THE KINGBIRD. 371 
The food of the Kingbird consists entirely of insects, caught on the wing 
for the most part, by sallies from some favorite perch. His eyesight must be 
very good, as he not infrequently spies his prey at distances of from twenty 
to fifty yards. Honey bees form an occasional but inconsiderable article of 
diet. Grasshoppers are not overlooked, and they sometimes capture, not with- 
out a scuffle, those big brown locusts (Melanoplus sp.) which make flippant 
exposure of their persons on a summer day. Both in the taking of food and 
in the discharge of police duties the Kingbird exhibits great strength and 
swiftness, as well as grace in flight. Once, when passing in a canoe thru a 
quiet, weed-bound channel, I was quite deceived for a time by the sight of 
distant white-breasted birds dashing down to take insects near the surface of 
the water, and even, occasionally dipping under it. They had all the ease and 
grace of Tree Swallows, but proved to be Kingbirds practising in a new role. 
This fondness for water is often exhibited in the birds’ choice of a nesting 
site. Where accustomed to civilization, orchard or shade trees are preferred, but 
on many occasions nests are found on low-swinging horizontal branches over- 
hanging the water ; and, as often, in tiny willow clumps or isolated trees entire- 
ly surrounded by it. The nest of the Kingbird sometimes presents that studied 
disarray which is considered the height of art. Now and thena nest has such a 
disheveled ap- 
pearance as to 
quite discour- 
age investiga- 
tion, unless 
the owners’ 
presence  be- 
trays the se- 
cret of occu- 
pancy. On.the 
shore of Cold 
Spring Lake, 
in Douglas 
County, we 
noted a_ last 
year’s Bullock 
Oriole’s nest, 
which would 
not have at- 
tracted a sec- 
ond glance, 
with the new- 
Taken in Douglas County. Photo by W. L. Dawson. 
COLD SPRING LAKE. 
er nest hard HE ORIOLE-KINGBIRD NEST APPEARS NEAR THE TOP OF THE PROJECTING TREE. 
