84 KINGBIRD 



less than half its size is a very familiar one in 

 the country, and an equally common one is that 

 of a gray bird with a white breast sitting on a 

 roadside fence, occasionally darting up with a 

 loud, twittering cry. By watching him a little 

 he will often be seen hovering over a weed in a 

 meadow, his fluttering wings supporting him so 

 well that he seems to be hanging in air. At 

 other times we may see him start up from an 

 apple-tree top and fly obliquely into the air as 

 energetically as if bound for the zenith ; then 

 suddenly whirl and sail back on outspread wings, 

 the white band on his fan-shaj)ed tail showing to 

 the best advantage. 



Now what are we to infer from all these per- 

 formances ? That he is a doughty warrior, ready 

 to cross lances with the black giants of the 

 land, is plain to see ; but what mean all his 

 Curious aerial evolutions ? The answer is simple, 

 ' — he is moved by no occult impulses, but is 

 merely pursuing the prosaic occupation common 

 to all mortal men, — getting his dinner ! To be 

 sure, he does it with many unnecessary flourishes 

 and much superfluous show of enjoyment, exciting 

 our admiration, not only by his grace of wing, 

 but by his jiower of sight. Indeed, one careful 

 observer has seen a Kingbird start from a tele- 

 graph pole one hundred and seventy-five feet 

 away, and fly up to within twenty-five feet of 

 him for an insect which was invisible to the man, 



