308 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Contopus. Hind toe much longer than the lateral. Tail considerably 

 forked. Wings long, pointed ; much longer than the tail, reaching be- 

 yond the middle of the latter; first quill about equal to the fourth. Bill 

 broad. Color olive-gray, and white, sometimes with a yellowish tinge 

 beneath. Lower mandible pale-colored. Nest saucer-shaped, compact, 

 and very small, saddled very securely upon a thick branch ; eggs cream- 

 colored, with a zone of lilac and rich brown blotches round the larger end. 

 3. Tail shorter than the wings, as in the last. Tarsus considerably longer 

 than the middle toe ; hind toe much longer than lateral. Tail nearly even, 

 sometimes slightly rounded, but little shorter than the wings ; first primary 

 much shorter than the fourth. 



Empidonax. Head moderately crested ; tail about even. Bristles of 

 bill reaching about half-way to tip. Legs stout. A conspicuous light 

 orbital ring, and distinct bands on the wing. More or less tinged 

 with sulphur-yellow on lower parts. Nest variously cons^tructed, 

 deeply cup-shaped, compact or loose, entirely of either grassy or fibrous 

 and downy material, and fixed to slender twigs or lodged in a crotch 

 between thick branches ; eggs white, immaculate, or with blotches of 

 brown round larger end. 



Mitrephorus. Head decidedly crested. Tail forked. Bristles of bill 

 reaching nearly to tip. Legs very weak and slender. Beneath more 

 or less tinged with fulvous or ochraceous. 



Pyrocephalus. Head with a full crest. Tarsus but little longer than 

 the middle toe ; hind toe not longer than the lateral. Tail broad, even ; 

 first quill shorter than the fifth. Beneath, with whole crown bright 

 red (except in P. ohscurus). Female very different, lacking the red, 

 except posteriorly beneath, and with the breast obsoletely streaked. 



Genus MILVULUS, Swainson. 



Milvulus, Swainson, Zool. Jour. Ill, 1827, 165. 



Despotes, Eeichenbach, Avium Syst. Naturale, 1850 (iu part). 



Sp. Char. Bill shorter than the head, and nearly equal to the tarsus. Tail nearly 



twice as long as the wing, 

 excessively forked ; the 

 middle feathers scarcely 

 half the lateral. First 

 primary abruptly atten- 

 uated at the end, where 

 it is very narrow and 

 linear. Head with a 

 concealed crest of red. 



This group is dis- 

 tinguished from Ty- 

 rannus by the very 

 long tail, but the two 

 species assigned by 



Milvulus forficatus {t^\a.hnora\a.\). autllOrS tO Nortll 



America, although agreeing in many respects, differ in some parts of their 

 structure. The peculiarities of coloration are as folloM'^s : — 



