FLYCATCHERS 69 



and we still hear, in late July, her gentle " phcebe,'^ 

 which somehow is always strongly suggestive 

 to me of the springtime. 



A favorite nesting place is a barn cellar or 

 under a bridge. The old covered structure, now 

 fast disappearing, was an ideal place, but the 

 girders of the modern structure of steel seem to 

 answer every purpose; so perhaps Phoebe is not 

 such a creature of sentiment after all. Formerly 

 caves and sheltering banks were their nest 

 sites, but they have quickly taken advantage 

 of the better locations about the homes of man. 



Phoebe is very plainly dressed. The upper 

 parts are brownish olive; the wings, tail and 

 crown darker. Some feathers of the tail are 

 edged with white, and underneath the feathers 

 are dingy white with a yellowish tinge. The 

 bill is straight and black. A good field mark is 

 the constant lifting of the tail when the bird 

 is perched. This Flycatcher is about an inch 

 shorter than the Kingbird. They breed from 

 South Carolina to Newfoundland, wintering 

 from North Carolina southward 



Kingbird. A very familiar Flycatcher, so 

 common that he is known to everybody who 

 gives the slightest attention to the birds, is the 

 Kingbird, or Tyrant Flycatcher, so called from 

 a popular notion that he is something of a bully 

 and tyrant. After close study of his habits for 

 many years, I have concluded that his reputa- 

 tion is well founded. His bristling nature mani- 

 fests itself in his attitude toward small defence- 

 less birds as toward the larger marauders who 

 may be a menace to his household. He is a very 



