248 



FLYCATCHERS 



From Biological 



Agriculture. 

 Fig. 324. Kingbird. 



Dept. of 



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

 itli grass, rootlets, and horsehair, placed in bushes or trees 4 to 40 feet 



from the ground. Egys : 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. 



Ill 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 melancholicus couchii (Baird). Couch King- 



bird. 



Adult male. — Belly brilliant yellow, fading- through g-reenish gray to 

 white on throat and under tail coverts ; upper parts g^ray washed with 

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

 orang-e patch on head. Adidt 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 buff J^ 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 twig-s, lined with 

 rootlets ; placed near the end of a horizontal limb on a larg-e 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 narrowed 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 buff v. Length : 

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



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

 g-uished 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 in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones of west- 

 ern United States from N 'braska and Kansas to the Pacific; and from 



Fig. 325. 



