a throat gorget of orange red, the feathers being slightly lengthened
into a ruff on the side of the gorget. They nest in a great variety of
locations and at a low elevation, such as vines, bushes and the low
hanging branches of trees. The nest is made of vegetable fibres covered
with cobwebs and often with lichens. The eggs do not differ from those
of the other Hummers.
[Illustration 278: 432--433--434.]
[Illustration:.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 277
434. ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD. _Selasphorus alleni._
Range.--Pacific coast from British Columbia southward; most abundant in
California. Winters in Mexico.
This species is like the last, but the back is greenish, only the tail
being reddish brown. These birds generally locate their nests at low
elevations near the end of overhanging branches, on vines, weed stalks,
or bushes, but have been found as high as 90 feet above ground. The
nests of this species are made of plant fibres and cobwebs, generally
decorated with lichens. The two white eggs measure .50 × .32.
Data.--Santa Monica, Cal., May 29, 1896. Nest two feet from the ground
in a sage bush. Collector, W. Lee Chambers.
[Illustration 279.]
[Illustration: E. L. Bickford. ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 278
435. MORCOM'S HUMMINGBIRD. _Atthis morcomi._
Range.--This species is known only from a single specimen, taken in the
Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, in 1896.
436. CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD. _Stellula calliope._
Range.--Western United States from British Columbia southward, and from
the Rocky Mountains west to eastern Oregon and California.
This is the smallest of North American Hummers, being but 3 inches in
length. It is greenish above and has a violet gorget showing the white
bases of the feathers. They build their nests in all manner of locations
from high up in tall pines to within a foot of the ground in slender
bushes. The nests are made interiorly with plant down, but the outside
is generally grayish colored shreds and lichens. The eggs average but a
trifle smaller than those of _colubris_, .45 × .30.
437. LUCIFER'S HUMMINGBIRD. _Calothorax lucifer._
Range.--Mexico, north to southwestern Texas and Arizona.
This species, which is common in parts of Central Mexico, occurs only
casually north to our borders and has not yet been found nesting there.
They build small compact nests of plant down attached to the stalks or
leaves of plants or weeds.
438. REIFFER'S HUMMINGBIRD. _Amizilis tzacatl._
Range.--Abundant in southern Mexico; casual in southern Texas.
This species is greenish above, with a bronzy lustre; the tail is
reddish brown, and the throat and breast are metallic green. They breed
abundantly about houses and nest apparently at all seasons of the year
in Central America, where they are the most common species of Hummers.
[Illustration 280: 436--437--438.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 279
439. BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD. _Amizilis cerviniventris chalconota._
Range.--Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and southward through Mexico.
These birds are like the last but have the underparts a pale brownish
buff color. They are quite common in their summer range in the United
States, nesting at a low elevation in bushes and low trees. The two eggs
are white, .50 × .35. Data.--Brownsville, Texas, May 5, 1892. Nest of
fine bark-like fibre on the outside, lined with lint from thistle plant;
located on limb of small hackberry. Collector, Frank G. Armstrong.
440. XANTUS' HUMMINGBIRD. _Basilinna xantusi._
Range.--Southern Lower California.
A handsome species, greenish above, with a coppery tinge and shading
into reddish brown on the tail; under parts buffy, throat metallic
green, and a broad white streak behind the eye. They breed on the ranges
making a similar nest to those of other Hummers, placed on weeds or
bushes near the ground. The eggs cannot be distinguished from those of
the majority of other species.
440.1. WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD. _Basilinna leucotis._
Range.--A Central American and Mexican species, casually found on the
ranges in Southern Arizona.
The plumage of this species is greenish above and below, being metallic
green on the breast; the forehead, sides of head, and throat are
iridescent blue and a white line extends back from the eye.
441. BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD. _Cynanthus latirostris._
Range.--Mountains of central Mexico north to southern Arizona and New
Mexico.
The throat of this species is a rich metallic blue; otherwise the
plumage is greenish above and below, being brighter and more irisdescent
on the breast. They are not uncommon on the ranges of southern Arizona,
where they have been found nesting in July and August, their nest not
being unlike those of the Rufous Hummer, but with the exterior largely
composed of shreds of grayish bark and lichens. Their eggs are like many
others of the Hummers.
[Illustration 281: 439--440.1--441.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 280
PERCHING BIRDS. Order XVII. PASSERES
COTINGAS. Family COTINGIDAE
441.1. XANTUS BECARD. _Platypsaris aglaiæ albiventris._
Range.--Mexico; north casually to the southern border of Arizona.
This peculiar species is grayish above and lighter gray below, has dark
slaty crown, and a patch of rose color on the lower throat. This is the
only representative of this tropical family that has been found as yet
over the Mexican border, but its near ally, the Rose-throated Becard has
been found within a very few miles and will doubtless be added to our
fauna as an accidental visitor ere long. Their nests are large masses of
grasses, weeds, strips of bark, etc., partially suspended from the forks
of branches. Their eggs number four or five and are a pale buffy gray
color, dotted and scratched with a pale reddish brown and dark gray.
Size .95 × .70. The one figured is from a set in the collection of Mr.
Crandall, taken June 1, 1897 at Presidio Sinaloa, Mexico.
FLYCATCHERS. Family TYRANNIDÆ
Flycatchers, which are found only in America and chiefly in the tropics,
are insect-eating birds, generally having a grayish colored plumage,
sometimes adorned with a slight crest or a coronal mark of orange, red,
or yellow. Only two of the species found in North America are gaudy in
plumage, the Vermilion, and the Derby Flycatchers. They all have the
habit of sitting erect on a dead twig, and watching for passing insects,
which they catch on the wing.
442. FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER. _Muscivora tryannus._
Range.--A Central and South American species accidentally having
occurred in the United States on several occasions.
This is a handsome black, white and gray species of the size and form of
the next.
[Illustration 282: Buffy gray.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 281
443. SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER. _Muscivora forficata._
Range.--Mexico, north through Texas to southern Kansas; accidental in
other parts of the country.
The Scissor-tail or "Texan Bird of Paradise" is the most beautiful
member of this interesting family. Including its long tail, often 10
inches in length and forked for about 6 inches, this Flycatcher reaches
a length of about 15 inches. It is pale grayish above, fading into
whitish below, and has scarlet linings to the wings, and a scarlet crown
patch. They are one of the most abundant of the breeding birds in Texas,
placing their large roughly built nests in all kinds of trees and at any
elevation, but averaging between ten and fifteen feet above ground. The
nests are built of rootlets, grasses, weeds and trash of all kinds, such
as paper, rags, string, etc. The interior is generally lined with plant
fibres, hair or wool. They lay from three to five, and rarely six eggs
with a creamy white ground color, more or less spotted and blotched with
reddish brown, lilac and gray, the markings generally being most
numerous about the larger end. They average in size about .90 × .67.
Data.--Corpus Christi, Texas, May 18, 1899. 6 eggs. Nest of moss, vines,
etc., on small trees in open woods near town. Collector, Frank B.
Armstrong.
444. KINGBIRD. _Tyrannus tyrannus._
Range.--Temperate North America, breeding from the Gulf of Mexico north
to New Brunswick, Manitoba and British Columbia; rare off the Pacific
coast.
This common Tyrant Flycatcher is very abundant in the eastern parts of
its range. They are one of the most pugnacious and courageous of birds
attacking and driving away any feathered creature to which they take a
dislike, regardless of size. Before and during the nesting season, their
sharp, nerve-racking clatter is kept up all day long, and with redoubled
vigor when anyone approaches their nesting site. They nest in any kind
of a tree, in fields or open woods, and at any height from the ground,
being found on fence rails within two feet of the ground or in the tops
of pines 70 or 80 feet above the earth. Nearly every orchard will be
found to contain one or
[Illustration 283: Creamy white.]
[Illustration: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.]
[Illustration: Cream color.]
[Illustration: Kingbird.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 282
more pairs of these great insect destroyers; if more than one pair,
there will be continual warfare as often as one encroaches on the
domains of the other. Their nests are made of strips of vegetable fibre,
weeds, etc., and lined with horsehair or catkins. They are sometimes
quite bulky and generally very substantially made. The three to five
eggs are laid the latter part of May, and are of a creamy ground color
splashed with reddish brown and lilac. Size .95 × .70. Data.--Worcester
County, Massachusetts, June 3, 1895. 4 eggs. Nest 10 feet from the
ground in an apple tree; made of fibres, string, rootlets and weeds,
lined with horse hair. Collector, F. C. Clark.
[Illustration 284: G. E. Moulthrope. NEST AND EGGS OF KINGBIRD.]
Page 283
445. GRAY KINGBIRD. _Tyrannus dominicensis._
Range.--West Indies; north in April to Florida and the South Atlantic
States to South Carolina and casually farther.
This species is slightly larger than our Kingbird, (9 inches long),
grayish instead of dark drab above, white below, and without any white
tip to tail. Like the common Kingbird, it has a concealed orange patch
on the crown. Their habits and nesting habits are the same as those of
our common bird, but the nest is not generally as well built, and nearly
always is made largely of twigs. The three or four eggs have a creamy or
a creamy pink ground color, spotted and blotched with dark brown and
lilac, most numerously about the large end. Size 1.00 × .73. Tarpon
Springs, Florida, May 28, 1802. Nest of twigs and weeds in a low bush.
Collector, J. A. Southley.
446. COUCH'S KINGBIRD. _Tyrannus melancholicus couchi._
Range.--Mexico, north in summer to southern Texas.
This species is very similar to the next but the throat and breast are
white, and the underparts a brighter yellow. Like the other members of
this genus, these build their nests in any location in trees or bushes,
making them of twigs, weeds and moss. Their three or four eggs have a
creamy ground with a pinkish cast and are spotted with brown and lilac.
Size .97 × .12.
447. ARKANSAS KINGBIRD. _Tyrannus verticalis._
Range.--Western United States and southern British Provinces from Kansas
and Minnesota west to the Pacific.
This species has grayish upper parts, shading into darker on the wings
and tail, and lighter on the throat and upper breast; the underparts are
yellow, and there is a concealed patch of orange on the crown. They are
very abundant throughout the west, where they have the same familiar
habits of the eastern species, nesting in all sorts of locations such as
would be used by the latter. Their nests are made of plant fibres,
weeds, string, paper or any trash that may be handy, being sometimes
quite bulky. Their eggs do not differ in any particular from those of
the eastern bird, except that they may average a little smaller. Size
.95 × .65.
[Illustration 285: Creamy.]
[Illustration: Gray Kingbird.]
[Illustration: Buff.]
[Illustration: Arkansas Kingbird.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 284
448. CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. _Tyrannus vociferans._
Range.--Western United States from the Rocky Mountain region to
California, and from Wyoming southward.
This species is like the last except that the throat and breast are
darker. Their habits, nesting habits and eggs are indistinguishable from
those of the other Tyrant Flycatchers, and they are fully as courageous
in the defense of their homes against either man or bird, their notes
resembling those of the common Kingbird of the east.
449. DERBY FLYCATCHER. _Pitangus sulphuratus derbianus._
Range.--Mexico and Central America, breeding north to southern Texas.
This handsome bird is the largest of the Flycatcher family found in the
United States, being 11 inches in length. It has a black crown enclosing
a yellow crown patch; a broad black stripe from the bill, through the
eye and around the back of the head, is separated from the crown by a
white forehead and line over the eye; the throat is white shading into
yellow on the underparts. They are abundant in the interior of Mexico,
but can hardly be classed as common over our border, where they nest in
limited numbers. Their nests are unlike those of any of our other
Flycatchers being large masses of moss, weeds and grass, arched over on
top and with the entrance on the side. The three or four eggs are creamy
white, sprinkled chiefly about the large end with small reddish brown or
umber spots; size 1.15 × .85.
[Illustration 286: Buff.]
[Illustration: Derby Flycatcher.]
[Illustration: Creamy white.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 285
451. SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. _Myiodynastes luteiventris._
Range.--Mexico and Central America, breeding north to the Mexican border
of Arizona.
This peculiar Flycatcher, which is unlike any other American species,
can only be regarded as a rare breeding bird in the Huachuca Mts. It is
8 inches in length, has a grayish back streaked with black, the tail
largely rusty brown and the underparts sulphur yellow, streaked on the
breast and sides with dusky; a yellow crown patch is bordered on either
side by a stripe of mottled dusky, and is separated from the blackish
patch through the eye, by white superciliary lines. Their habits are
similar to those of the genus Myiarchus, and, like them, they nest in
cavities in trees, and lay from three to five eggs of a creamy buff
color thickly spotted and blotched with brown and purplish, the markings
not assuming the scratchy appearance of the Crested Flycatchers, but
looking more like those of a Cardinal; size of egg 1.05 × .75.
Data.--Huachuca Mts., Arizona, June 29, 1901. 4 eggs. Nest in the
natural cavity of a live sycamore tree about fifty feet from the ground;
composed of twigs. Collector, O. W. Howard.
452. CRESTED FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus crinitus._
Range.--North America, east of the Plains, and from New Brunswick and
Manitoba southward; winters from the Gulf States southward.
This trim and graceful, but quarrelsome, species is grayish on the head,
neck, and breast, shading to greenish on the back and quite abruptly
into bright yellow on the underparts; the head is slightly crested and
the inner webs of all the lateral tail feathers are reddish brown. They
are abundant in most of their range but are generally shy so they are
not as often seen as many other more rare birds. They nest in cavities
of any kind of trees and at any elevation from the ground, the nest
being made of twigs, weeds and trash, and generally having incorporated
into its make-up a piece of cast off snake skin. They lay from four to
six eggs of a buffy color, blotched and lined with dark brown and
lavender. Size .85 × .65.
[Illustration 287: Creamy buff.]
[Illustration: Crested Flycatcher.]
[Illustration: Buff.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 286
453. ARIZONA CRESTED FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus magister magister._
Range.--Southern Arizona and New Mexico, south through Mexico.
This bird is very similar to, but averages slightly larger than the
Mexican Flycatcher. Its nesting habits are the same and the eggs cannot
be distinguished from those of the latter, the nest being most
frequently found in giant cacti.
453a. MEXICAN CRESTED FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus magister nelsoni._
Range.--Mexico, north to southern Texas.
This species is similar to the last but is considerably paler. They are
common in some localities, nesting in holes in trees or stumps, often
those deserted by Woodpeckers. Their eggs are like those of the last but
average paler. Data.--Corpus Christi, Texas, May 10, 1899. Nest in hole
in telegraph pole; made of red cow hair, feathers and leaves. 4 eggs.
Collector, Frank B. Armstrong.
454. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus cinerascens cinerascens._
Range.--North America, west of the Plains and south of Canada.
Similar to the others of the genus but grayish brown above and with the
underparts much paler, the throat and breast being nearly white. Like
the others they nest in cavities in trees, either natural or ones made
by Woodpeckers. Their four to five eggs are lighter in color than those
of crinitus but cannot be distinguished from those of the Mexican
Crested Flycatcher.
[Illustration 288: 453--454.]
[Illustration: Pale buff.]
[Illustration: no caption.]
[Illustration: Buff.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 287
454b. LOWER CALIFORNIA FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus cinerascens pertinax._
Range.--Lower California.
This sub-species is similar to Nutting Flycatcher but paler below and
grayish above.
455a. OLIVACEOUS FLYCATCHER. _Myiarchus lawrencei olivascens._
Range.--Western Mexico, north to southern Arizona.
This is the smallest of the genus found in the United States, being but
7 inches in length. Except for size it is similar to _crinitus_ but with
very little, if any, rusty brown on tail, except for a slight edging on
the outer web. Their nesting sites are the same as those chosen by the
other Crested Flycatcher, but their eggs appear to have but little of
the scratchy appearance of the other members. They are pale buffy,
speckled and spotted with brown and lilac; size .80 × .60.
Data.--Toluca, Mexico, May 20, 1895. Nest of brown hair and feathers, in
hole in tree in woods. Collector, Fred T. Francis.
456. PHŒBE.. _Sayornis phœbe._
Range.--North America, east of the Rockies and north to Nova Scotia.
These very common, grayish colored birds are very often known as "Bridge
Birds" because of the frequency with which they construct their nests
under bridges and arches; they also build in crevices in ledges or among
the hanging roots near the tops of embankments, and on the rafters or
beams of old buildings. The nests are made of mud, moss and grass, lined
with feathers. The four or five eggs measure .75 × .55. Occasionally,
eggs will be found that have a few minute spots of reddish brown. Freak
situations in which to locate their nests are often chosen by these
birds, such as the brake beam of a freight car, in the crevices of old
wells, hen houses, etc. The birds are one of the most useful that we
have; being very active and continually on the alert for insects and
beetles that constitute their whole bill of fare.
[Illustration 289: Buffy.]
[Illustration: Phœbe.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 288
[Illustration 290: G. E. Moulthrope.
PHOEBE ON NEST.]
Page 289
457. Say's Phœbe. _Sayornis sayus._
Range.--Western United States, breeding from southern United States,
north to the Arctic regions, and from Kansas and Wisconsin westward.
Winters in Mexico.
This bird is slightly larger than the last (7.5 inches long), and is
rusty brown color on the belly and lower breast. Like the eastern Phœbes
they are one of the earliest birds to return in the spring and are
abundant in the greater parts of their range. Like the latter, they
often raise two broods a season, one in April and another in July. Their
nests are generally placed on narrow shelves and crevices of ledges, but
they also nest as commonly about houses and farms as does the eastern
bird. The nests are made of weeds, mosses, fibres and wool, and are
quite flat. They lay four or five white eggs. Size .78 x .58.
458. BLACK PHŒBE. _Sayornis nigricans._
Range.--Mexico and north in summer into the bordering States.
This species is of the size of the last but is blackish (darkest on the
head and breast), with a white belly and under tail coverts, the latter
streaked with dusky. Their habits and nesting habits are the same as
those of the eastern Phœbe, they building their nests of mud, moss,
weeds and feathers on ledges or about buildings, and generally close to
or in the vicinity of water. They breed during April or May, laying four
or five white eggs which cannot be distinguished from those of the
common Phœbe. Size .75 x .55.
458a. WESTERN BLACK PHŒBE. _Sayornis nigricans semiatra._
Range.--Pacific Coast of Mexico and the United States, breeding north to
Oregon.
This variety differs from the last in having the under tail coverts pure
white. Its nesting habits are precisely the same and the eggs
indistinguishable.
[Illustration 291: 457-458.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 290
459. OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. _Nuttallornis borealis._
Range.--Whole of North America, breeding from the Middle States and
California northward, and in the Rockies, south to Mexico; winters south
of the United States.
These Flycatchers are nowhere abundant, and in some parts of the
country, especially in the middle portion, they are very rare. They
breed very locally and generally not more than one pair in any locality.
In New England, I have always found them nesting in company with Parula
Warblers, in dead coniferous swamps in which the branches are covered
with long pendant moss. Their nests are placed high up in the trees,
generally above fifty feet from the ground, and on small horizontal
limbs; they are made of small twigs and rootlets, lined with finer
rootlets and moss, and are very flat and shallow; as they are generally
made to match the surrounding, they are one of the most difficult nests
to find. They lay three or four cream colored eggs which are spotted
with reddish brown and lilac, chiefly about the large end. Size .85 x
.65. Data.--Lake Quinsigamond, Massachusetts, June 12, 1897. Nest of
twigs and moss, about 60 feet above the ground, in a dead pine tree in
center of a large wet swamp. Nest could not be seen from the ground, and
was found by watching the birds.
[Illustration 292: Olive-sided Flycatcher.]
[Illustration: Creamy white.]
[Illustration.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 291
460. COUES'S FLYCATCHER. _Myiochanes pertinax pallidiventris._
Range.--Western Mexico, breeding north to central Arizona.
This Flycatcher builds one of the most artistic nests created by
feathered creatures. It bears some resemblance on the exterior to that
of the next species, but it is much more firmly made, and the walls are
usually higher, making a very deeply cupped interior. The outside of the
nest is made of fibres, cobwebs, catkins, etc., firmly felted together
and ornamented with green lichens to match the limb upon which it is
saddled. The interior is heavily lined with dried, yellowish grasses,
making a very strong contrast to the exterior. They are fairly abundant
birds in the ranges of southern Arizona, where they nest generally
during June. They lay three eggs of a rich creamy color, spotted and
blotched, chiefly about the larger end, with reddish brown and lilac
gray. Size .95 x .61. Data.--Huachuca Mts., Arizona, July 8, 1897. 3
eggs. Nest in a yellow pine about 60 feet up and near the extremity of a
long slender limb. Elevation 7000 feet. Collector, O. W. Howard.
461. WOOD PEWEE. _Myiochanes virens._