacramento Valley and the fertile portions of the

Great Basin. He notes their excessively quarrelsome disposition, which

far exceeds that of the eastern Kingbird, for fighting among

themselves seems to be their chief amusement. As many as half a dozen

of these birds were sometimes noticed pitching at one another

promiscuously, in their playful combats; and when a nest was

disturbed, the cries of the parents invariably brought to the vicinity

all the birds of this species in the neighborhood, which, as soon as

gathered together, began their aerial battles by attacking each other

without regard apparently to individuals, accompanying the fight by a

shrill twitter, very different from the loud rattling notes of the _T.

carolinensis_. Indeed, all the notes of the western Kingbird are very

conspicuously different from those of the eastern species, being

weaker, and more twittering in their character. The nesting habits,

the construction of the nest, and appearance of the eggs, are,

however, almost perfectly identical.

Mr. Ridgway gives an interesting account (Am. Nat., Aug., 1869) of a

young bird of this species which became quite domesticated with his

party in the geological survey of the 40th parallel. It had been taken

about the middle of July, fully fledged, from the nest, by some

Indians, and was fed with grasshoppers and flies until able to catch

them for itself. When not in quest of food it remained quietly perched

on Mr. Ridgway’s shoulder or his hat, or would perch on a rope

extending from the top of the tent to a stake. At night it frequently

roosted under an umbrella which hung outside of the tent. If

permitted, it would have preferred to keep on its master’s shoulder,

snuggling against his neck. In the morning it was sure to come

fluttering about his head, singling him out from a dozen or more

persons who lay around upon the ground. It had an insatiable appetite,

and was ascertained by actual count to consume one hundred and twenty

fat grasshoppers in a day. It soon learned its own name, Chippy, and

always answered to the call. It followed Mr. Ridgway when on

horseback, occasionally leaving to sport with other birds, but always

returning to his shoulder or hat. It evidently preferred the society

of the camp to that of his own race. It was once, by accident, nearly

shot, and ever after held the gun in great dread. It went with Mr.

Ridgway from camp to camp, continuing perfectly tame and domesticated,

until, as was supposed, it fell a prey to a Hawk.

The eggs of this species are not easily distinguishable from those of

the common Kingbird. They have a ground-color of a crystalline

whiteness, marked with bold dashes of reddish and purplish brown, the

latter fewer and faint. They are oblong in shape, are pointed at one

end, and measure 1 inch in length by .70 of an inch in breadth.

Tyrannus vociferans, SWAINSON.

CASSIN’S FLYCATCHER.

_Tyrannus vociferans_, SWAINSON, Mon. Tyrant Shrikes in Quarterly

Journal Sc. XX, Jan. 1826, 273.—IB. Philos. Mag. I, 1827,

368.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 174, pl. xlviii.—IB. M. B. II,

Birds 8, pl. x.—SCL. Catal. 1862, 235.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1,

1870, 314. _Laphyctes vociferans_, CABAN. Mus. Hein. II, 77.

_Tyrannus cassini_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. N. H. V, 1852,

39, pl. iii, fig. 2 (Texas).

SP. CHAR. Bill from the forehead about as long as the head. Tail even

or slightly rounded. Outer five primaries attenuated; the first four

abruptly and deeply emarginated; third quill longest, second and

fourth a little less, first shorter than the sixth, and half an inch

less than the longest. Head and neck above and on the sides rather

dark bluish-ash; the throat and breast similar, and only a little

paler. Rest of upper parts olive-green tinged with gray, mixed with

brown on the rump; the upper tail-coverts and surface of the tail

nearly black; the outer web of the external feather and the tips of

all pale brown. The chin is white, in strong contrast to the dark ash

of the throat; the rest of the under parts bright sulphur-yellow (the

sides olivaceous), palest on the under tail-coverts and inside of

wing. A concealed vermilion patch in the crown, bordered by

straw-yellow. Wing-feathers brown, tinged with olive, becoming paler

towards the edge. Length, 8.80; wing, 5.25; tail, 4.25.

HAB. Valley of Gila and southern California, eastward to Pecos River,

Texas, and into Mexico, on table-lands; north along the Plains to Fort

Laramie, south to Costa Rica. Oaxaca (SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 383); Vera

Paz (SCL. Ibis I, 121); W. Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 59); Vera

Cruz, hot and temp. regions, and Plateau (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I, 557.)

The table of specific characters presented under the generic head will

readily serve to distinguish this species from its near ally, _T.

verticalis_. The white outer web of the exterior tail-feather in

_verticalis_, compared with the brown web, only edged with whitish of

the present bird, is always sufficient to separate them; while the

deep ash of the jugulum, and the much lighter, more brownish shade of

the wings, are entirely peculiar features.

HABITS. This bird is abundant in Vera Cruz, where it is known by the

name of _Portuguéz_. According to Sumichrast, it belongs to the hot

and temperate regions, rather than the alpine. It is also common in

the Plateau, and is found in all parts of Mexico.

In Arizona Dr. Coues states this bird to be an abundant summer

resident, arriving in that Territory during the third week in April,

and remaining until the latter part of September. It was found in

every kind of locality. He furnishes no information as to its habits.

During the Mexican Boundary Survey this species was taken on the

Colorado River, in California, by Dr. A. Schott, and at Los Nogales,

Mexico, by Dr. Kennerly. It was also met with in the Sacramento Valley

by Dr. Heermann; at Fort Thorn, New Mexico, by Dr. Henry; on the

Pecos, Texas, by Captain Pope; and specimens from Mexico have been

received from Mr. Gould. It does not appear to have been observed in

Southwestern Texas by Mr. Dresser.

This species Dr. Cooper states to be quite common throughout the

southern half of California, and resident throughout the year at least

as far north as Los Angeles. In color they greatly resemble the _T.

verticalis_, but are less lively and not so quarrelsome in their

habits. During the early part of the year they begin to sing by

daylight, generally from the top of some high tree. Their notes are

said to be loud and much more musical than those of the other species,

and their song exhibits considerable variety for a bird of this

family. During the middle of the day they are rather quiet, and sit

much of the time on their perch, occasionally catching an insect that

comes very near, but they are supposed by Dr. Cooper to feed mostly in

the very early morning. This observer found them breeding at San Diego

as early as March 28, as well as subsequently. Their nest is said to

be much larger and more firmly built than are those of others of the

genus, being five and a half inches in external diameter and about two

and a half in height. The cavity is three inches wide at the rim. The

eggs, which he describes as white, with large scattered reddish-brown

and umber blotches, measure .96 of an inch in length and .70 in

breadth. He found some of these birds in Santa Clara Valley in May,

1864. They appeared to be smaller and greener on the back than those

from the South. They winter in large numbers at Santa Clara, in

latitude 37°.

Dr. Coues found this a very abundant summer resident at Fort Whipple,

breeding there in considerable numbers, and all leaving early in

October.

Mr. Ridgway did not meet with this species anywhere in the Great

Basin, nor in the Sacramento Valley. On the plains it is found as far

north as Cheyenne and Laramie Peak, and in the southern portion of the

Western Provinces extends westward to California.

Specimens were obtained by Mr. George M. Skinner from Salamá, Vera

Paz, in Central America. It was also taken, in February, near Oaxaca,

Mexico, by Mr. Boucard.

A nest of this bird (No. 1,828), in the Smithsonian Museum, was taken

at Volcan de Colima, June, 1863, by Mr. John Xantus. It is a slight

structure composed chiefly of wiry grass, mixed with bits of wool, and

lined with finer grasses. The eggs are two in number, having a

pure-white ground, freckled on the larger end with purplish-brown and

grayish-lilac. These markings are more sparse and are finer than those

of the eggs of any other species of this genus, so far as I am aware.

One of the eggs has a few blotches of umber on the larger end. They

measure, one .93 by .68 of an inch, the other .93 by .65.

Tyrannus melancholicus, var. couchi, BAIRD.

COUCH’S KINGBIRD.

_Tyrannus couchi_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 175, pl. xlix, f.

1.—SCL. Catal. Am. B. 1862, 235.

SP. CHAR. Bill long as the head. Feet stout. Five outer primaries

abruptly attenuated at the end; the third and fourth longest; the

first a little longer than the sixth. Tail considerably forked (depth

of fork about .30 of an inch, or more). Head, neck, and jugulum

bluish-ashy, becoming nearly white on the throat, and shaded with

yellow on the breast. Rest of lower parts gamboge-yellow. Rest of

upper parts olive-green, tinged with ash anteriorly. Tail and

primaries grayish-brown, the tail not the darker. Wing-coverts passing

externally into pale, the tertials edged with almost white. Crown with

a concealed patch of bright orange-red. Length, 9.00; wing, 5.00;

tail, 4.70.

HAB. Middle America (both coasts), from southern border of United

States, south to Guatemala; Tucson, Arizona (BENDIRE).

All specimens of _T. melancholicus_ from regions north of Guatemala

are referrible to var. _couchi_; all from Costa Rica southward, to

_melancholicus_.

It is only by comparing specimens from near the extreme northern and

southern limits of the range of the species, that differences are

readily discernible; and between these two extremes there is so

gradual a transition that it is impossible to draw a line separating

two well-marked varieties, so that it is necessary to assume an

arbitrary geographical line, and determine specimens from the middle

regions by their position, whether to the north or south of the line

established. Specimens from Buenos Ayres, the Parana, and Brazil, to

Peru and New Granada, are identical. Costa Rica specimens (_T.

satrapa_, LICHT.) have the dark tail of var. _melancholicus_ and white

throat of _couchi_.

GENUS MYIARCHUS, CABANIS.

_Myiarchus_, CABANIS, Fauna Peruana, 1844-46, 152.—BURMEISTER,

Thiere Brasiliens, II, Vögel, 1856, 469.

GEN. CHAR. Tarsus equal to or not longer than the middle toe, which is

decidedly longer than the hinder one. Bill wider at base than half the

culmen. Tail broad, long, even, or slightly rounded, about equal to

the wings, which scarcely reach the middle of the tail; the first

primary shorter than the sixth. Head with elongated lanceolate

distinct feathers. Above brownish-olive, throat ash, belly yellow.

Tail and wing feathers varied with rufous.

This genus is well marked among the American Flycatchers, and

constitutes what Bonaparte called _Ultimi Tyrannorum sive Tyrannularum

primæ_. The type is the _Muscicapa ferox_ of Gmelin, (_M.

tyrannulus_,) which, as identified by Cabanis and Burmeister as above,

appears to resemble our species very closely.

[Line drawing: _Myiarchus mexicanus._

1449]

For an elaborate discussion of the various forms of this exceedingly

difficult genus, we are indebted to a recent monograph by Dr. Coues,

in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, for June and July,

1872 (pp. 56-81). With the same material for our investigations, we

have been led, after a very careful perusal of the valuable paper

mentioned, and tedious critical comparison of the large material at

our command, to adopt a somewhat difficult view of the relationship of

the forms characterized. The following synopsis expresses their

affinity as at present understood:—

COMMON CHARACTERS. Above olivaceous, usually uniform, sometimes

darker, sometimes more ashy, on the head above. Head and jugulum more

or less ashy, though the latter is sometimes very pale. Rest of lower

parts sulphur-yellow, sometimes almost or quite white. Primaries,

secondaries, and rectrices usually more or less edged on either web

with rufous; but sometimes entirely destitute of this color.

Species and Varieties.

A. Bill sub-conical; sometimes nearly terete, its depth

equal to, or exceeding, its breadth in the middle portion;

its lateral outlines moderately divergent basally;

terminal hook abrupt, strong. (_Myionax._)

1. M. tyrannulus. No trace of rufous edgings on either

wings or tail. Above ashy-olive, the pileum similar, the

outer webs of wing-coverts and secondaries edged with

whitish. Head, laterally and beneath, ashy, the throat

and jugulum more whitish; rest of lower parts

sulphur-yellow. Tail slightly rounded.

Pileum and nape umber-brown; upper surface

umber-grayish. Bill dark brown. Wing, 3.50-3.70; tail,

3.60-3.90; culmen, .90-.95; tarsus, .80-.90. _Hab._

South and Central America, from Bolivia and Southern

Brazil to Costa Rica var. _tyrannulus_.[66]

Whole head and neck pure ash, paler on the throat, and

darker on the pileum; upper surface greenish-ash. Bill

black. Wing, 3.70; tail, 4.00; culmen, .82; tarsus,

.91. _Hab._ Ecuador and Guayaquil var. _phæocephalus_.[67]

2. M. validus.[68] All the wing-coverts, tertials,

secondaries, primaries, and rectrices distinctly edged

with rufous (the latter on both webs). Above olivaceous,

more ashy anteriorly; the upper tail-coverts more

rufescent; remiges broadly rufous on exterior edges;

rectrices with the whole inner web (except a narrow

streak along the shaft) and edge of outer web rufous.

Head beneath, and entire throat and breast, deep ash;

rest of lower parts sulphur-yellow, the junction of the

two colors not well defined. Wing, 3.80-4.20; tail,

3.80-4.20; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, .80-91; tail even;

third and fourth quill longest. _Hab._ Jamaica.

3. M. crinitus. Outer webs of primaries distinctly edged

with rufous (no other rufous on wings); inner webs of

rectrices broadly, sometimes entirely, rufous, none on

outer webs (except in young). Above olivaceous, varying

from a greenish to an ashy cast, the pileum more

brownish. Wing-coverts (both rows) broadly tipped with

brownish ashy-whitish; tertials, secondaries, and

lateral tail-feather broadly edged on outer web with the

same. Head laterally and beneath ashy paler on the

throat and jugulum; rest of lower parts delicate yellow,

varying from a rich lemon to a pale sulphur tint. _Hab._

Continental America.

Bill dark brown (never black). Upper parts decidedly

greenish; ash of throat and jugulum, and yellow of

abdomen, etc., very deep.

Inner webs of rectrices wholly rufous, or with only

a narrow strip of dusky along the shaft. Wing,

3.75-4.25; tail, 3.75-4.20; culmen, .95-1.00;

tarsus, .85-.90. _Hab._ Eastern Province of North

America; in winter south through Eastern Mexico to

Guatemala (grading into var. _irritabilis_ in

Nicaragua) var. _crinitus_.

Bill deep black; upper parts without a greenish, but,

instead, an ashy-brownish cast; ash of throat and

jugulum, and yellow of abdomen, etc., very pale.

Inner webs of rectrices broadly (but not entirely)

rufous to the extreme tip, with a broad dusky stripe

next the shaft.

Wing, 4.10-4.50; tail, 4.00-4.70; culmen,

1.10-1.20; tarsus, 1.00-1.05. _Hab._ Southern and

Western Mexico (Tehuantepec, Yucatan, Mazatlan,

etc.) var. _cooperi_.[69]

Wing, 3.60-3.90; tail, 3.50-3.75; culmen,

.90-1.00; tarsus, .80-.85. _Hab._ Eastern South

America, and Central America, from Paraguay to

Costa Rica (grading into var. _cooperi_ in

Guatemala, and into var. _cinerascens_ in

Tehuantepec) var. _irritabilis_.[70]

Inner webs of rectrices almost entirely rufous to

near the extreme tip, the end of the web, however,

being brownish-dusky like the outer.

Wing, 3.35-4.10; tail, 3.35-4.10; culmen,

.80-1.00; tarsus, .80-.91. _Hab._ Western Province

of United States, and Western Mexico (grading into

var. _irritabilis_ in Tehuantepec, and in winter

migrating into Eastern Mexico) var. _cinerascens_.

4. M. stolidus. Colors essentially nearly as the

varieties of _M. crinitus_. Primaries more or less

distinctly edged with rufous, especially on inner

quills; rectrices with inner webs more or less edged

with rufous (found only terminally in var.

_antillarum_). Wing-coverts broadly tipped with dull

ashy-whitish. Above brownish-slaty, with an olivaceous

cast, the pileum more or less appreciably darker.

Beneath ashy-white, without distinct yellow (except in

var. _stolidus_, in which the abdomen, etc., are pale

sulphury yellow). Tail varying in shape from slightly

rounded to distinctly emarginated. _Hab._ West Indies.

Beneath entirely white, only faintly, or hardly

appreciably, tinged with sulphur-yellow on the flanks.

Inner web of rectrices broadly edged with rufous for

the whole length. Crown scarcely darker than the

back. Tail distinctly emarginated. Wing, 3.15-3.50;

tail, 3.30-3.60; culmen, .85-.95; tarsus, .80-85.

(Bahaman specimens the larger). _Hab._ Bahamas and

Cuba var. _phœbe_.[71]

Inner web of rectrices not edged with rufous except

at extreme tip, where sometimes also absent. Crown

decidedly darker than the back. Tail slightly

rounded. Wing, 3.25-3.50; tail, 3.20-3.60; culmen,

.85-95; tarsus, .85-90. _Hab._ Porto Rico var. _antillarum_.[72]

Beneath white only on throat and jugulum, the abdomen,

etc., being sulphur-yellow.

Inner webs of rectrices more or less distinctly

edged with rufous for whole length. Pileum very much

darker than the back. Wing, 3.35-3.50; tail,

3.35-3.65; culmen, .90-.95; tarsus, .80-.85. Tail

faintly doubly-rounded. _Hab._ Hayti, Jamaica, (and

Yucatan?) var. _stolidus_.[73]

B. Bill much depressed, its depth only about half its

width, in the middle portion; lateral outlines widely

divergent basally; terminal hook weak. (_Myiarchus._)

5. M. tristis. Colors very variable, and amount of

rufous exceedingly different in the different races.

Inner webs of rectrices seldom edged with rufous; rufous

sometimes entirely absent on both wings and tail, and

sometimes the whole wing and both webs of rectrices

distinctly edged with it. Above ashy-olive, usually with

more or less of a greenish cast, the pileum decidedly

darker (except in var. _lawrencei_); throat and jugulum

ashy-white; rest of lower parts sulphur-yellow. _Hab._

Central and South America, and Jamaica.

Pileum sooty-brown, decidedly darker than the back;

wings and tail entirely destitute of rufous edgings,

except a faint tinge on outer webs of inner

secondaries and rectrices, towards the base. Tail

faintly rounded. Wing, 3.00; tail, 3.10; culmen, .80;

tarsus, .65. _Hab._ Jamaica var. _tristis_.[74]

Pileum grayish-brown, not appreciably darker than the

back; outer webs of inner secondaries and primaries

and rectrices faintly edged with rufous. Wing,

2.80-3.40; tail, 2,85-3.45; culmen, .85-.90; tarsus,

.75-.80. _Hab._ Northern Mexico, from northern

boundary, south to Colima, Tehuantepec, Yucatan, and

Salvador var. _lawrencei_.[75]

Pileum sooty-blackish, decidedly and abruptly darker

than the back. Outer webs of wing-coverts, primaries,

secondaries, and rectrices distinctly edged with

rufous. Yellow beneath brighter than in _lawrencei_.

Wing, 3.20-3.30; tail, 3.15-3.30; culmen, .80-.85;

tarsus, .75-.80. _Hab._ Central America from Panama to

Guatemala (grading into var. _lawrencei_ in

Tehuantepec, and Orizaba) var. _nigricapillus_.[76]

Pileum deep black, abruptly different from the

greenish-olive of the back, and separated from it by a

more ashy shade. Wings and tail wholly destitute of

rufous edgings. Yellow beneath brighter than in var.

_nigricapillus_. Wing, 3.20; tail, 3.20; culmen, .85;

tarsus, .78. Tail about even. _Hab._ Northwest South

America, from Ecuador northward (grading into

_nigricapillus_ on Isthmus of Panama) var. _nigriceps_.[77]

[66] _Myiarchus tyrannulus_ (MÜLL.), COUES. _Muscicapa

tyrannulus_, MÜLL. (G. R. GR. Hand List, No. 5,527).

_Myiarchus t._ COUES, P. A. N. S. Phila. July, 1872, 71.

(_M. aurora_, BODD.; _flaviventris_, STEPH.; _ferox_, GM.;

_swainsoni_, CABAN.; _panamensis_, LAWR.; _venezuelensis_,

LAWR.)

[67] _Myiarchus tyrannulus_, var. _phæocephalus_ (SCLATER).

_Myiarchus phæocephalus_, SCL. P. Z. S. 1860, 481.—COUES,

P. A. N. S. 1872, 73.

[68] _Myiarchus validus_, CABANIS. _Tyrannus crinitus_,

GOSSE, B. Jam. 186 (nec Auct.). _Myiarchus validus_, CABAN.

Orn. Nat. II, 351, et Auct. COUES, P. A. N. S. July, 1872,

62.

[69] _Myiarchus crinitus_, var. _cooperi_ (KAUP). BAIRD.

_Tyrannula cooperi_, KAUP. P. Z. S. 1851, 51. _Myiarchus

cooperi_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 180. _Myiarchus

crinitus_, var. _cooperi_, COUES, P. A. N. S. July, 1872,

67.

[70] _Myiarchus crinitus_, var. _irritabilis_ (VIEILL.),

COUES. _Tyrannus irritabilis_, VIEILL. Enc. Meth. 1823, II,

847. _Myiarchus crinitus_, var. _irritabilis_, COUES, P. A.

N. S. July, 1872, 65. (_M. erythrocercus_, SCL.; _M.

mexicanus_, KAUP, LAWR.; _M. yucatanensis_, LAWR.)

_Obs._—It is, perhaps, probable that in Yucatan this race

grades into the _M. stolidus_ (var. _stolidus_), since there

is a specimen in the collection from Merida (39,213, April

9, 1865, A. Schott) which seems to be very nearly

intermediate in every way between the two. It has the very

black hill, restricted rufous on inner webs of rectrices,

and pale yellow of lower parts of _M. stolidus_, and the

brown pileum and more robust proportions of _irritabilis_.

The specimen, however, is in poor condition, being of worn

and faded plumage, and much distorted, so that its true

characters cannot be ascertained satisfactorily.

[71] _Myiarchus stolidus_, var. _phœbe_ (D’ORB.), COUES.

_Tyrannus phœbe_, D’ORB. Sagra’s Cuba, Ois. p. 84.

_Myiarchus stolidus_, var. _phœbe_, COUES, P. A. N. S. July,

1872, 78. (_Sagræ_, GUNDL.; _stolida_, var. _lucaysiensis_,

BRYANT).

[72] _Myiarchus stolidus_, var. _antillarum_ (BRYANT),

COUES. _Tyrannus (Myiarchus) antillarum_, BRYANT, P. B. S.

N. H. 1866, p. 2. _Myiarchus stolidus_, var. _antillarum_,

COUES, P. A. N. S. July, 1872, 79.

[73] _Myiarchus stolidus_, var. _stolidus_ (GOSSE), CABANIS.

_Myiobius stolidus_, GOSSE. B. Jam. p. 168. _Myiarchus s._

CABANIS, J. für Orn. 1855, 479.—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1872,

77. (_Stolidus_ var. _dominicensis_, BRYANT.)

[74] _Myiarchus tristis_ (GOSSE), COUES. _Myiobius tristis_,

GOSSE, B. Jam. 167, pl. xli. _Myiarchus t._ COUES, P. A. N.

S. July, 1872, 80.

[75] _Myiarchus tristis_, var. _lawrencei_ (GIRAUD), BAIRD.

_Tyrannula lawrencei_, GIRAUD, 16 sp. Tex. B. pl. ii.

_Myiarchus l._ BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 181, pl. xlvii, f.

3.—COUES, P. A. N. S. July, 1872, 74.

_Obs._—The most typical specimens are from Mazatlan and

northward, across the northern portion of Mexico. On the

eastern coast, specimens from Mirador and Orizaba already

strongly incline toward var. _nigricapillus_.

[76] _Myiarchus tristis_, var. _nigricapillus_, CABANIS.

“_Myiarchus nigricapillus_, CABAN.” SCL. Cat. Am. B. 1862,

233, et Auct. _M. lawrencei_, COUES, P. A. N. S. 1872, 74

(in part).

_Obs._—A very strongly differentiated form, but

unquestionably grading into var. _lawrencei_ on the one

hand, and var. _nigriceps_ on the other.

[77] _Myiarchus tristis_, var. _nigriceps_, SCLATER.

_Myiarchus nigriceps_, SCL. P. Z. S. 1860, 68, 295.—COUES,

P. A. N. S. July, 1872, 75.

_Obs._—The last three races appear to be all reducible to

one species, as, taking the large series of specimens before

us (over 30 skins), we find it impossible to draw the line

between them. Specimens from Southern Mexico are referrible,

with equal propriety, to _lawrencei_ or to _nigricapillus_,

while skins from Panama of _nigriceps_ are less typical than

those from Ecuador. This case of gradually increasing

melanistic tendency as we proceed southward affords an exact

parallel to that of _Vireosylvia gilvus_ and _V. josephæ_,

_Sayornis nigricans_ and _S. aquaticus_, and many other

cases.

Myiarchus crinitus, CABANIS.

GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

_Muscicapa crinita_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 325.—WILSON,

Am. Orn. II, 1810, 75, pl. xiii.—LICHT. Verzeichniss

Doubl. 1823, No. 559.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 176; V,

423, pl. cxxix.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 209, pl. lvii.

_Tyrannus crinitus_, SWAINSON, Mon. Tyrant Shrikes in

Quarterly Journal, XX, Jan. 1826, 271.—NUTTALL, Man. I,

(2d ed.,) 1840, 302.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 182.

_Myiobius crinitus_, GRAY, Genera, I, 248. _Tyrannula

crinita_, BONAP. Consp. 1850, 189.—KAUP, Pr. Zoöl. Soc.

1851, 51. _Myiarchus crinitus_, CABANIS, Journ. für

Ornith. III, 1855, 479.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

178.—SCL. Catal. 1862, 232.—SAMUELS, 131. _Myionax

crinitus_, CABAN. Mus. Hein. 1859, 73 (type, Journ. 1861,

250). _Muscicapa ludoviciana_, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788,

934.—LATHAM, Ind. _Tyrannus ludovicianus_, VIEILLOT, Ois.

Am. Sept. I, 1807, pl. xlv. _Muscicapa virginiana

cristata_, BRISSON, II, 1760, 412. _Crested Flycatcher_,

PENNANT, LATHAM.

Figure: BUFFON, pl. enl. 569, fig. 1.

[Illustration: _Myiarchus cinerascens._]

SP. CHAR. Head with a depressed crest. Third quill longest;

fourth and second successively but little shorter; first a little

longer than seventh; much shorter than sixth. Tail decidedly

rounded or even graduated; the lateral feather about .25 of an

inch shorter. Upper parts dull greenish-olive, with the feathers

of the crown and to some extent of the back showing their brown

centres; upper tail-coverts turning to pale rusty-brown. Small

feathers at the base of the bill, ceres, sides of the head as

high as the upper eyelid, sides of the neck, throat, and forepart

of the breast, bluish-ashy; the rest of the lower parts,

including axillaries and lower wing-coverts, bright

sulphur-yellow. A pale ring round the eye. Sides of the breast

and body tinged with olivaceous. The wings brown; the first and

second rows of coverts, with the secondary and tertial quills,

margined externally with dull white, or on the latter slightly

tinged with olivaceous-yellow. Primaries margined externally for

more than half their length from the base with ferruginous; great

portion of the inner webs of all the quills very pale ferruginous.

The two middle tail-feathers light brown, shafts paler; the rest have

the outer web and a narrow line on the inner sides of the shaft brown,

pale olivaceous on the outer edge; the remainder ferruginous to the

very tip. Outer web of exterior feather dull brownish-yellow. Feet

black. Bill dark brown above and at the tip below; paler towards the

base. Length, 8.75; wing, 4.25; tail, 4.10; tarsus, .85.

HAB. Eastern North America to the Missouri and south to Eastern

Texas (not yet observed farther west). Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I,

121); Cuba (GUNDL. Repert. 1865, 239; CAB. J. III, 479); ?

Jamaica (GOSSE, B. J. 186); Panama (LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, 329);

Costa Rica (CABAN. J. 1861, 250; LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 115); San

Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 473, rare).

The female appears to have no brown on the inner web of the

quills along the shaft, or else it is confined chiefly to the

outer feathers.

The young is hardly appreciably different, having merely the

wing-coverts tinged with rusty at the ends.

HABITS. The common Great-crested Flycatcher of eastern North

America has a much more extended northern distribution than has

been generally given it by earlier writers. Wilson speaks of it

only as a bird of Pennsylvania. Audubon mentions their occurring

as far as Massachusetts, but as confined to the mountains, and as

entirely unknown farther eastward. Mr. Nuttall refers to it as

nearly unknown in New England, and as never appearing near the

coast.

It is now known to be a regular though a somewhat rare summer

resident, at least as far to the northeast as St. Stephen, New

Brunswick, latitude 45° north, longitude 67° west, and as far to

the north in Vermont as Randolph, and Hamilton in Canada, both in

about latitude 44°. Mr. Boardman mentions it as a regular summer

visitant, and as breeding near Calais. Professor Verrill gives it

as a rare summer visitant of Western Maine. Mr. McIlwraith states

it to be a common summer resident of Hamilton, Canada West, where

it arrives about the 10th of May, after which its harsh cry is

heard in all parts of the woods. It winters in Central America

and Panama.

In a letter dated June 17, 1865, Mr. C. S. Paine of Randolph,

Vt., informed me that he had, within a few days, found a nest of

this Flycatcher. It was built in the hollow of a decayed

apple-tree, in one of its limbs. The nest was built up from the

bottom of the cavity some eight inches, and contained six eggs.

Though not very abundant in that neighborhood, Mr. Paine had been

aware, for several years, of the occurrence of this Flycatcher,

but had never before been able to ascertain its manner of

nesting. He has since informed me that these Flycatchers have

continued to occur every summer, as they always make their

presence known by their harsh notes, which may be heard to quite

a distance, and he knows that they breed there regularly every

year. They are shy, and do not come about the buildings, but are

generally seen in the woods and orchards.

In Eastern Massachusetts they are not common, but scattered pairs

have been met with in Concord, Acton, Newton, Hingham, and in

other places.

Dr. Coues states that the Great-crested Flycatcher reaches

Washington the third week in April, and leaves the last of

September. It is a common summer resident, but is most numerous

in the spring and autumn. It is found on the edge of open woods,

and betrays its presence by its peculiar notes. In the western

part of Massachusetts, Mr. Allen gives it as a rare summer

visitant, having been taken by him from May 15 to September 17,

and having been found breeding on Mount Tom by Mr. C. W. Bennett.

It is found abundantly in the Middle and Southern States as far

south as Florida and Texas, and occurs as far to the west as the

Missouri River. Dr. Woodhouse found it very abundant in Texas and

in the Indian Territory, and Mr. Dresser obtained specimens at

San Antonio in the month of April.

In speaking of the habits of this species, Wilson accuses it of

being addicted to eating bees equally with the Kingbird; but as

this bird is known to feed largely on berries, and to feed its

young to some extent with the same, the extent of such propensity

may well be doubted. It is not so prone to attack birds larger

than itself as is the Kingbird, which Wilson characterizes as

cowardice, but which it would be more charitable to call

prudence. It is said to be harsh, cruel, and vindictive to

smaller birds and to weaker individuals of its own species.

In its flight it moves with power, steadiness, and swiftness, and

when in pursuit of insects follows its prey with great zeal and

perseverance. When it captures a large insect, it retires to its

perch and beats it against the limb. These birds are not in the

least gregarious. They occur in isolated pairs, and appear to

have no interest or sympathy with others than those of their own

household. To each other, however, they are attentive and

considerate, and they are devoted in their solicitude for their

young.

Their usual call-note is a sharp disagreeable squeak, which, once

known, is easily recognized. Besides this it has a monotonous

succession of squeaking, harsh notes, only a little less

unpleasant. They raise but one brood in a season, and remain

together in a family group of from six to eight until they leave,

in the middle of September.

During the early summer this species feeds chiefly upon insects

of various kinds, which it catches with great facility, skill,

and assiduity; afterwards, as if from choice, it chiefly eats

ripe berries of various kinds of shrubs and plants, among which

those of the poke-weed and the huckleberry are most noticeable.

It nests altogether in hollows in trees, stumps, or limbs. It

lines the bottoms of these hollows with a great variety of

miscellaneous materials, and in quantities that vary with the

size and shape of the place to be occupied. These beds are

composed of loose hay, feathers, the hair of various small

quadrupeds, etc., while the exuviæ of snakes are almost always to

be met with.

The eggs, four, five, or six in number, are peculiar and

noticeably varied and beautiful in their style of markings,

varying also somewhat in shape. Generally they are nearly

spherical, and equally obtuse at either end. Occasionally they

are an oblong oval, one end a very little more tapering than the

other. Their ground-color is a beautiful light buff, rather than

a cream-color, over which are waving lines, marblings, markings,

and dots of a brilliant purple, and others of a more obscure

shading. The lines are variously distributed, generally running

from one pole of the egg to the other with striking effect, as if

laid on with the delicate brush of an artist. In some eggs the

whole surface is so closely covered with these intercrossing and

waving lines, blending with the obscure cloudings of lilac, as

nearly to conceal the ground. Usually the buff color is

conspicuously apparent, and sets off the purple lines with great

effect.

An oblong-oval egg from New Jersey measures 1.10 inches in length

by .70 of an inch in breadth. A more nearly spherical egg from

Florida measures .90 by .75 of an inch. These well represent the

two extremes. Their average is about 1 inch by .75 of an inch.

The eggs of all the members of this genus have a remarkable

similarity, and can scarcely be mistaken for those of any other

group.

Myiarchus crinitus, var. cinerascens, LAWR.

ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER.

_Tyrannula cinerascens_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. N. Hist. V, Sept.

1851, 109. _Myiarchus cinerascens_, SCL. List, 1862, 133.—IB.

P. Z. S. 1871, 84.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. July, 1872, 69.

_Myiarchus mexicanus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 179, pl.

5.—HEERM. X, _S_, 37, pl. v.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 316.

_Myiarchus mexicanus_, var. _pertinax_, BAIRD, P. A. N. S.

1859, 303 (Cape St. Lucas).

SP. CHAR. Bill black, the width opposite the nostrils not half the

length of culmen. Head crested. Tail even, the lateral feathers

slightly shorter. Second, third, and fourth quills longest; first

rather shorter than the seventh. Above dull grayish-olive; the centres

of the feathers rather darker; the crown, rump, and upper tail-coverts

tinged with brownish. The forehead and sides of the head and neck

grayish-ash; the chin, throat, and forepart of the breast ashy-white;

the middle of the breast white; the rest of the under parts very pale

sulphur-yellow; wings and tail brown. Two bands across the wing, with

outer edges of secondaries and tertials, dull white; the outer edges

of the primaries light chestnut-brown (except towards the tip and on

the outer feather); the inner edges tinged with the same. Whole of

middle tail-feathers, with the outer webs (only) and the ends of the

others brown; the rest of the inner webs reddish-chestnut, the outer

web of exterior feather yellowish-white. Legs and bill black; lower

mandible brownish at the base. Length about 8.00; wing, 4.00; tail,

4.10; tarsus, .90.

HAB. Coast of California, to Cape St. Lucas, and across by the valley

of Gila and Rio Grande to Northeastern Mexico. Seen as far north in

Texas as San Antonio. Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 384); ? Guatemala (SCL. Ibis,

I, 129); Vera Cruz hot regions, resident (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I); San

Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 473).

In a young specimen the crown is more tinged with brown; the upper

tail-coverts and the middle tail-feathers are chestnut, and, in fact,

all the tail-feathers are of this color, except along both sides of

the shaft on the central feathers, and along its outer side in the

lateral ones.

This species is easily distinguished from _T. crinitus_ and _T.

cooperi_ by the brown tip of the tail; the colors paler than in the

former, bill slenderer, and tarsi longer.

A variety of this species (_pertinax_[78]) is found at Cape St. Lucas,

and distinguished chiefly by the considerably larger and stouter bill.

HABITS. The Ash-throated or Mexican Flycatcher appears to be a common

species, from San Antonio, Texas, its extreme northeastern point,

southwesterly throughout Mexico as far south as Guatemala, and

westward to the Pacific coast. It has been obtained in various parts

of California by Mr. Cutts, Mr. Schott, Dr. Heermann, and others, as

also on the Gila River. Dr. Kennerly procured specimens at Los

Nogales, Mexico, and others have met with it near the city of Mexico,

at Saltillo, and in different parts of Western Texas. It was found

breeding at Cape San Lucas by Mr. Xantus.

In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mr. Sumichrast found this species

apparently confined to the hot region. He did not meet with it

anywhere else.

Mr. Dresser thinks that this Flycatcher does not reach San Antonio

before the latter part of April. The first that came under his notice

was one that he shot, on the 23d of that month, on the Medina River.

It breeds near the Medina and the San Antonio Rivers, making its nest

in a hollow tree, or taking possession of a deserted Woodpecker’s

hole. Mr. Dresser observed these birds as far to the east as the

Guadaloupe River, where they were common. Farther east he saw but very

few. Their eggs he speaks of as peculiarly marked with a multitude of

purple and brown dashes and lines on a dull yellowish-brown ground,

and very similar to those of _Myiarchus crinitus_.

In the Mexican Boundary Survey, individuals of this species were taken

by Mr. A. Schott, March 31, on the Colorado Bottom; near the Gila

River, New Mexico, December 31; and also at Eagle Pass, in Texas, date

not given. Mr. J. H. Clark obtained a specimen at Frontera, Texas,

where he mentions finding it in great abundance in damp places, or

near the water. In May, 1853, Lieutenant Couch secured several near

Saltillo, and notes its occurrence among mesquite-bushes. In the

following June, Dr. Kennerly found them very abundant at Los Nogales.

Where two were found together, they were generally noticed to be

uttering a loud chattering noise.

Dr. Heermann, in his Report on the birds observed in the survey of

Lieutenant Williamson’s route between the 32d and the 35th parallels,

mentions finding this species abundant. His specimens were obtained

near Posa Creek. He describes them as of shy and retiring habits,

preferring the deep and shady forests where its insect food abounds.

The nests, found in hollows of trees or in a deserted squirrel’s or

Woodpecker’s hole, were composed of grasses and lined with feathers.

The eggs, five in number, he describes as cream-colored, marked and

speckled with purplish-red dashes and faint blotches of a neutral

tint.

Dr. Coues found them a common summer resident in Arizona, where they

arrived in the third week in April and remained until the middle of

September. They were seldom found among pine-trees, but appeared to

prefer ravines, hillsides, and creek bottoms. Some wintered as high up

in the Colorado Valley as Fort Mohave. At Fort Whipple young birds

were first observed early in July.

Dr. Cooper obtained one of this species at Fort Mohave, January 15,

and is of the opinion that some may habitually winter in the Colorado

Valley. In California they begin to arrive about March 10, and extend

their range through very nearly the whole of the State. He describes

their notes as few, loud, and harsh, but little varied, and uttered

from time to time as they fly after an insect from an accustomed

perch, usually a lower dead limb of a forest tree. They prefer shady

situations, and are said to feed late in the evening.

Mr. Ridgway met with this species in all suitable localities, from the

Sacramento Valley eastward to the Wahsatch Mountains. It was most

abundant among the oaks of the plains between the Sacramento River and

the Sierra Nevada; but in the wooded river valleys of the interior, as

well as in the cedar and piñon or mahogany woods on the mountains of

the latter region, it was also more or less frequently met with. In

its manners it is described as a counterpart of the eastern _M.

crinitus_, but its notes, though generally similar in character, have

not that strength which makes the vociferous screaming whistles of the

eastern species so noticeable.

This species, or a very closely allied race of it (var. _pertinax_)

was procured at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus. It had the peculiarities

of a southern race, stronger feet, stouter bill, and a generally

smaller size.

A few individuals of this species were found by Mr. Grayson inhabiting

the islands of the Three Marias, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. He

usually saw them among low bushes, darting from their perch after

flies and other winged insects. They were very silent, and seldom

uttered a note.

Four eggs of this species from Matamoras, collected by the late Dr.

Berlandier, have the following measurements: .82 by .75, .91 by .71,

.95 by .75, .98 by .75 of an inch. Though having a very close

resemblance to the eggs of _M. crinita_, there are noticeable certain

constant variations. The ground-color is a little lighter, and has a

tinge of pinkish not found in the eggs of the eastern species. The

markings are more in oblong plashes of irregular shape, and rarely

exhibit the waving lines. There are more and larger blotches of a

light purplish-brown. The eggs are a little more spherical in their

general shape, and the markings are less abundant. The eggs of _M.

cooperi_ have a still more roseate tint in the buff of the

ground-color, are marked with smaller blotches of bright purple and

much larger ones of lilac-brown. They measure .92 by .75 of an inch.

[78] _Myiarchus mexicanus_, var. _pertinax_, BAIRD, Pr.

Phil. Acad. 1859, 303.

GENUS SAYORNIS, BONAP.

_Sayornis_, BONAP. ? Ateneo italiano, 1854.—IB. Comptes Rendus,

1854, Notes Orn. Delattre.

_Aulanax_, CABANIS, Journal für Orn. 1856, 1 (type, _nigricans_).

GEN. CHAR. Head with a blended depressed moderate crest. Tarsus

decidedly longer than middle toe, which is scarcely longer than the

hind toe. Bill rather narrow; width at base about half the culmen.

Tail broad, long, slightly forked; equal to the wings, which are

moderately pointed, and reach to the middle of the tail. First primary

shorter than the sixth.

This genus agrees with the preceding in the length of the broad tail,

but has a longer tarsus and a different style of coloration. The

species are distinguished as follows:—

S. nigricans. Sooty black; abdomen and edge of outer web

of lateral tail-feather pure white.

_a._ Lower tail-coverts pure white.

Greater wing-coverts paler toward tips of outer webs.

Wing, 3.60; tail, 3.45. _Hab._ Pacific Province,

United States, and Mexico var. _nigricans_.

_b._ Lower tail-coverts blackish.

Greater coverts not appreciably paler at ends. Wing,

3.35; tail, 3.30. _Hab._ Middle America, north of

Panama var. _aquaticus_.[79]

Both rows of wing-coverts distinctly tipped with

white; white edgings of secondaries very conspicuous.

Wing, 3.35; tail, 3.30. _Hab._ New Granada; Venezuela

var. _cinerascens_.[80]

S. fuscus. Grayish-olive above, and on sides of breast;

beneath (including throat) white, tinged with

sulphur-yellow. Wing, 3.40; tail, 3.20. _Hab._ Eastern

Province United States; Eastern Mexico.

S. sayus. Brownish-ashy, the tail and upper tail-coverts

black; abdomen and crissum deep ochraceous. _Hab._ Western

Province of United States, and whole of Mexico.

[79] _Sayornis nigricans_, var. _aquaticus_. _Sayornis

aquaticus_, SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, p. 119

(Guatemala).

[80] _Sayornis nigricans_, var. _cineracens_. _Sayornis

cineracea_, LAFR. Rev. Zoöl. 1848, p. 8.—SCL. Catal. Am.

Birds, 1862, 200. The above races are clearly shown to be

merely modifications, with latitude, of one type, by the

series of specimens before us. Thus, specimens of _S.

nigricans_ from Orizaba show more or less dusky on the lower

tail-coverts, while in more northern specimens (i. e.

typical var. _nigricans_) there is not a trace of it.

Typical specimens of _aquaticus_, from Guatemala, show

merely a more advanced melanism, the lighter markings on the

wings becoming greatly restricted; there is still, however,

a decided presence of white on the lower tail-coverts.

Specimens from Costa Rica (typical _aquaticus_) exhibit the

maximum degree of melanism, the white beneath being confined

to a central spot on the abdomen. In _cineraceus_ (from New

Granada) the white beneath is similarly restricted, but on

the wings is very conspicuous, showing a reversion back to

the character of _nigricans_, though surpassing the latter

in the amount of white on the coverts and secondaries.

The _S. latirostris_ (_Aulanax l._ CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein.

ii, p. 68; _Sayornis l._ SCL. Cat. Am. B. 1862, 200), from

Ecuador, we have not seen. It is probably also referrible to

the same type.

Sayornis nigricans, BONAP.

BLACK PEWEE.

_Tyrannula nigricans_, SWAINSON, Syn. Birds Mex. Taylor’s Phil. Mag.

I, 1827, 367.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl. Cal. & Or. Route, Rep. P. R. R.

Surv. VI, IV, 1857, 81. _Muscicapa nigricans_, AUD. Orn. Biog.

V, 1839, 302, pl. cccclxxiv.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 218, pl.

lx. _Tyrannus nigricans_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 326.

_Myiobius nigricans_, GRAY. _Myiarchus nigricans_, CABANIS,

Tschudi Fauna Peruan. 1844-46, 153 (Peru). _Sayornis

nigricans_, BONAP. Comptes Rendus XXVIII, 1854, notes Orn.

87.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 183.—HEERM. X, _S_,

38.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 319. _Aulanax nigricans_,

CABANIS, Cab. Journ. für Ornith. IV, Jan. 1856, 2 (type of

genus).—IB. M. H. II, 68. _Muscicapa semiatra_, VIGORS, Zoöl.

Beechey Voy. 1839, 17.

[Line drawing: _Sayornis nigricans._

3906]

SP. CHAR. Wings rounded; second, third, and fourth longest; first

rather shorter than sixth. Tarsi with a second row of scales behind.

The head and neck all round, forepart and sides of the breast, dark

sooty-brown; the rest of the upper parts similar, but lighter; faintly

tinged with lead-color towards the tail. The middle of the breast,

abdomen, and lower tail-coverts white; some of the latter, with the

shafts and the centre, brown. The lower wing-coverts grayish-brown,

edged with white. Wings dark brown; the edges of secondary coverts

rather lighter; of primary coverts dull white. Edge of the exterior

vane of the first primary and of secondaries white. Tail dark brown,

with the greater part of the outer vane of the exterior tail-feather

white; this color narrowing from the base to the tip. Bill and feet

black. The tail rounded, rather emarginate; feathers broad; more

obliquely truncate than in _sayus_. The bill slender; similar to that

of _S. fuscus_. Length, nearly 7 inches; wing, 3.60; tail, 3.45.

HAB. California coast (Umpqua Valley, Oregon, Newberry), and across by

valley of Gila and Upper Rio Grande to New Leon, and south; Mazatlan.

Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 383); Cordova (SCL. 1856, 296); Vera Cruz, temp.

and alp. regions, breeding (SUM. M. B. Soc. I, 557); W. Arizona

(COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 60).

The female appears to differ only in the smaller size. A young bird

from San Francisco has two bands of rusty on the wing; the shoulders

and hinder part of the back tinged with the same.

HABITS. Within our limits the Black Flycatcher has a distribution very

nearly corresponding with that of _Myiarchus cinerascens_. It is found

from Oregon and California on the Pacific coast, to the valley of the

Rio Grande, and thence south throughout Mexico. It also occurs as a

resident in Guatemala. Specimens in the Smithsonian Museum are from

various parts of Mexico, from New Mexico, and California.

During his explorations in Northern Mexico, Lieutenant Couch first met

with this species at Cadereita, Mexico, in April, occurring in

abundance under the high banks of the stream which supplies the town

with water. Its habits appeared to him to be much the same with those

of the common Phœbe-Bird (_Sayornis fuscus_). Its nest was supposed to

be in the bank. Dr. Kennerly, who found it at Espia, Mexico, could not

observe any difference in the habits from those of the _Pyrocephalus

rubineus_. They were both observed in the same vicinity, feeding alike

on insects and having the same movements.

In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mr. Sumichrast says that this species

is known by the common name of _Aguador_. It is very common in both

the temperate and the colder regions of that State. It nests within

the dwelling-houses in the city of Orizaba.

Dr. Kennerly states that after passing the mountains of California,

and descending into the valley of the San Gabriel River, he found

these birds quite abundant on the Pueblo Creek in New Mexico, though

he had noticed none previously. They were generally found perched upon

the summit of a bush, from which they would occasionally make short

excursions in search of prey. At the season in which they were

observed, March, they were rarely found in pairs, from which he

inferred they were already hatching.

Dr. Heermann speaks of it as abundant throughout all California, and

as constructing its nests in situations similar to those of the common

eastern species (_S. fuscus_). It seems to have a marked predilection

for the vicinity of streams and lakes, where it is nearly always to be

seen, perched upon a stake or branch. It occasionally darts into the

air for an insect, and returns to the same place to renew its watch

and to repeat these movements. The nest, composed of mud and mosses

and lined with hair, is placed against the rocks, the rafters of a

house or bridge, or against the inside of a large hollow tree, and the

eggs, four or five in number, are pure white, speckled with red.

Dr. Coues found this Flycatcher a very abundant and permanent resident

in the valleys of the Gila and Colorado, and the more southern

portions of the Territory of Arizona generally. It was not observed in

the immediate vicinity of Fort Whipple, though it was detected a few

miles south of that locality. As it has been found on the Pacific

coast so much farther north than the latitude of Fort Whipple, he

thinks it may yet be met with, at least as a summer visitant to that

place. In his journey from Arizona to the Pacific, he ascertained that

it is common throughout Southern Arizona, being, among land birds, his

most constant companion on the route. Perched generally in pairs upon

the dense verdure that in many places overhangs the river, it pursued

its constant vocation of securing the vagrant insects around it,

constantly uttering its peculiar unmelodious notes. In all its

movements the Pewee of the Eastern States was unmistakably reproduced.

It was rather shy and wary. In Southern Arizona and California it

remains throughout the winter. It seems to delight not only in river

bottoms, but also in deep mountain gorges and precipitous cañons with

small streams flowing through them.

Dr. Newberry found this species quite common in Northern California,

and specimens were also obtained as far to the north as the Umpqua

Valley in Oregon. According to Dr. Cooper it is an abundant and

resident species in all the lower parts of California, except the

Colorado Valley, where he found none later than March 25, as they had

all evidently passed on farther north. At San Diego, at that date, the

following year (1862), all these birds had nests and eggs, and were

there, as elsewhere, the first birds to build. Their nest, he states,

is formed of an outer wall of mud about five and a quarter inches wide

and three and a half high. It is built like that of the Barn Swallow,

in little pellets, piled successively, as they dry, in the shape of a

half-cup. They are fastened to a wall, or sometimes placed on a shelf,

beam, or ledge of a rock, but are always under some protecting cover,

often under a bridge. They are lined with fine grass or moss, and

horse or cow hair. The eggs, four or five in number, he describes as

pure white, measuring .74 by .55 of an inch.

This bird is said to prefer the vicinity of human habitations, and

also to keep about water, on account of the numerous flies they find

in such situations. It will often sit for hours at a time on the end

of a barn, or some other perch, uttering a monotonous but not

unpleasant ditty, which resembles, according to Dr. Cooper, the sound

of _pittic pittit_, alternately repeated, and quite like the cry of

the eastern _Sayornis fuscus_, which is its exact counterpart in

habits. It is said to fly only a short distance at a time, turning and

dodging quickly in pursuit of its prey, which it captures with a sharp

snap of the bill.

This species was met with by Mr. Ridgway only in the vicinity of

Sacramento City, Cal., where it seemed to replace our eastern Pewee,

having the same familiarity and general habits, and with notes not

distinguishable from some belonging to _S. fuscus_.

The eggs of this species, as described by Dr. Cooper and by Dr.

Heermann, are either pure white unspotted, or else white with fine red

dots, in this respect resembling the eggs of the _S. fuscus_, which

present the same variations. The measurements of those in my cabinet

vary from .75 by .56 of an inch to .78 by .60.

Mr. Salvin says that _Sayornis nigricans_ is a resident species at

Dueñas, in Guatemala, where it may always be found at a short distance

from the village, up the stream of the river Guacatate. It also occurs

about the lake. In its actions it is described as a lively and

restless species, in this respect having but little resemblance to the

Tyrant Flycatchers. It may always be found near water, generally

sitting on a stone on the margin, from which it constantly darts to

seize a fly or an insect from the surface. His remarks may, however,

refer to the var. _aquaticus_.

Sayornis fuscus, BAIRD.

PEWEE; PHŒBE-BIRD.

_Muscicapa fusca_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 931.—LATHAM, Index,

Orn. II, 1790, 483.—VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 68, pl.

xl.—BONAP. Obs. Wilson, 1825, no. 115.—IB. Synopsis,

68.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 122; V, 1839, 424, pl. cxx.—IB.

Synopsis, 1839, 43.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 223, pl.

lxiii.—GIRAUD, Birds L. Island, 1844, 42. _Tyrannula fusca_,

RICH. List, 1837.—BONAP. List, 1838. _Tyrannus fuscus_,

NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 312. _? Aulanax fuscus_,

CABANIS, Cab. Journ. IV, 1856, 1. _Muscicapa atra_, GMELIN,

Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 946.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 278.

_Muscicapa phœbe_, LATHAM, Index Orn. II, 1790, 489. _Muscicapa

nunciola_, WILSON, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 78, pl. xiii. _Myiobius

nunciola_, GRAY, Genera, I, 248. _Muscicapa carolinensis

fusca_, BRISSON, Orn. II, 1760, 367. _Black-headed Flycatcher_,

PENNANT, Arc. Zoöl. II, 389, 269. _Black-cap Flycatcher_,

LATHAM, Synopsis, I, 353. _Empidias fuscus_, CABAN. M. H. II,

Sept. 1859, 69 (type).—SCL. Catal. 1862, 234. _Sayornis

fuscus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 184.—SAMUELS, 133.—ALLEN,

B. Fla. 1871, 299.

[Illustration: _Sayornis nigricans._]

SP. CHAR. Sides of breast and upper parts dull olive-brown, fading

slightly towards the tail. Top and sides of head dark brown. A few

dull white feathers on the eyelids. Lower parts dull yellowish-white,

mixed with brown on the chin, and in some individuals across the

breast. Quills brown, the outer primary, secondaries, and tertials

edged with dull white. In some individuals the greater coverts faintly

edged with dull white. Tail brown; outer edge of lateral feather dull

white; outer edges of the rest like the back. Tibiæ brown. Bill and

feet black. Bill slender, edges nearly straight. Tail rather broad and

slightly forked. Third quill longest; second and fourth nearly equal;

the first shorter than sixth. Length, 7 inches; wing, 3.42; tail,

3.30.

HAB. Eastern North America; Eastern Mexico to Mirador and Orizaba.

Cuba (CABAN. J. IV, 1); Xalapa, (SCL. List, 234); Vera Cruz, winter

(SUMICHRAST, M. B. S. I, 557); San Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis,

1865, 773, rare).

In autumn, and occasionally in early spring, the colors are much

clearer and brighter. Whole lower parts sometimes bright

sulphur-yellow; above, greenish-olive; top and sides of the head

tinged with sooty. In the young of the year the colors are much

duller; all the wing-coverts broadly tipped with light ferruginous, as

also the extreme ends of the wings and tail-feathers. The brown is

prevalent on the whole throat and breast; the hind part of the back,

rump, and tail strongly ferruginous.

HABITS. The Pewee, or Phœbe-Bird, a well-known harbinger of early

spring, is a common species throughout the whole of eastern North

America, from the Rio Grande, on the southwest, to the provinces of

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the northeast, and as far west as the

Missouri River.

Dr. Woodhouse found it common both throughout Texas and in the Indian

Territory. It was taken by Sumichrast in the Department of Vera Cruz,

but he was in doubt whether it occurs there as a resident or is only

migratory. It was observed at San Antonio, Texas, but only as a

migrant, by both Dresser and Heermann; but at Houston, in that State,

it evidently remains and breeds, as individuals were seen there in

June by Dresser. Specimens were taken in February at Brownsville,

Texas, by Lieutenant Couch, and afterwards in March on the opposite

side of the river,—in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

In South Carolina, Dr. Coues found these birds most common in the

months of February and March, and again in October and November. He

had no doubt that some remain and pass the winter, and that others are

resident in the State during the summer months, but believes the great

majority go farther north to breed.

In Western Maine it is a common summer visitant, breeding there in

considerable numbers. Professor Verrill states that it is frequently

seen there the first of March, becoming quite common by the first of

April. It is also a summer visitant about Calais, where it breeds, but

is rather rare. At Hamilton, Canada, Mr. McIlwraith reports it as a

common summer resident, arriving about April 15.

In Pennsylvania this species arrives among the earliest spring

visitants, sometimes as early as the first week in March, and

continues in that region until late in October. Wilson has seen

specimens as late as the 12th of November. He states that in the month

of February he met with them feeding on the smilax berries in the low,

swampy woods of North and South Carolina. They were already chanting

their simple, plaintive notes. In Massachusetts they usually arrive

from the 15th to the 25th of March. In the warm spring of 1870 they

were already abundant by the 10th. They were nesting early in April,

and their first brood was ready to fly by the middle of May. They have

two broods in a season, and occasionally perhaps three, as I have

known fresh eggs in the middle of August. They leave late in October,

unless the season be unusually open, when a few linger into November.

Their well-known and monotonous, though not unpleasing, note of

_pē-w[ēē]_, or, as some hear it, _phœ-bēē_, is uttered with more force

and frequency in early spring than later in the season, though they

repeat the note throughout their residence north. It usually has some

favorite situation, in which it remains all the morning, watching for

insects and continually repeating its simple song. As he sits, he

occasionally flirts his tail and darts out after each passing insect,

always returning to the same twig.

This species is attracted both to the vicinity of water and to the

neighborhood of dwellings, probably for the same reason,—the

abundance of insects in either situation. They are a familiar,

confiding, and gentle bird, attached to localities, and returning to

them year after year. They build in sheltered situations, as under a

bridge, under a projecting rock, in the porches of houses, and in

similar situations. I have known them to build on a small shelf in the

porch of a dwelling; against the wall of a railroad-station, within

reach of the passengers; and under a projecting window-sill, in full

view of the family, entirely unmoved by the presence of the latter at

mealtime.

Their nests are constructed of small pellets of mud, placed in layers

one above the other, in semicircular form, covered with mosses, and

warmly lined with fine straw and feathers. When the nest is placed on

a flat surface,—a shelf or a projecting rock,—it is circular in

form, and mud is not made use of. A nest of this description, taken by

Mr. Vickary in Lynn, and containing five eggs, was constructed on a

ledge, protected by an overhanging rock, only a few feet from the

ground. It measured four and a half inches in diameter and three in

height. The cavity was nearly three inches wide and one and a half

deep. Its base was constructed of layers of fine leaves, strips of

bark, roots of plants, and other miscellaneous materials. The great

mass of the nest itself was made up of fine mosses closely interwoven,

and strengthened by an intermixture of firmer plant fibres. The whole

was carefully and softly lined with strips of the inner bark of

various deciduous shrubs, fine roots, and finer grasses. The

semicircular nests are usually placed out of reach of the weather

under some projecting shelter.

Wilson states that they often nest in eaves, and occasionally in an

open well, five or six feet down, among the interstices of the

side-walls. Nuttall has known them to nest in an empty kitchen.

Their attachment to a locality, when once chosen, is remarkable, and

is often persevered in under the most discouraging circumstances. In

one instance, Nuttall states that a nest was built in the boathouse at

Fresh Pond, Cambridge,—a place so common as to be almost a

thoroughfare. Although with its young brood this nest was torn down by

ruffian hands, the female immediately built a new one in the same

spot, and laid five additional eggs. This was lined with the silvery

shreds of a manilla rope, taken from the loft over the boathouse.

Besides the common call-note, from which these birds derive their

name, they have, during the love-season, a low twittering song with

which they entertain their mates, but which is heard only when the

birds are in company, and for a brief season.

The flight of the Pewee is an alternation of soaring and a succession

of light fluttering motions, more rapid when pursuing its prey than in

its ordinary movements. Its crest is usually erected when it is in

motion, or on the lookout for insects.

Mr. Audubon found these birds in full song in Florida during the

winter, and as lively as in spring, but met with none breeding south

of Charleston. They leave Louisiana in February, and return to it in

October. They feed largely on berries, especially during the winter,

and Mr. Maynard found some in the spring of 1868 with hawthorn berries

in their stomachs.

The eggs of the Pewee measure .80 of an inch in length and .60 in

breadth. They are of a rounded oval shape, pointed at one end and much

larger at the other. Their ground-color is a pure bright white, and

generally unspotted; but a certain proportion, one set in every five

or six, is distinctly marked with reddish-brown dots at the larger end.

Sayornis sayus, BAIRD.

SAY’S PEWEE.

_Muscicapa saya_, BONAP. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 20, pl. xi, fig. 3.—AUD.

Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 428, pl. ccclix.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840,

217, pl. lix. _Tyrannus saya_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840,

311. _Myiobius saya_, GRAY, Genera, I, 1844-49, 249. _Ochthœca

sayĭ_, CABANIS, Wiegmann Archiv, 1847, I, 255 (not type).

_Tyrannula saya_, BONAP. Conspectus, 1850.—MAX. Cab. J. VI,

1858, 183. _Aulanax sayus_, CABANIS, Journ. Orn. 1856, 2.

_Tyrannula pallida_, SWAINSON, Syn. Birds Mex. No. 15, in

Taylor’s Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 367. _Sayornis pallida_,

BONAP.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1857, 204. _Sayornis sayus_, BAIRD, Birds

N. Am. 1858, 185.—IB. M. B. II, Birds, 9.—COOPER, Orn. Cal.

I, 1870, 320. _Theromyias saya_, CABAN. M. H. II, Sept. 1859,

68 (type).

SP. CHAR. Above and on the sides of the head, neck, and breast,

grayish-brown, darker on the crown; region about the eye dusky. The

chin, throat, and upper part of the breast similar to the back, but

rather lighter and tinged with the color of the rest of the lower

parts, which are pale cinnamon. Under wing-coverts pale rusty-white.

The wings of a rather deeper tint than the back, with the exterior

vanes and tips of the quills darker. Edges of the greater and

secondary coverts, of the outer vane of the outer primary, and of the

secondaries and tertials, dull white. The upper tail-coverts and tail

nearly black. Edge of outer vane of exterior tail-feather white. Bill

dark brown, rather paler beneath. The feet brown. Second, third, and

fourth quills nearly equal; fifth nearly equal to sixth; sixth much

shorter than the fifth. Tail broad, emarginate. Tarsi with a posterior

row of scales. Length, 7 inches; wing, 4.30; tail, 3.35.

HAB. Missouri and central High Plains, westward to the Pacific and

south to Mexico. Xalapa (SCL. 1859, 366); Orizaba (SCL. List, 199);

Vera Cruz, winter? (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I, 557); S. E. Texas (DRESSER,

Ibis, 1865, 473, breeds); W. Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 60).

The young of the year have the upper parts slightly tinged with

ferruginous; two broad (ferruginous) bands on the wings formed by the

tips of the first and second coverts. The quills and tail rather

darker than in an adult specimen.

Autumnal specimens are simply more deeply colored than spring

examples, the plumage softer and more blended.

HABITS. Say’s Flycatcher has an extended distribution throughout

western North America, from Mexico, on the south, to the plains of the

Saskatchewan on the north, and from the Rio Grande and the Missouri to

the Pacific Ocean.

It was first discovered by Mr. Titian Peale on the Arkansas River,

near the Rocky Mountains, and described by Bonaparte. Mr. Peale

noticed a difference in its voice from that of the common _S. fuscus_,

and found it nesting in a tree, building a nest of mud and moss, lined

with dried grasses. Its young were ready to fly in July. Richardson

obtained individuals of this species at the Carlton House, May 13. It

is not given by Cooper and Suckley in their Zoölogy of Washington

Territory, but Dr. Newberry found it not uncommon throughout both

Oregon and California.

Mr. Sumichrast ascertained the presence of this bird within the

Department of Vera Cruz, but whether there as resident or as

exclusively migratory he was not able to state. It has also been found

in winter throughout Mexico. Mr. J. H. Clark met with it near Fort

Webster, in New Mexico, and describes it as particularly abundant

about the copper mines. One of the shafts near the fort, and which was

partially filled up, served as a sinkhole for the offal of the town,

and around this quite a number of these birds could always be seen in

pursuit of flies and insects attracted to the place. Mr. Clark

observed that their sudden darting from their perch and their

instantaneous return were not always attended with the capture of an

insect, but seemed at times to be done only for amusement or exercise.

Mr. Dresser first noticed these birds in November, when walking in the

gardens of the arsenal at San Antonio. On his journey to Eagle Pass in

December, he saw several daily, generally in pairs. They would perch

on a bush by the roadside, occasionally darting off after some insect,

and, as soon as he drew near, would fly off to a convenient perch some

distance ahead, thus keeping in advance for miles. During the months

of January and February they were not uncommon, but after that he lost

sight of them altogether. They seemed to prefer the open country, as

he generally found them on the prairies, and never in the mesquite

thickets. Their stomachs were found to contain small insects.

Dr. Woodhouse frequently met with these birds in Western Texas and in

New Mexico. They seemed more silent and more shy than the _fuscus_,

but otherwise similar in their habits.

Dr. Kennerly met with this species at Bill Williams’s Fork, New

Mexico, February 10, 1854. He states that he found them common in

Texas, and as far to the westward as the Great Colorado River. They

built their nests under the cliffs along the stream, and in notes and

in every other respect closely resembled the common Pewee.

Dr. Heermann mentions finding this species abundant in Southern

California. It was more especially plentiful in the fall, at the time

of its migration southward. He also found it in New Mexico, in the

northern part of Texas, near El Paso, and in Sacramento Valley, though

somewhat rare. In migrating, it prefers the deep valleys bordered by

high hills, but also occurs on the open plains, where, perched on the

stalk of some dead weed, or on a prominent rock, it darts forth in

pursuit of its prey, to return to the same point.

In Arizona, Dr. Coues found this Flycatcher common throughout the

Territory. At Fort Whipple it was a summer resident. It was one of the

first of the migratory birds to make its appearance in spring,

arriving early in March, and remained among the last, staying until

October. It winters in the Colorado Valley and the southern portions

of the Territory generally. He found it frequenting almost exclusively

open plains, in stunted chaparral and sage brush. In some other points

of habits it is said to differ remarkably from our other Flycatchers.

It does not habitually frequent cañons, rocky gorges, and secluded

banks of streams, as does _S. fuscus_, nor does it inhabit forests,

like other Flycatchers.

Dr. Cooper regards this bird as mostly a winter visitor in the

southern and western parts of California, where he has seen none later

than March. In summer it is said to migrate to the great interior

plains as far to the north as latitude 60°. It arrives from the north

at Los Angeles in September, and perhaps earlier in the northern part

of the State, and possibly breeds there east of the Sierras. Mr. Allen

found it common in Colorado Territory, among the mountains.

In the arid portions of the Great Basin this species was often seen by

Mr. Ridgway. In its natural state it preferred rocky shores of lakes

or rivers, or similar places in the cañons of the mountains, where it

attached its bulky down-lined nests to the inside of small caves or

recesses in the rocks, usually building them upon a small projecting

shelf. Wherever man has erected a building in those desert wastes,—as

at the stage-stations along the road, or in the mining towns,—it

immediately assumed the familiarity of our eastern Pewee, at once

taking possession of any outbuilding or any abandoned dwelling. Its

notes differ widely from those of the _S. fuscus_ and _S. nigricans_,

the common one consisting of a wailing _peer_, varied by a tremulous

twitter, and more resembling certain tones of the Wood Pewees

(_Contopus virens_ and _richardsoni_), with others which occasionally

call to mind the _Myiarchus cinerascens_.

This species has been observed as far to the east as Racine,

Wisconsin, where it was taken by Dr. P. R. Hoy. The specimen was sent

to Mr. Cassin, and its identity fully established. Dr. Palmer found it

breeding near Fort Wingate, in Arizona, June 11, 1869, and Mr. Ridgway

obtained its nests and eggs at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, May 23, 1868. One

of these nests (No. 13,588) he describes as a nearly globular mass,

more flattened on top, 3.50 inches in depth by 4.00 in diameter, and

composed chiefly of spiders’ webs, with which is mixed very fine

vegetable fibres, of various descriptions. This composition forms the

bulk of the nest, and makes a closely matted and tenacious, but very

soft structure; the neat but rather shallow cavity is lined solely

with the grayish-white down of wild ducks. The nest was placed on a

shelf inside a small cave on the shore of the island, at about ten or

twelve feet from the water.

Their eggs are rounded at one end and pointed at the other, measure

.82 of an inch in length by .65 in breadth. They are of a uniform

chalky white, and, so far as I am aware, entirely unspotted.

GENUS CONTOPUS, CABANIS.

_Contopus_, CABANIS, Journ. für Ornith. III, Nov. 1855, 479. (Type,

_Muscicapa virens_, L.)

[Line drawing: _Contopus borealis._

942 ♂]

GEN. CHAR. Tarsus very short, but stout; less than the middle toe and

scarcely longer than the hinder; considerably less than the culmen.

Bill quite broad at the base; wider than half the culmen. Tail

moderately forked. Wings very long and much pointed, reaching beyond

the middle of the tail; the first primary about equal to the fourth.

All the primaries slender and rather acute, but not attenuated. Head

moderately crested. Color olive above, pale yellowish beneath, with a

darker patch on the sides of the breast. Under tail-coverts streaked

in most species. A tuft of cottony-white feathers on each side of the

rump (concealed in most species).

This genus is pre-eminently characterized among North American

Flycatchers by the very short tarsi, and the long and much pointed

wings.

In most other genera, as _Sayoris_, _Myiarchus_, and _Empidonax_, a

trace of a cottony tuft may be discovered by careful search on the

flanks; but in the present genus, there is, in addition, the tufts on

the rump, not found in the others. The species are as follows:—

Species and Varieties.

A. Cottony patch of white feathers on sides of the rump

greatly developed, and conspicuous. Rictal bristles very

short (about one fourth the length of the bill). Lower

parts distinctly and abruptly white medially (somewhat

interrupted on the breast).

1. C. borealis. First quill longer than the fourth,

generally exceeding the third. Wing, 4.00 to 4.40;

tail, 2.90 to 3.00; culmen, .90; tarsus, .60. Above

dark olive-plumbeous, the tertials edged with whitish;

lower parts a lighter shade of the same, laterally and

across the breast (narrowly), the throat and middle

line of the abdomen being abruptly white. Young not

different. _Hab._ Northern parts of North America, to

the north border of United States; on the

mountain-ranges, farther south, on the interior

ranges, penetrating through Mexico to Costa Rica.

B. Cottony patch on side of rump rudimentary and

concealed. Rictal bristles strong (one half, or more, the

length of the bill). Lower parts not distinctly white

medially.

_a._ First primary shorter than fifth, but exceeding the

sixth. Tail shorter than wings.

2. C. pertinax. Wing more than 3.50. Grayish-olive,

becoming lighter on the throat (indistinctly) and

abdomen (decidedly). No distinct light bands on the

wing. Rictal bristles about half the length of bill.

The olive of a grayish cast, and not darker on the

crown. Wing, 4.45; tail, 3.90; depth of its fork,

.35; culmen, .92; tarsus, .70. _Hab._ Mexico,

generally north into Arizona (Fort Whipple, COUES)

var. _pertinax_.

The olive of a sooty cast, and darker on the crown.

Wing, 3.60; tail, 3.10; its fork, .20; culmen, .83;

tarsus, .61. _Hab._ Costa Rica var. _lugubris_.[81]

3. C. brachytarsus. Wing less than 3.00; colors much

as in _pertinax_, var. _pertinax_, but wing-bands

distinct, breast less grayish, and pileum decidedly

darker than the back. Rictal bristles two thirds as

long as the bill.

Wing, 2.65; tail, 2.55; culmen, .60; tarsus, .53.

_Hab._ Panama var. _brachytarsus_.[82]

Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.55; culmen, .67; tarsus, .53.

_Hab._ Yucatan var. _schotti_.[83]

_b._ First primary shorter than the sixth. Tail

variable.

4. C. caribæus. Bill much depressed, very long and

broad, the sides more nearly parallel on the basal

than on the terminal half; rictal bristles very strong

(two thirds, or more, the length of the bill). Above

olivaceous, generally rather dark, but varying in

tint. Beneath whitish, or dull light-ochraceous, more

brownish along the sides and (more faintly) across the

breast. Axillars and lining of the wing deep

light-ochraceous.

Tail longer than wings; bill moderately depressed;

rictal bristles three fourths as long as the bill.

Dark greenish-olive above; beneath dingy

ochrey-yellowish. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.90; culmen,

.78; tarsus, .58. _Hab._ Cuba var. _caribæus_.[84]

Dark olive-gray above; beneath whitish, with

scarcely any yellowish tinge. Wing, 3.00; tail,

3.05; culmen, .70; tarsus, .59. _Hab._ Hayti

var. _hispaniolensis_.[85]

Brownish-olive above; beneath deep dingy

ochrey-yellowish. Wing, 2.85; tail, 2.90; culmen,

.66; tarsus, .56. _Hab._ Jamaica var. _pallidus_.[86]

Tail shorter than wing; bill excessively

depressed; rictal bristles only one half as long

as the bill.

Olive-plumbeous above; beneath dingy white (not

interrupted on the breast); tinged posteriorly

with sulphury (not ochrey) yellow; wing-bands pale

ash. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.65; culmen, .79; tarsus,

.63. _Hab._ Bahamas var. _bahamensis_.[87]

C. First quill much longer than fifth (sometimes equal to

fourth). Tail much shorter than the wing. Bill much

smaller, less depressed, and more triangular; rictal

bristles about one half the bill.

5. C. virens. Colors of _caribæus_ var. _bahamensis_,

but rather more olivaceous above, and more distinctly

tinged with sulphur-yellow posteriorly beneath. Lining

of the wings, and axillars, without any ochraceous

tinge; lower tail-coverts distinctly grayish

centrally.

Whitish of the lower parts not interrupted on the

breast. Wing, 3.40; tail, 2.90; culmen, .67; tarsus,

.54. _Hab._ Eastern Province of United States var. _virens_.

Whitish of medial lower parts interrupted by a

grayish wash across the breast. Wing, 3.40; tail,

2.65 to 2.70; culmen, .70; tarsus, .54 to .56.

_Hab._ Western Province of United States, south

throughout Middle America to Ecuador var. _richardsoni_.[88]

[81] _Contopus lugubris_, LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VIII, 1865,

134 (Costa Rica, Baranca).

[82] _Contopus brachytarsus_, SCLATER, Cat. Am. B. 1862,

231. (_Empidonax brachyt._ SCL. Ibis, 1859, p. 441.) A

strongly marked race, but distinguishable from _schotti_

only by just appreciable differences in color (being paler

beneath), and shorter wing and bill, the latter broader at

the tip.

[83] _Contopus_ (_brachytarsus_ var. ?), var. _schotti_,

LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 1869, 202 (Yucatan). Very nearly

related to _C. richardsoni_, but easily distinguished by the

very different proportions.

[84] _Contopus caribæus_ (D’ORB.) _Muscipeta caribæa_,

D’ORB. (R. de la Sagra), Hist. Cuba, 1839, 77.

[85] _Contopus caribæus_, var. _hispaniolensis_, BRYANT.

_Tyrannula caribæa_, var. _hispaniolensis_, BRYANT, Pr.

Bost. Soc. XI, 1866, 91.

[86] _Contopus caribæus_, var. _pallidus_ (GOSSE). _Myiobius

pallidus_, GOSSE, Birds Jam. 166. _Blacicus pallidus_, SCL.

P. Z. S. 1861, 77. _Contopus p._ SCL. Catal. Am. B. 1862,

231.—MARCH, Pr. Ph. A. N. Sc. 1863, 290.

[87] _Contopus_ (_caribæus_ var. ?) _bahamensis_, BRYANT.

_Empidonax bahamensis_, BRYANT, List of Birds of the

Bahamas, 1859, p. 7. Young with the colors more ashy above,

and less yellowish beneath; the upper parts with feathers

faintly tipped with paler, causing an obsolete transverse

mottling; two distinct bands on wing of pale ochraceous.

Of the above, _caribæus_, _hispaniolensis_, and _pallidus_

are clearly to be referred to one species; the _C.

bahamensis_ also has many characters in common with them,

and no violence would be done by referring it, also, to the

same type; it is, however, more modified from the standard

than any of the others, though the modifications are not of

importance.

[88] These measurements are not only those of United States

and Mexican examples, but also of Middle American examples

(“_sordidulus_,” SCLATER, and “_plebeius_,” CABANIS), and of

a series from Ecuador and New Granada (= “_bogotensis_,”

SCLATER). In comparing a quite large number of such Middle

American and Equatorial specimens with the large series of

Northern examples, we have been utterly unable to appreciate

even the slightest difference between them.

The _C. punensis_ (LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 1869, 237; Puna

Island, Guayaquil) is founded upon an immature specimen, so

the characters of the species cannot be given with

exactness. The relationship appears very close to the _C.

caribæus_, there being the same large, very depressed bill,

with the long bristles reaching nearly to its tip, and the

tail about as long as the wing; while the upper plumage has

the light faint transverse mottling seen in the young

_caribæus_, var. _bahamensis_, and the lining of the wing

ochraceous. In colors, however, the two are very different,

the young of _punensis_ being ashy-green, instead of pure

ash, on the back, the crown very much darker, instead of not

appreciably so; the wing-bands are white instead of

ochraceous, while the breast and sides are dull

sulphur-yellowish, instead of ashy, without any yellow

tinge. The measurements are as follows: Wing, 2.60; tail,

2.60; culmen, .72; tarsus, .56.

The _C. ochraceus_, SCLATER & SALVIN (P. Z. S. 1869, 419;

SALV. Ibis, 1870, 115), of Costa Rica, we have not seen.

From the description, however, it seems to be scarcely

different from _C. lugubris_, and it is probably the same.

The size (wing, 3.30) appears to be a little smaller, and

the belly more deeply yellowish.

[Illustration: PLATE XLIV.

1. Contopus borealis. ♂ Wyoming, 38325.

2. ” pertinax. ♂ Mex., 42141.

3. ” virens. ♂ Pa., 1632.

4. ” richardsoni. ♂ Col. R., 2962.

5. Pyrocephalus mexicanus. ♂ Mex., 38206.

6. Empidonax obscurus. ♂ Nevada, 53294.

7. ” hammondii. ♂ Nevada, 53305.

8. ” traillii. ♂ Pa., 1025.

9. ” pusillus. ♂ Cal., 41517.

10. ” minimus. ♂ Pa., 2649.

11. ” acadicus. ♂ Pa., 1825.

12. ” flaviventris. ♂ Pa., 2330.

13. Mitrephorus palescens. ♂ Arizona, 40601.]

Contopus borealis, BAIRD.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER.

_Tyrannus borealis_, SW. & RICH. F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 141, plate.

_Myiobius borealis_, GRAY, Genera, I, 248. _Muscicapa cooperi_,

NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 282.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 422; V,

1839, 422, pl. clxxiv.—IB. Synopsis, 1839, 41.—IB. Birds Am.

I, 1840, 212, pl. lviii. _Tyrannus cooperi_, BONAP. List,

1838.—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 298. _Contopus

cooperi_, CABANIS, Journal für Ornithol. III, Nov. 1855, 479.

_Muscicapa inornata_, NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 282. _Contopus

borealis_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 188.—COOPER & SUCKLEY,

169.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 230.—SAMUELS, 135.—COOPER, Orn.

Cal. I, 1870, 323. _Contopus mesoleucus_, SCLATER, P. Z. S.

1859, 43.—IB. Ibis, 1859, 122, 151. _Tyrannus nigricans_, MAX.

Cab. J. VI, 1858, 184.

[Illustration: _Contopus borealis._]

SP. CHAR. Wings long, much pointed; the second quill longest; the

first longer than the third. Tail deeply forked. Tarsi short. The

upper parts ashy-brown, showing darker brown centres of the feathers;

this is eminently the case on the top of the head; the sides of the

head and neck, of the breast and body, resembling the back, but with

the edges of the feathers tinged with gray, leaving a darker central

streak. The chin, throat, narrow line down the middle of the breast

and body, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts white, or sometimes with a

faint tinge of yellow. The lower tail-coverts somewhat streaked with

brown in the centre. On each side of the rump, generally concealed by

the wings, is an elongated bunch of white silky feathers. The wings

and tail very dark brown, the former with the edges of the secondaries

and tertials edged with dull white. The lower wing-coverts and

axillaries grayish-brown. The tips of the primaries and tail-feathers

rather paler. Feet and upper mandible black, lower mandible brown. The

young of the year similar, but the color duller; edges of

wing-feathers dull rusty instead of grayish-white. The feet light

brown. Length, 7.50; wing, 4.33; tail, 3.30; tarsus, .60.

HAB. Northern portions of whole of North America, throughout Rocky

Mountains, south through elevated regions of Mexico to Costa Rica.

Localities: Oaxaca, high regions, Oct. (SCL. 1858, 301); Xalapa (SCL.

1859, 366); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 122); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 115);

Veragua (SALV. 1870, 199); San Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865,

474, winter).

There is wonderfully little variation in this species, both in

coloration and size, with different regions; in fact none other than

individual can be observed. Contrary to the usual rule, spring

specimens have a more appreciable sulphur-yellow tinge below.

HABITS. This still comparatively rare species was first obtained by

Richardson and described by Swainson. The specimen was shot on the

Saskatchewan. No other was taken, and no information was obtained in

reference to its habits. It appears to have been next met with by Mr.

John Bethune, in Cambridge, June 7, 1830, in the woods of Mount

Auburn. This and a second specimen, obtained soon after, were females,

on the point of incubation. A third female was shot in the following

year, June 21. Supposed to be a new species, it was described by Mr.

Nuttall as _Tyrannus cooperi_. All the specimens procured had their

stomachs filled with torn fragments of bees, wasps, and similar

insects.

Mr. Nuttall, who watched the motions of two other living individuals

of this species, states that they appeared tyrannical and quarrelsome

even with each other. Their attacks were always accompanied with a

whining, querulous twitter. The disputes seemed to be about the

occupancy of certain territories. One bird, a female, appeared to

confine herself to a small clump of red cedars, in the midst of a

sandy piece of forest. From the tree-tops she kept a sharp lookout for

passing insects, and pursued them, as they appeared, with great vigor

and success, sometimes chasing them to the ground, and returning to

her perch with a mouthful which she devoured at her leisure. When she

resumed her position, she would occasionally quiver her wings and

tail, erect her crest, keeping up a whistling call of _pŭ-pŭ_, uttered

with variations. Besides this call the male had a short song which

sounded like _ch’-phe’bēē_.

The nest of this pair Mr. Nuttall discovered in the horizontal branch

of a tall red cedar, fifty feet from the ground. It was made

externally of interlaced dead twigs of the cedar, lined with wiry

stems, and dry grasses, and fragments of lichens. It contained three

young, which remained in the nest twenty-three days, and were fed on

beetles and other insects. Before they left their nests they could fly

as well as their parents. The male bird was very watchful, and would

frequently follow Mr. Nuttall half a mile. They were in no way timid,

and allowed him to investigate them and their premises without any

signs of alarm.