General form, rather short, robust; bill, straight, wide at base,
somewhat rounded and flattened at the point, ridge of the under mandible
(or gonys) very distinctly ascending; wings, rather long, first quill
very short, fourth, longest, but only slightly longer than the third and
fifth; tail, moderate, containing twelve feathers; legs and feet,
strong.
Gymnokitta cyanocephala. (De Wied).
Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus. De Wied, Travels in North America (1839,
Coblenz).
Cyanocorax Cassinii. McCall, Proc. Acad. Philada., V. p. 216. (1851.)
Form. Bill, straight, wide at base, blunt and rounded, and somewhat
flattened towards the point; wings, rather long, secondaries, broad and
mostly obtuse at their ends; tail, moderate, tarsi rather long,
moderately robust, and with the toes distinctly scaled; claws, curved,
rather strong and sharp.
Dimensions. Total length (of skin), about 10 inches; wing, 6; tail, 4½;
bill, from gape, 1½ inches.
Colors. _Adult._—Throat, white, tinged with bluish running into stripes
on the neck before. Entire other plumage, above and below, ashy-blue,
much darker and clearer on the head, palest on the abdomen, tibiæ and
under wing coverts. Cheeks and frontal feathers, pale ultramarine; bill
and claws dark; irides, light-brown—sexes alike.
Hab. New Mexico, Nebraska. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus.,
Washington city.
Obs. This species does not resemble any other in such degree as to
readily lead to confusion, and as yet stands alone in its genus.
The bird described by Col. McCall, as above, and to which he did us the
honor to apply our name, he has since ascertained to be the present
species, of which, at the time of the publication of his description, no
specimen was exhibited in the nearly complete collection of Jays in the
museum of the Philadelphia Academy, nor had it ever been mentioned by
any American ornithologist. He observed it in the vicinity of Santa Fé,
in considerable numbers.
Although as we have said above, nearly the whole of the valuable
Zoological notes in the German edition of the Prince Maximilian’s
Travels, are omitted in the English translation; two notices of the
present species may be found in the latter, pp. 287, 297, the last of
which is the description, and seems to have accidentally escaped the
singular want of judgment which induced the omissions to which we
allude.
[Illustration: Plate 29
The Black Flycatcher
Ptilogonys nitens (_Swainson_)]
PTILOGONYS NITENS.—Swainson.
The Black Flycatcher.
PLATE XXIX.—Adult Male and Female.
This gracefully formed, but sombre-colored little bird was first added
to the Ornithological fauna of the United States, by our valued friend,
Colonel George A. McCall, Inspector General in the Army of the United
States, who observed it, and obtained numerous specimens, while on a
tour of duty in California, in 1852. It had previously been known as a
Mexican species, having been described by Mr. Swainson, in 1838, from
specimens sent from that country.
This bird belongs to a small group of Fly-catchers, containing not more
than five or six species, all of which are inhabitants of either Western
North America, Mexico, or the southern portion of this continent. They
appear to possess the habits of true Fly-catchers, and are remarkable
for their slender but active forms, in which the long and ample tail and
the elongated feathers of the head, capable of being erected into a
handsome crest, are generally conspicuous. The best known North American
species is _Ptilogonys obscurus_, La Fresnaye (which is _Ptilogonys
Townsendii_, Audubon), a bird that is now brought from the far west by
nearly all collectors.
Respecting the curious little species which is the subject of our
present article, we have the pleasure of laying before the reader the
following notes very kindly furnished by Col. McCall.
“The first opportunity that I had for observing the manners of this
bird, was afforded me in 1852, while travelling from _Valle-cita_ to _El
Chino_, in California. On that occasion, as I left the country bordering
the desert, and began to ascend the hills, my route followed the course
of a mountain brook, whose clear waters were at intervals shaded with
gnarled and scrubby oaks. In approaching one of these clumps of trees, I
remarked a number of dark-colored birds, which afterwards were found to
belong to this species, darting upwards from the topmost branches, and
after diving and pitching about in the air for a moment, returning again
to the dead branches with the lively port that proved them to be engaged
in the agreeable pastime of taking their insect prey. A nearer approach
showed them to be light and graceful on the wing; but less swift and
decided in their motions than most of the true Fly-catchers. There were
about a dozen in company, and they presented a pleasing sight, as three
or four together were constantly either pitching upwards to a
considerable height in the air, or gliding silently back to their
perches. In these ærial evolutions, the bright spot on the wing, which
is formed by broad patches of white on the inner webs of six or seven of
the quill feathers, and is visible only when the wing is spread, gleamed
conspicuously in the sunshine, and formed a fine contrast with the
glossy black of the general plumage. I sat upon my horse, watching their
movements for some time, and I now perceived that two of their numbers
were of a dusky hue, and without the wing spot to which I have referred;
but I could discover no difference in their manners or their style of
flight. I, therefore, had little doubt of their being adult females; for
although at that period of the year, (June 20) the young birds might
have been well grown, yet there is generally a want of decided character
in the unpractised flight of young birds, which betrays them to the
Sportsman’s eye. In fact, these birds agreed with Swainson’s description
of the female in general terms; and my only regret is that I was not
able to satisfy myself by dissection whether these to which I now refer
were in reality adult females, or young males in their first plumage.
“However, on my attempting to approach still nearer, these birds became
alarmed, and winging their way to the hill-side, alighted on the scraggy
bushes scattered among large projecting rocks, where they resumed their
sport, rising lightly into the air and darting about after insects,
which seemed to be abundant. I followed—but they were now on the _qui
vive_, and, without permitting me to get within gun-shot, flew from bush
to bush, as I advanced, keeping all the while in a loose irregular
flock, and still pursuing their sport of fly-catching. In this way they
continued to ascend the hills, until the broken character of the ground
abruptly stopped my horse. Having, however, dismounted, I clambered over
the rocks, and at last succeeded in killing two of them. These were
alike in plumage—black, with the wing spot; and one of them, which I
dissected, proved to be a male.
“As I journeyed on towards the Sierra Nevada, I met, during several days
succeeding, these birds, either in small companies, or singly; and
subsequently I found a few individuals between _El Chino_ and _Los
Angeles_; but they were invariably black, with the white wing spot. And
I never on any occasion, except the one I have referred to, saw one of
those clad in dusky garments, which I had supposed were females.
“The localities in which I found these birds, were either on the
mountainsides, or in the timbered borders of mountain streams.
“The measurements of the fresh specimen were as follows—length, 8
inches; wing, 3½; tail, 3½.
“The figure slender—the feet rather strong.”
This bird has also been noticed by Dr. Heermann, in various parts of
California, and by Dr. Henry, and Dr. Kennerly, in New Mexico. To the
former gentleman, we are indebted for the following contribution,
intended for our present article:
“This bird is seldom found in the northern part of California, though I
procured both adults and young on the Consumnes river, in 1851. Since
then, however, a naturalist and friend of mine residing there has not
seen a single other specimen, though giving much of his attention to
ornithology, and to the migratory habits of such birds as pass through
that section of country.
“I was therefore surprised to meet with this species after sixty miles
of travel on the Colorado desert near the Little Lagoon. It was perched
on a _Mesquite_ tree, jerking its tail almost incessantly, as do various
other species of Fly-catchers, and dashing occasionally in irregular
curves and angles high into the air in pursuit of insects. On
approaching the Colorado, this Fly-catcher became quite abundant, as I
frequently saw companies of twenty or thirty together, many of which
would be on the wing at the same time, engaged at their usual
employment. At Fort Yuma, this species was also met with in considerable
numbers late in November, when they were migrating southward. Its note
is a low, plaintive whistle. This bird undoubtedly incubates in
California, as I have seen specimens which were certainly very young
birds, though I have not been so fortunate as to discover its nest.”
Near Fort Webster, in New Mexico, Dr. Henry has seen this bird, though
he considers it of rather rare occurrence. Dr. Kennerly noticed it in
abundance during the months of February and March, on the route of
Lieut. Whipple’s party, from the Big Sandy creek to the Great Colorado
river.
Our plate represents the adult male and female about two-thirds of the
size of life.