248 



FLYCATCHERS 



From Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. of 

 Agriculture. 



Fig. 324. Kingbird. 



Nest. — Made larg-ely of weed stems, twine, wool, or Spanish moss, lined 

 with grass, rootlets, and horsehair, placed in hushes or trees 4 to 4U feet 



from the ground. £gys : 3 or 4, from 

 white to rose pink, spotted or blotched 

 with brown or lavender. 



Food. — Principally grasshoppers, 

 crickets, butterflies, weevils, wild bees, 

 wasps, caterpillars, and gadflies. 



In general habits the eastern king- 

 bird resembles the western members 

 of the Tyrannus family, though more 

 commonly a bird of the garden and 

 orchard. 



He has been accused of eating 

 honey-bees, but in the stomach ex- 

 aminations made by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, of 218 only 

 14 contained any trace of honey- 

 bees, and nearly all these were drones. Ninety per cent, of his food 

 consists of insects, mostly injurious kinds. 



446. Tyrannus melanchoHcus couchii (Baird). Couch King- 



bird. 



Adult male. — Belly brilliant yellow, fading through greenish gray to 

 white on throat and under tail coverts ; upper parts gray washed with 

 green; wings and tail brownish edged with whitish, tail notched ; concealed 

 orange patch on head. Adult female : similar, but smaller, tail less notched 

 and crown patch restricted. Young : like female, but without crown patch, 

 yellow duller, and wing coverts bordered with buffy. Length : (male) 9- 

 10, wing 4.40-5.00, tail 3.75-4.40. 



Distribution. — From the valley of the lower Rio Grande in Texas south 

 to Guatemala. 



Nest. — As described by Sennett, Spanish moss and twigs, lined with 

 rootlets ; placed near the end of a horizontal limb on a large elm. Eggs : 

 3 or 4, creamy pink, blotched with brown and purple over whole surface, 

 or in wreath around larger end. 



447. Tyrannus verticalis Say. Arkansas Kingbird. 



Adult male. — Upper parts and breast light ash gray ; throat paler ; belly 

 lemon yellow ; tail black, outer web of outer feather 

 abruptly white ; wings brown, end of long quills with 

 gradually narroived points ; concealed crown patch 

 red. Adult female: similar, but tips of outer quills 

 less narrowed and crown patch restricted. Young : 

 like adults, but crown patch wanting and colors 

 duller, wing coverts bordered with buffv. Length : 

 8.00-9.50, wing 4.75-5.25, tail 3.65-4.00, bill from nostril .50-.55. 



Remarks. — Verticalis, thoxigh very similar to vociferans, can be distin- 

 guished in the field by the abruptly white and sharply contrasting outer 

 edge of the black tail, and in the hand by the attenuated wing feathers. 



Distribution. — Breeds hi Transition and Upper Sonoran zones of west- 

 ern United States from Nebraska and Kansas to the Pacific; and from 



Fig. 325. 



