Birds 79 



State. The Black-chinned Humming-bird (Archilochus*aIexandri) 

 has been occasionally reported, and the Calliope Humming-bird 

 (Stellula calliope of Gould) has been taken twice. 



PASSERES (PASSERI FORMES) 



Suborder CLAMATORES 



This suborder, called "songless perching birds", is especially 

 distinguished by the structure of the syrinx, or voice organ. It 

 includes about thirteen families, of which only one, the Tyran- 

 nidae or Tyrant Flycatchers, exists in Colorado. This family 

 is confined to the Western Hemisphere, and is not at all closely 

 related to the Old World Muscicapidae, the true flycatchers. 

 From all our other Passeres except the larks the Tyrannidae are 

 known by the tarsus of the leg being rounded behind, instead of 

 sharp. They have ten primaries, the larks having only nine. 

 The Kingbirds were named Tyrannus by Lacepede, which seems 

 to show what he thought of kings.** The "crown" is an orange 

 patch on the top of the head, wanting in the other genera. As 

 this crown is lacking in young birds, it is better to examine the 

 outer primaries, which are attenuated or narrowed to a point at 

 the end. The Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is black, gray and 

 white, without any yellow; the other species show canary-yellow 

 on the under side. The Arkansas Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 

 was discovered by Say near the present town of La Junta; the 

 common name must be considered to refer to the river rather than 

 to the State. Cassin's Kingbird (7". vociferans) has the chin 

 abruptly white; it is best known by the tips of the longer pri- 

 maries, which are abruptly narrowed at the end, instead of being 

 gradually and evenly narrowed as in T. verticalis*** All these 

 kingbirds are common during the summer. The remaining fly- 

 catchers, also distinguished by the lack of white on edge or tip of 

 tail, are referred to five different genera. The slightly crested 

 crown, and rust-red and brown marking on the tail, are the lead- 



♦Sclater calls this Architrochilus; probably through inadvertence, but as he cites no 

 authority, it has the status of a new (synoymous) generic name. 



**As a matter of fact, the word originally meant only an absolute monarch, and not a 

 tyrant in the modern sense. The generic name was really suggested because Linnaeus had 

 named the type species Laniiis tyrannus. 



***Mr. Warren notes that the white edging of outer tail feather is a good diagncstic 

 mark of T. verticalis: it is practically absent in T. vociferans. 



