TYRANTS. 



93 



does not merely describe some peculiarity of form or 

 colour. 



'■ This Tyrant is one of the largest of its kind, its 

 total length being nearly 9 in. Tlie wings are long and 

 Euitwl for an aerial life ; the legs are exceedingly short, 

 and the feet are used for perching only, for this species 

 never alights on the ground." 



" In Buenos Ayres these birds aiTive in September, 

 after which their shrill, angry cries are incessantly 

 beard, while the birds are seen pursuing each other 

 through the air or in and out amongst the trees — 

 i>er|)etually driven about by the contending passions of 

 love, jealousy, and rage. As soon as their domestic 

 broils are over, a fresh war against the whole feathered 

 race begins, which does not cease until the business of 

 propagation is tinished. I have frequently spent hours 

 watching the male successively attacking, with scarcely 

 an interval of rest, every bird, big or little, approaching 

 the satred tree where its nest was placed. Its indigna- 

 tion at the sight of a cowardly Can-ion-Hawk {Milvat/o) 

 skulking about in search of small birds'nests, and the 

 boundless fury of its onset, were wonderful to witness. 



" Tlie.v are extremel.v active, and w-hen not engaged 

 in their endless aerial battles, are pursuing large insects 

 on the wing, usually returning after each capture to 

 their stand, from which thej- keep a jealous watch on 

 the movements of all winged things about them. 'They 

 are fond of marshy places and water-courses, where 

 they perch on a tall stalk to watch for insects, and 

 al.so frequently skim over the water like Swallows to 

 drink and dip their feathers. 



" A tall tree is usually .selected for the nest, which 

 is not infrequently placed on the very topmost twigs, 

 exposed to the sight of every creature passing overhead, 

 and as if in defiance of birds of prey. With such an 

 aggressive temper as this bird possesses, it is not 

 strange perhaps that it builds in the most exposed 

 places, from which the female, in the absence of her 

 vigilant consort, can keep a .sharp eve on the movements 

 of her feathered neighbours ; but I have often thought 

 it singular that they do not make a deeper receptacle 

 for their eggs, for the nest is merely a slight platform 

 of slender sticks, and very ill-adapted to retain it.= 

 burden durinfr high winds. The para.sitical Cowbird 

 never enters this nest, which is not strange. 



" The eggs are four in number, small for the bird, 

 pointed, parchment-white, .spotted with dark brown at 

 the larger end.'' 



The London Zooloaical Gardens acquired an example . 

 of this Tj-rant in 1893. 



FoRK-T.iELED Tye.\nt {.V i/rtilu!! Ii/raii7nis). 



Above ashy ; rump blackish ; wings dark brown ; 

 three outer primaries attenuated at tips ; tail black, the 

 outermost feather with white outer web ; crown black, 

 with concealed yellow crest ; below white ; bill and feet 

 black. Female differs in the shorter outer tail feathers. 

 Hab.. Mexico, and Central and South America as far 

 south as Patagonia. 



Hud.son says (" Argentine Ornithology," 'Vol. I., pp. 

 160. 161) : — " During flight the two lone feathers of the 

 tail stream out behind like a pair of' black ribbons; 

 frequently the bird pauses suddenly in it« flight, and 

 then the two long feathers open out in the form of the 

 letter Y. 



-_"The Scissor-tail is migratory, and arrives, already 

 mated, at Buenos Ayres at the "end of .September, and 

 takes its departure at the end of February in families — 

 old and young birds together. In disposition and 

 general habits it resembles the true Tyrant-birds, but 

 differs from them in language, its various chirping and 



twittering notes having a hard percussive .sound, which. 

 Azara well compares to the snapping of castanets. It 

 prefers open situations with scattered trees and bushes , 

 and is also partial to marshy grounds, where it takes. 

 up a iK)sition on an elevated stalk to watoh for insects, 

 and seizes them in the air like the Flycatchers. It also, 

 greedil.y devours elderberries and other small fruits. 



"The nest is not deep, but is much more elaborately 

 con'sti-ucted than is usual with the Tyrants. Soft 

 materials are preferred, and in many cases the nests- 

 are composed almost exclusively of wool. The inside is- 

 cup-shaped, with a flat bottom, and is smooth and hard. 

 the thistle-down with which it is lined being cemented, 

 with gum. The eggs are four, sharply pointed, light 

 cream-colour, and sjwtted, chiefl,y at the large end, with 

 chocolate. In the breeding-time these Tyrants attack 

 other birds approaching the nest with great spirit, and. 

 have a particular hatred to the Chimango. pursuing it 

 with the greatest violence through the air with angry 

 notes, resembling in sound the whetting of a scythe,, 

 but uttered witli great rapidity and emphasis. How 

 greatly this species is imposed upon by the Cow-bird,, 

 notwithstanding its pugnacious temper, we have already 

 seen in my account of that biixl. 



" The Scissor-tail has one remarkable habit ; they are- 

 not gregarious, but once every day, just before the sun 

 sets, all the birds living near together rise to the tops 

 of the trees, calling to one another with loud, excited 

 chirps, and then mount upwards like rockets to a great 

 height in the air ; then, after whirling about for a few- 

 moments, they precipitate themselves downward with 

 the ^ gi-eatest violence, ojiening and shutting their tails- 

 during their wild zigzag flight, and uttering a succes- 

 sion of sharp, grinding notes. After this curious per- 

 formance, the.v separate in pairs, and, perching on the- 

 tree-tops, each couple utters together its rattling- 

 Castanet notes, after which the company breaks up." 



Dr. Ru.ss does not mention this species, but the- 

 London Zoological Gardens purchased a specimen in 

 Ai.ril, 1893. 



CHATTERERS {Cotingiihr) 



Birds of the New World, some of which are bril- 

 liantly coloured, though others are sombre in hues. 

 Like the T,vrants, they have all ten primaries well 

 developed, though in "the sub-family to which Dr. 

 Sclater has given the name Tifyrinn; the second (now- 

 called the ninth) primary is shortened and lanceolate. 

 They are nearly related to the Pipridrr, which- 

 systematic ornithologists have unfortunately called' 

 Manakins, thus rendering them liable to be confounded' 

 with the Finches generally recognised as Jlannikins. 

 to which, of course, they have no affinity whatever.. 

 The Chatterers are fruit-eating birds, and "in captivity- 

 might be treated much in the same manner as Tanagers. 



Cook of the Bock {Rupicola crocea). 



Bright orange ; head with large compressed crest ;: 

 wings brown, broadly belted with white ; outer edges 

 and broad tips of secondaries pale orange, the outer 

 secondaries with their outer webs prolonged into fila- 

 ments ; tail blackish-brown with pale orange extremity r 

 bill and feet yellowish. Female olive-brown; rump. 

 tail, abdomen, and under wing-coverts washed with 

 orange-brown. Hab., Guiana, Cayenne, and Lowei 

 Amazons. (Sclater.) 



Burmeister says (" Systematische Uebersicht," Vol. 

 II., p. 437) : " Inhabits the regions of the interior of 

 South America, which abound in rocks, particularly 

 the northern districts ; feeds upon soft fruits, prefer 



