CASSIN S KINGBIRD 75 



Voice. — Mr. Dawson (1923) writes: "Cassin's Kingbird says, Che 

 hew', in a heavy, grumpy tone, whose last flick nevertheless cuts like 

 a whip-lash — cheheeu. This is generically similar, but specifically 

 very different from the evenly accented, and more nearly placid her' 

 loick of the Western Kingbird. The note of greeting or of general 

 alarm in Cassin is a breathless kuh day kuh day kuhday; or, as I 

 heard a female render it, kiddoo kiddoo kiddoo kiddoo kidduck. 

 For the rest Cassin is a rather more sober and a much more silent 

 bird than is the volatile verticalis" 



Ralph Hoffmann (1927) says that "its common call is a harsh, low- 

 pitched chei'r, followed by a ke-dear, Avhich suggests the Ash-throated 

 Flycatcher. In the breeding season it utters a series of high, petulant 

 notes, ki-dee-dee-dee." Mr. Swarth (1904) writes: "Commencing 

 shortly before daybreak, they keep up a continuous clamor, generally 

 on the wooded hillsides, to such an extent that it seems like an army 

 of birds engaged. Tliey do not seem to be quarreling or fighting at 

 these times, for those I have seen merely sat, screaming, on the top 

 of some tall tree. This racket is kept up until about sunrise, when 

 it drops rather abruptly." About our camp in picturesque Apache 

 Canyon in the Catalina Mountains, Ariz., we found Cassin's king- 

 birds very common; they greeted us every morning with their rather 

 melodious notes, as they flitted about in the tops of the grand old 

 sycamores and cottonwoods; they seemed to say "come here, come 

 liere," in rather pleasing tones, as their voices mingled with the rich 

 song of the Arizona cardinal and the attractive notes of the canyon 

 wren, the Arizona hooded oriole, the canyon towhee, and the host 

 of other birds that made our mornings in that beautiful canyon so 

 delightful. 



Field marks. — Cassin's kingbird bears a superficial resemblance 

 to both Couch's kingbird and the Arkansas kingbird. "Where its 

 range overlaps that of the western races of melanchoiicuH., Cassin's 

 can be recognized by having a blacker tail and the conspicuous white 

 space on the chin and throat more restricted and more sharply de- 

 fined against the gray of the chest; the yellow of the under parts 

 is also paler. From the Arkansas kingbird it can be distinguished 

 by the darker gray of the head, neck, and chest, sharply contrasted 

 with the white throat, by the lack of the white outer web of the outer 

 tail feather, and by the white tips of the tail feathers. Moreover, 

 its voice, its apparently heavier build, and its general behavior, as 

 indicated above, should make it easier to recognize Cassin's kingbird 

 in life than in a museum specimen. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Western United States and Central America south to 

 Guatemala. 



