516 



S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PA SSERES - CLA MA TORES. 



plumage coincident. T. melancholictis is a universally distributed South and Central Am. spe- 

 cies, of which this northern subspecies reaches over our Mexican border in the valley of the 

 Lower Rio Grande of Texas, where it is common in some localities, and breeds. Nest in trees 

 at a moderate height, of twigs, Spanish moss, rootlets, etc., outside 6.00 X 2.50, inside 3.00 X 

 1.50; eggs 3-4, 0.95 X 0.72, indistinguishable froni those of the foregoing, laid usually in May 

 in Texas. 



PITAN'GUS. (Vox barb.: a Mexican or S. Am. name of some bird.) Derby Fly- 

 catchers. Outer primaries not emarginate. An orange crown-patch. Bill as long as head, 

 exceeding tarsus, straight, stout, but narrow, as deep as broad at nostrils, with rigid culmen 

 straight to the hooked end ; gonys about straight, ascending, commissure and also lateral out- 

 lines perfectly straight. Nostrils rounded, nearer commissure than culmen. Wings rounded, 

 tipped by 3d-5th quills ; 2d and 6th about equal and shorter, 1st only about equal to 9th. 

 Tail shorter than wings, nearly even, but somewhat double-rounded. Tarsus about as long 

 as middle toe and claw. Largest-bodied of any N. Am. Flycatcher. Brown above, yellow 

 below, with black, white, and orange head ; quills and tail-feathers extensively chestnut, as 

 in Myiarchus. 



P. derbia'nus. (To Lord Derby, 13th earl of that name, many years president of the Zoo- 

 logical Society of London as Lord Stanley, proprietor of the Knowsley Menagerie, died 1850. 

 Fig. 347.) Derby Flycatcher. Bull-headed Flycatcher. Upper parts light wood- 

 brown, with an olive tinge ; wnngs and tail the same, but the feathers extensively bordered 

 without and within with chestnut, forming a conspicuous continuous area on wiug-quills in 



closed wing, and on most wing- 

 and tail-feathers more extensive 

 than brown portion of inner 

 webs. Below from breast, in- 

 cluding lining of wings, clear 

 and continuous lemon-yellovA'. 

 Chin and throat pure white, 

 widening behind up under ear- 

 coverts. Top and sides of head 

 black, a circle of white from fore- 

 head over eyes to nape, the en- 

 closed black enclosing a lemon 

 and orange patch. Or, middle 

 of crown yellow and orange, 

 Fio. 347. — Derby Flycatcher, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) enclosed and partly concealed in 



black, this black enclosed in white, then the long and broad black bar on side of head, separat- 

 ing white of side of crown from that of side of throat. The coronal feathers lengthened and 

 erectile as in a Kingbird, or more so; crown-patch of same character but more extensive. 

 Bill and feet black ; iris hazel. Sexes alike. Length of ^ about 10.50; wing about 5.00; 

 tail about 4.00 ; bill 1.20 ; tarsus 1.00. A great Flycatcher of aggressive appearance, long 

 known in Mexico and Central and S. Am., in 1878 ascertained to occur on the Lower Rio Grande 

 in Texas, where it is common in some places, breeds in May and June, and is sometimes called 

 the Bull-headed Flycatcher. Nest in trees at no great height, very large, thick-walled, roofed 

 over with lateral entrance, composed of miscellaneous coarse mateiials well compacted with 

 the finer lining ; size nearly a foot across by half as much in depth, with comparatively small 

 cavity; eggs 4-5, averaging 1.15 X 0.85, creauiy white, sparingly speckled and splashed, chiefly 

 about the larger end, with dark brown and neutral tints. 



MYIOZETE'TES. (Gr. /ii/ia, muia, a fly, and Cn'^T^^s, a seeker, inquirer.) Inquisitive Fly- 

 catchers. Bill short, stout, very broad at base, with curved culmen, hooked and notched 



