90 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



spriakled exactly thickly. These aire of quite the size 

 of the krger Thi-ush eggis [Turdns viscivorus)." * 



Burnieieter does not say whether this epecies, like 

 P. .sulphtiraliis and allies, Imilds a domed nest; but 

 Professor Bidg^Tay (" Birds of North and Middle 

 America," Vol. IV., p. 664) says: "Nest and eggs simi- 

 lar to thoee of Pltangus." 



It seem* probaWe that the diet of this Tyrant would 

 be much more varied than ie sugigested by Burmeister ; 

 and I sliould certainly try it -nrith email newts and min- 

 nows, as I did my Sulphury TxTant, wliich. after bang- 

 ing thenv limp against his perch, swallowed them with 

 great delight. 



The London Zoological Gardens acquired four speci- 

 mens of this Tyrant in 1867 ; it reached the Amsterdam 

 Grardens a year earlier. 



Black-C.\pped Tyrant iEmpidia.'' fuscus). 



Above dnll 'greyi.sh olivaceous ; wings blackish ; the 

 coverts and secondaries with whitish edges ; tail 

 blackish, the outer feathers with whitish edges ; crown 

 biackLsh; below sordid yellowish-white ; sides and flanks 

 somewhat ashy ; under wing-coverts white ; bill dark 

 hom-colour — black (Buss) ; feet black ; irides bi-own. 

 Female not differentiated Hab., Eastern North 

 America (in smnmer) and south to Mexico. (Sclatea-.) 



MaJOT Charles Bendire (" Life Histories of North 

 American Birds." Vol. II., pp. 272-276) publishes a 

 very long account of this species, from which I cull the 

 following: — "The Indians call them 'Moose-birds,' as 

 they often use moose-hair in lining their neets. They 

 lay in June, and are very bold for their size, often 

 chasing Hawks and Crows. 



" Their fliiht is swift and strong when in pursuit of 

 an enemy or while in quest of food, but ordinarily it 

 consists of slow, fluttering movements from point to 

 point, especially during the mating season, and it is 

 then never jirotracted'. 



" The Phrebe. like our equally well-lrnown Robin and 

 Bluebird, is one of the first migrants to return 

 from its winter home, and is quite as well 

 known and fully as popular. It usually arrives 

 in our Middle States during the first " half of 

 March, and a little later farther north, although 

 occasional stragglers have been observed in Maine and 

 rorthem New York during the first week in this month. 

 The males precede the feiniales by about a week or ten 

 days, and move direct to their breeding grounds ; mat- 

 ing and nest-building ii.sually beginning about a month 

 later. Few of our native birds are more esteemed than 

 the homely and plainly-coloured Phcebe, and its return 

 to the old haunts is geneirally looked for with pleasure. 

 No bird is nvore attached to a locality once chosen for 

 a nesting site, and no reasonable amount of annoyance 

 and' disturbance will cause it to forsake its old home. 

 It may possiblv change the location for good cause, but 

 if it does it will usually select another in the immediate 

 vicinity. It would be difficult to name many native 

 birds who do more good in a general way and less harm 

 than the Phrebe. Its food consists mainly of small 

 beetles, flies, moths, butterflies, etc., of which it destroys 

 an enorrmous num'ber, as it is scarcely ever at rest, dart- 

 ing after passing insects and catching theni both on the 

 wing and on the ground. It .seems to be always hungry, 



* According- to Karl Euler. the jiest is not conowilcd, but is 

 always openly visible, usua.lly in dead branches, but its lofty 

 position and small size cause it to be easilv OTCrlookcd. He says 

 It ifl hardly worthy of the name of nest, bein^ apparently a. mere 

 nntidy platform. The egrirs number two to three, pale reddish 

 yellow, with uniformly dietributed pale brown or grey-brown 

 epotfi, partly washed out. 



and invariably finds room for another choice morsel. 

 It is said to help itself occasionally to trout-fry, but 

 the damage' caused in this respect must be very trifling, 

 and is fully compensated for by the good it does tha-ough 

 the destruction of many noxious insects; and, in my 

 opinion, it deserves the fullest protection. After the 

 ben-y season commences it also feeds to some extent in- 

 summer on raspberries, strawberries, mulberries, and 

 pokeberries, and in winter on cedar 'berries, palmetto, 

 tjenries, smilax berries, and wild grapes. It is one of 

 the most restless little creatiu'es I knew ; even while 

 perching on a fence-post, the gable of an outbuilding, 

 or a weed-stalk, its crest is often raised and lo^vered, 

 its tail is forever t^vitching, and it appears to be tmable 

 to remain motionless for more than a minute at a time. 



" Dr. Ralph tells me that in Florida the Phoebe fre- 

 quently alights on the backs of cattle and follows therrt 

 around, catching the flies on these animals and flutter- 

 ing above them in search of insects. Their rather plain- 

 tive call notes, given by most writers as 'phcebe, pe-wee,. 

 phe-b©,' and ' pe-weet,' do not sound to me in that 

 way ; they appear rather to approac'h the words ' eee- 

 hee, see, hee,' and are sometimes varied to ' see-bee,' 

 or ■ see-whee,' with the accent on the la,st syllaible ; this 

 call is occasionally followed by a rattling note. Its 

 alarm note sounds like ' tchilk-tchak,' and during the 

 mating season the male indulges now and then in a 

 low, twittering warble. It utters its calls very fre- 

 quently and persistently in the early spring, and for 

 some time after its arrival, but less often during the- 

 breeding season, when the ca.res of housekeeping ajbsorb 

 more of its time." 



" In well-settled sections it loves to frequent out- 

 houses, b;irns, etc. , in close proximity to human habita- 

 tions situated near springs, etc. ; here it becomes very 

 gentle, tame, and confiding when not molested. I have- 

 frequently .seen one alight within a few feet of my head 

 and fly hack and forth from its perch after passing 

 insects, as undisturl>ed as if I had not lieen there. In 

 mountain regions and thinly-^>opi.Uated tracts it is often 

 found a'bout rocky cliffs, along watercourses, and almost 

 invariably near the point where a bridge spans a stream. 

 The Phoebe is the earliest of our Flycatchers*, nidifica- 

 tion beginning sometimes in the first week in April, but 

 ordinarily not muoh before May 1, and in the northern 

 parts of its range rarely before June. While generally 

 of an amiable disposition toward other birds, often 

 nesting in close proximity to the Barn Swallow, Robin,, 

 and Ghimney Swift, it will not aJlow anv of its own 

 kind to occupy a site close to its own, fighting them 

 persistently ujitil driven oft", and should one of the 

 earlier arrivals pa-esum,e to appropriate its old nest, war 

 is at once declared." 



" Their favourite nesting sites are under bridges and 

 culverts, even when they are barely large enough for a 

 person to crawl through, provided a suitable place can 

 be found on which to pla<>e the nest ; next, outbuild- 

 ings, such as barns, sheds, etc., are frequently made 

 use of; porches of houses, window sills, etc., occasion- 

 ally furnish suitable sites ; overhanging rocky shelves, 

 especially in quarries, upturned roots of trees in woods, 

 projecting banks of small ,=itreams, caves, and more 

 rarely the sides of open wells are likewise utilised for 

 such purposes. 



" Their nests vary considerably in shape as well as 

 an the manner of construction. If attached to fhe side 

 of an overhanging rock, it is neces.sarily semi-circular, 

 and mainly composed of mud pellets mixed with moss, 

 a little grass, and occasionally a few feathers, some- 



