414 FLYCATCHERS, 



payup, and sometimes a slender twittering, as they took the 

 perch, were heard almost from morn to night, and resembled 

 at first the chirp of a young Robin. They fed on the cater- 

 pillars or vermin of some kind which happened to infest the 

 apple-trees. I was told that they utter a different and more 

 musical note about sunrise ; but of this I cannot speak from my 

 own knowledge. They are unknown in the vicinity of the 

 sea-coast of Massachusetts. According to Audubon, they are 

 found on the upper Missouri during summer. Many also 

 pass the winter in the warmer parts of Florida. They also 

 breed in Texas. 



This species is common in the Eastern States north to Connec- 

 ticut and northern Ohio and in southern Ontario. It is rare in 

 portions of Massachusetts, but examples have been observed in 

 Maine and New Brunswick. It breeds south to Florida, and 

 winters in the tropics. 



Those who know the bird best say it has the courage of the 

 Kingbird, and a knack of quarrelling that is all its own. 



GRAY KINGBIRD. 

 Tyrannus dominicensis. 



Char. Very similar to the Kingbird, but of paler color ; the upper 

 parts, including the head, being ashy gray. Its size is somewhat larger, — 

 about an inch in length. 



Nest. In a tree ; composed of twigs, lined with roots or moss. 



Eggs. 3-4 ; white, tinged with pale buff or salmon pink and spotted 

 with brown and purple ; i.oo X 0.75. 



This fine tropical species was discovered by Audubon on 

 the Florida Keys, where it arrives about the first of April, and 

 spreads over the peninsula as far as Cape Florida. It is com- 

 mon in Cuba and several other of the West India islands. 

 Stragglers, however, appear to wander at times as far to the 

 north as South Carohna; a pair and their nest having been 

 found in a college yard, where they continued to return for 

 several years in succession, rearing two broods in a season. 

 Its whole demeanor so much resembles that of the common 



