254 THE KING BIRD. 



instinctively wonders how so small a bird can eat so large an insect. It will also feed upon 

 berries and many kinds of fruit. The color of this bird is dark olive-green upon the upper 

 portions of the body ; the breast and the under surface of the wings are light yellow, and 

 the abdomen is nearly white. 



The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria mrens) is a larger bird than the others of this family. 

 The description by Wilson given above is one of the author's best pieces. No one has ever 

 excelled this poet naturalist, in the fidelity and accuracy of his bird literature. 



A species found in the Western Territories has been named the Long-tailed Chat. 



ANOTHER group of the Fly-catchers is denominated the Alectrurinse, or Cock-tailed birds, a 

 name which has been given to them on account of their habit of raising their long and curiously 

 formed tails in a manner similar to that of the domestic fowl. These birds are only found in 

 South America, and are all of small dimensions, the average length being about six inches. 

 There are many species of this group, and they differ considerably in their habits and in the 

 localities which they frequent. Some are fond of forest lands, perching iipon lofty branches, 

 and fluttering from their post in chase of passing insects, wliile others shun the wooded dis- 

 tricts and are only found upon the low-lying lands where water is plentiful, and where they 

 find their insect food upon the leaves and stems of aquatic plants. In all the species the bill 

 is flattened towards the base and rather convex at the point. 



One of the most interesting of the Alectrurine birds is the CUNNINGHAM'S BUSH SHRIKE, 

 which from the strong and slightly hooked beak was formerly supposed to belong to the 

 Shrike family. It is a native of South America, and haunts the thickly wooded districts, 

 foraging in many directions in search of its prey, which generally consists of the larger insects. 

 It is possessed of strong and firmly vaned wings, and is able to fly with remarkable rapidity. 

 The tail of this species is extremely elongated and deeply forked, the two exterior feathers 

 being the longest, and the others decreasing rapidly in length. Even when the bird is 

 stationary, this long tail renders it very conspicuous, but when it is living and in motion, it 

 renders the tail a very ornamental appendage, by raising it so as to droop like the feathers of 

 a cock's tail, and permitting the long plumes to wave gracefully in the breeze. 



The general color of this bird is a uniform ashen-gray over the upper surface, covered with 

 numerous longitudinal streaks of brown. The throat is white, with the exception of a rather 

 broad semi-lunar band of deep purple-brown, which marks the division between the chest and 

 the throat. The wings and tail are blackish-brown, and the quill-feathers of the wing are 

 marked with a series of longitudinal ruddy bands. 



A SECOND group of the Fly-catchers is distinguished by the name of Tyranninse, a title 

 that has been applied to them on account of their exceedingly combative habits during 

 the season of incubation, and the tyrannous sway which they exercise over birds of far greater 

 size, powers, and armature. They are all inhabitants of America, and for the greater part are 

 found in the more tropical regions of that land. They have a very .shrike-like bill, and many 

 of the shrike habits, preying not only upon insects, but pouncing upon young birds, animals, 

 and reptiles, and even adding fish to their scale of diet. The beak of these birds is very large, 

 wide at the base, and narrowing gradually to the tip, where it is boldly compressed and rather 

 strongly hooked. The angle of the mouth is furnished abundantly with strong bristles, and 

 the small nostrils are almost entirely hidden by the feathers of the forehead. 



Several species are included in this group, among which the two birds which will be 

 described in the following pages are the most remarkable. 



The first of the Tyranninse is the well-known KING BIRD, or TYRANT FLY-CATCHER, 

 (Tyrannus carolinensis), celebrated by Audubon, Wilson, and many other writers on the 

 ornithology of America. 



This very interesting bird is one of the migratory species, arriving in the United States 

 about the month of April, and remaining until the end of the autumn, when its young are 

 fully fledged, and able to shift for themselves. The name of King Bird has been given to this 

 species not only on account of the regal sway which it wields over most of the feathered race, 



