WESTERN BIRDS Kingbird 



square pole, between the two uprights, the nest was 

 placed. It was probably twenty feet from the ground 

 and, of course, in plain sight to every passerby. Both 

 birds helped in the building, bringing coarse twigs for 

 the foundation, and finer material and feathers for the 

 inside. They showed a great fancy for strings, part of 

 which was woven into the nest, part left dangling on the 

 pole. At one time I watched one of them trying to get 

 to the nest with a big tangle of white string which I 

 imagine had come from some boy's kite. There was a 

 strong wind which once blew the string away, but noth- 

 ing daunted, the bird again captured it and persevered 

 until it was draped in, and about, the nest. 



The same nest was used year after year, the birds 

 simply patching it up. 



Both the eastern and western birds are summer visit- 

 ants, only, the Arkansas making his first appearance 

 some time in March before many of the summer birds 

 have returned. 



My earliest record for one of these Kingbirds is March 

 19. The males usually precede the females by a week, 

 or more. 



The birds are leisurely in their nesting duties. In a 

 nest that was started the 29th of April, the young did 

 not leave until the 14th of June. 



Their ordinary note is a loud chattering one, a sort of 

 Whit'-a, whit'-a, whit'-a, wee, given very rapidly. Both 

 male and female use it commonly. I have occasionally 

 heard other notes that sounded rather warlike. One, a 

 Bet-you, het'-you, het'-you, also given rapidly, and an- 

 other, You-did", you-did", you-did' sounded like a dispute 

 in family circles. However, although these noisy calls 

 sounded rather pugilistic I do not believe they were so 

 intended, because the birds were most affectionate to- 

 ward each other. Never have I seen in any bird I have 

 watched such lover-like actions. 



73 



