(SCISSOR-TAIL TYRANT.)
+Milvulus tyrannus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 53; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 178 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 26
(Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 203
(Entrerios). +Tyrannus violentus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p.
453.
_Description._--Above cinereous, rump blackish; cap jet-black, with
a concealed yellow vertical crest; wings dark brown; tail black,
outer web of the outer rectrix white; beneath white; bill and feet
black; three outer primaries excised at the tips: whole length 14·0
inches, wing 4·6, tail 12·0. _Female_ similar, but outer
tail-feathers not so long.
_Hab._ Mexico, and Central and South America, down to Patagonia.
The _Tijereta_ (Scissor-tail)--a name derived from the habit the bird
has of opening and closing the two long feathers of the tail when
flying--is found throughout South America, and in the summer of the
Southern Hemisphere ranges as far south as Patagonia.
The tail is forked, and the two outer feathers exceed by over four
inches in length the next two. The total length of the adult male
is fourteen inches, the tail being ten inches long; this species is
therefore one of the longest-tailed we know of. The tail of the female
is about two inches shorter than that of the male. The head is intense
black; the plumage of the crown is rather long and loose, and when
raised displays a vivid yellow crest. The neck and upper surface is
light, clear grey; the under surface pure white; the tail black. During
flight the two long feathers of the tail stream out behind like a pair
of black ribbons; frequently the bird pauses suddenly in its flight, and
then the two long feathers open out in the form of the letter V.
The Scissor-tail is migratory, and arrives, already mated, at Buenos
Ayres at the end of September, and takes its departure at the end of
February in families--old and young birds together. In disposition and
general habits it resembles the true Tyrant-birds, but differs from
them in language, its various chirping and twittering notes having a
hard percussive sound, which Azara well compares to the snapping of
castanets. It prefers open situations with scattered trees and bushes;
and is also partial to marshy grounds, where it takes up a position on
an elevated stalk to watch for insects, and seizes them in the air like
the Flycatcher. It also greedily devours elderberries and other small
fruits.
The nest is not deep, but is much more elaborately constructed than
is usual with the Tyrants. Soft materials are preferred, and in many
cases the nests are composed almost exclusively of wool. The inside is
cup-shaped, with a flat bottom, and is smooth and hard, the thistle-down
with which it is lined being cemented with gum. The eggs are four,
sharply pointed, light cream-colour, and spotted, chiefly at the large
end, with chocolate. In the breeding-time these Tyrants attack other
birds approaching the nest with great spirit, and have a particular
hatred to the Chimango, pursuing it with the greatest violence through
the air with angry notes, resembling in sound the whetting of a scythe,
but uttered with great rapidity and emphasis. How greatly this species
is imposed upon by the Cow-bird, notwithstanding its pugnacious temper,
we have already seen in my account of that bird.
The Scissor-tails have one remarkable habit; they are not gregarious,
but once every day, just before the sun sets, all the birds living near
together rise to the tops of the trees, calling to one another with
loud, excited chirps, and then mount upwards like rockets to a great
height in the air; then, after whirling about for a few moments, they
precipitate themselves downwards with the greatest violence, opening and
shutting their tails during their wild zigzag flight, and uttering a
succession of sharp, grinding notes. After this curious performance they
separate in pairs, and perching on the tree-tops each couple utters
together its rattling castanet notes, after which the company breaks up.
Fam. XIV. PIPRIDÆ, or MANIKINS.
The brilliantly coloured _Pipridæ_ or _Manikins_ are nearly altogether
confined to the tropical portions of the Neotropical Region, where they
number about 70 species. Only one of these has as yet been discovered
intruding in the northern outskirts of the Argentine Republic.