356 HISTORY OF THE 



Their nests are placed on the horizontal branches of scrubby 

 trees on and skirting the edges of the prairies, six to twelve feet 

 from the ground; a rather flat, loosely-constructed nest, com- 

 posed of sticks, flowering stems of weeds, and grasses. Eggs 

 three to five, .85x.68; white, spotted and blotched with dark 

 red or reddish brown, and a few purple stains, chiefly about 

 larger end; in form, rather rounded ovate. 



Genus TYRANNUS Cuvier. 



"Tail neai'ly even or moderately forked; rather shorter than the wings; the 

 feathers broad and widening somewhat at the ends. Wings long and pointed; 

 the outer primaries rather abruptly attenuated near the end, the attenuated por- 

 tion not linear, however. Head with a concealed patch of red on the crown." 



Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.). 



KINGBIRD. 

 PLATE XXIII. 



Summer resident; abundant. Arrive the last of April; begin 

 laying about the middle of May; return in September. 



B. 124. R. 304. C. 368. G. 150, 169. U. 444. 



Habitat. Temperate North America, chiefly east of the 

 Rocky Mountains; very rare on the Pacific coast; south in win- 

 ter into northern South America. 



Sp. Char. "Two, sometimes three, outer primaries abruptly attenuated at 

 the end. Second quill longest; third little shorter; first rather longer than 

 fourth, or nearly equal. Tail slightly rounded. Above dark bluish ash. The 

 top and sides of the head to beneath the eye a bluish black. A concealed crest 

 on the crown, vermilion in the center, white behind, and before partly mixed 

 with orange. Lower parts pure white, tinged with pale bluish ash on the sides 

 of the throat and across the breast; sides of the breast and under the wings sim- 

 ilar to but rather lighter than the back. Axiliars pale grayish brown, tipped 

 with lighter. The wings dark brown, darkest toward the ends of the quills; 

 the greater coverts and quills edged with white, most on the tertials; the lesser 

 coverts edged with paler. Upper tail coverts and upper surface of the tail 

 glossy black, the latter very dark brown beneath; all the feathers tipped, and 

 the exterior margined externally, with white, forming a conspicuous terminal 

 band about .25 of an inch broad." 



The birds vary somewhat in size; the females averaging, 



from my measurements, fully as large as the males. 



