22 BULLETIN 17 9, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



William Brewster (1937) relates another instance of the defeat of 

 Tyrannus: 



Despite his notorious daring in attacking hawks and crows, the Kingbird 

 sometimes turns tail and flees ignominiously, like many another bully, 

 when boldly faced by birds no larger or better fitted for combat than himself. 

 An instance of this happened to-day [August 10, 1907] when I saw a Sapsucker 

 pursue and overtake a Kingbird in a cove of the Lake [Umbagog]. * * * 

 As the two were passing me within ten yards I could see the Sapsucker deal 

 oft-repeated blows with his sharp bill at the back of the Kingbird who was 

 doubling and twisting all the while, with shrill and incessant outcry. * * * 

 After the birds had separated the Sapsucker alighted very near me on a stub, 

 when I was surprised to note that it was a young one, apparently of female 

 sex. 



The kingbird's flight varies considerably both in form and tempo. 

 In his quiet hours he may flutter calmly and steadily along, neither 

 rising nor falling, his long axis parallel to the ground, moving 

 slowly and evenly, his wings quivering in short, quick vibrations — as 

 Francis Beach White (1937) says, "hovering all the way just over 

 the top of the tall grass." At other times, in his wilder moments, 

 to quote Ned Dearborn (1903), "the bird becomes a veritable fury, 

 and dashes upward toward the clouds, crying fiercely, and ever and 

 anon reaching a frenzied climax, when its cry is prolonged into a 

 kind of shriek, and its flight a zigzag of blind rage. These exhibi- 

 tions are frequently given in the teeth of the premonitory gust 

 before a thunder storm, as if in defiance of the very elements." 



I find an entry in my notes that shows how seldom kingbirds move 

 from place to place except by the use of their wings: "June 1910. 

 A pair of kingbirds spent much of their time one afternoon feeding 

 in a newly cultivated field of about an acre in extent. They sta- 

 tioned themselves on small lumps of earth, sometimes near together 

 and sometimes in different parts of the field, and watched for 

 insects. When they saw one they flew to capture it and then 

 returned to the same little elevation, or to another one. The wind 

 was blowing hard, and invariably they alighted facing it, turning 

 just before perching. I did not, during half an hour or so, see 

 either bird take a step or make a hop. They always flew, even to 

 a point less than a foot away." 



Francis H. Allen (MS.) states: "Kingbirds sometimes hover, facing 

 into the wind as they feed, taking insects from the air. Sometimes 

 a strong breeze will blow them back, so that they seem to be flying 

 backward." 



See also a note on flight under "Fall." 



It is the custom of the kingbird to bathe by dashing down over 

 and over onto the surface of water as he flies along, as swifts and 

 swallows do. Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1920b) remarks: "It is 



