FAMILY TYRANNIDjE 



of the head are generally erectile, sometimes 

 forming a distinct crest; the bill is wide and 

 flattened at the base, though sharp and 

 commonly slightly hooked at the extreme 

 tip. In some species the plumage is con- 

 spicuously colored, but in the majority olive, 

 brownish and gray, and on the under parts 

 yellowish shades prevail ; often, however, there 

 is a more or less concealed bright yellow or 

 orange patch on the crown. Their notes 

 are varied and characteristic, but as is to 

 be expected in the group Tyranni, usually 

 not very musical. 



The Tyrannidae must not be confused with 

 the Old World birds called flycatchers, which 

 are true song birds related to the thrushes. 

 The Tyrannidae are the only family of 

 Tyranni which range northward into the 

 United States and Canada, where they are 

 represented by many familiar species. Tropi- 

 cal America is, however, their center of 

 abundance and they form a conspicuous 

 part of the bird fauna of the Canal Zone 

 where, owing to the number of species more 

 or less nearly alike, they occasion the bird 

 student the greatest difficulty of any family. 

 A reference to the descriptions will show that 

 the genera Copurus, Megarhynchus, Onycho- 

 rhynchus and Muscivora all have conspicuous 

 characters making their recognition easy and 

 certain. Placostomus, Todirostrum, Atalo- 

 triccus, Oncostoma, Tyranniscus, Camptos- 

 toma and Terenotriccus are all small or very 

 small birds, some of them not very fly- 

 catcher-like in habits, that should be recog- 

 nizable by a careful study of the descriptions. 

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