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AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Kingbirds lay from three to five, and rarely six. handsome eggs with a 

 creamy background, boldly and beautifully spotted with reddish-brown and 

 lavender, most abundantly about the large end. The pattern of the markings 

 varies endlessly, some being very heavily spotted, while in the extreme cases 

 they may be found with no marks at all. The average size of their eggs is 

 •95 x .70. As usual, with passerine birds, incubation lasts about sixteen days 

 and the young are able to rly in about two weeks after first seeing the light. 

 They are fed with a great many kinds of insects, millers and even large darn- 

 ing needles. 



Esq or Ghay Kingbird. 



A great many farmer boys know these birds only by the name of Bee- 

 martin; while they do take some bees along with other insects that they 



