WESTERN BIRDS Kingbird 



allowing fourteen hours for the bird's days, the young- 

 sters were fed 1,092 insects daily. Multiply this amount 

 by 21, the days that the nestling spent in the nest, and 

 also by five days as an estimate of the time the old birds 

 fed after the young left the nest, and you will have some- 

 thing over 28,000 insects taken from the neighborhood 

 where these birds nested. Is it not worth while to culti- 

 vate the acquaintance of such flycatchers from an eco- 

 nomic standpoint, if no other? 



It has been said by some Naturalists that once the 

 young leave the nest they never return. I believe this 

 is true in most cases, but that there are exceptions. I 

 know by observation. Late one afternoon when the 

 young Kingbirds were about three weeks old, I saw one 

 of them resting on the wire above the nest. Later, how- 

 ever, he had returned to the nest and was cuddled down 

 among his brothers and sisters. The next morning, July 

 10th, about ten o'clock, one young bird flew from the 

 nest directly over to a pepper tree about fifty feet away. 

 The parents were not about at this time. Soon after, 

 however, an old bird flew by the nest and instantly four 

 fluffy youngsters flung themselves into the air — a veri- 

 table bird shower — and flew into the same pepper tree 

 and onto the roof of a neighboring house. These babies 

 were beautiful little birds, a soft drab above and yellow 

 below. They seemed better able to care for themselves 

 than some of broods I had watched in former years. 

 For several days they stayed about and were fed by the 

 old birds, but finally they drifted away and were seen 

 no more. 



I believe that the Arkansas Kingbirds have but one 

 nest a year for I have never seen them use the pole-nest 

 a second time in one season, and since they are so fond 

 of it, it is more than likely they would do so if they 

 nested anywhere. 



I have spoken of the eastern Kingbird's reputation 



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