* THE BIRD AS A TRAVELLER 65 



here yesterday," answered Rap ; " but I don't know 

 where they came from, except that it must be from 

 where it is warmer than it is here, because they went 

 away just before it grew cokl hist fall. See, Doctor, 

 there are some of them now on those fence rails and 

 more up on the telegraph wires. The miller calls them 

 ' Bee ]Martins,' and says that they eat up all the honey- 

 bees. Have they any other name — because I have 

 never seen them catch bees ? " 



Nat looked at them first with the field-glass, then 

 without it as they drew quite near the fence, and saw 

 a fine bird, twice as long as his middle finger. Its 

 back and wings looked dark gray; it was white under- 

 neath, with a touch of gray on the breast, and had a 

 black tail, with white at the end of it. As Nat looked 

 the bird raised a little tuft of feathers on top of its 

 head, as if angry, flew into the air, giving a shrill cry, 

 seized an insect, and returned to its perch. 



"That is the Kingbird," said the Doctor; "one of 

 the most useful of the insect-catchers. Instead of 

 living on honey-bees, as many people think, he eats 

 very few of these, but kills instead thousands of the 

 bad robber-fly, which is the honey-bee's worst enemy. 

 This bird is really king of the air and of all fly-catching 

 birds. See how graceful his flight is, and how easily 

 he moves ! " 



" Why did he go away last fall ? " asked Nat. " Does 

 he feel the cold weather very much ? " 



"He does not stay in the United States until the 

 weather is cold enough to chill him ; but he has to 

 move away for another reason. The same reason that 

 forces so many birds to leave us — he must follow his 



