TYRANNUS MELANCIIOLICUS. 159 



distressful screams, the specific name melancholicm does not seem alto- 

 gether inappropriate ; and that is the most that can be said of any 

 specific name invented by science, and which does not merely describe 

 some peculiarity of form or colour. 



This Tyrant is one of the largest of its kind, its total length being 

 nearly nine inches. The wings are long and suited for an aerial 

 life ; the legs are exceedingly short, and the feet are used for perching 

 only, for this species never alights on the ground. The throat and 

 upper parts are grey, tinged with olive on the back ; the wings and tail 

 dark ; the breast yellow tinged with green ; the belly pure yellow. 

 Under the loose grey feathers of the crown is a fiery orange crest dis- 

 played in moments of excitement. 



In Buenos Ay res these birds arrive in September, after which their 

 shrill, angry cries are incessantly heard, while the birds are seen pursuing 

 each other through the air or in and out amongst the trees perpetually 

 driven about by the contending passions of love, jealousy, and rage. 

 As soon as their domestic broils are over, a fresh war against the 

 whole feathered race begins, which does not cease until the business of 

 propagation is finished. I have frequently spent hours watching the 

 male, successively attacking, with scarcely an interval of rest, every 

 bird, big or little, approaching the sacred tree where its nest was 

 placed. Its indignation at the sight of a cowardly Carrion-Hawk 

 (Milvago) skulking about in search of small birds' nests, and the bound- 

 less fury of its onset, were wonderful to witness. 



They are extremely active, and when not engaged in their endless 

 aerial battles, are pursuing large insects on the wing, usually returning 

 after each capture to their stand, from which they keep a jealous 

 watch on the movements of all winged things about them. They 

 are fond of marshy places and water- courses, where they perch on 

 a tall stalk to watch for insects, and also frequently skim over the 

 water like Swallows to drink and dip their feathers. 



A tall tree is usually selected for the nest, which is not unfrequently 

 placed on the very topmost twigs, exposed to the sight of every creature 

 passing overhead, and as if in defiance of birds of prey. With such 

 an aggressive temper as this bird possesses it is not strange perhaps 

 that it builds in the most exposed places, from which the female, in 

 the absence of her vigilant consort, can keep a sharp eye on the move- 

 ments of her feathered neighbours; but I have often thought it 

 singular that they do not make a deeper receptacle for their eggs, for 

 the nest is merely a slight platform of slender sticks, and very ill- 

 adapted to retain its burden during high winds. The parasitical Cow- 

 bird never enters this nest, which is not strange. 



