CLASS AVES: ORDER PICARI^. 125 



Fig. 207. Mg. 208. 



Myiarchus crinltus^ 

 Menura superba^ Lyre-bird. T ' s . Great Crested Flycatcher. |. 



Tyrannidae. The Fly-catchers are American, though 

 comparatively few of the genera belong to North America. 

 They are not strictly insectivorous, but in general are indis- 

 pensable to the farmer. 



The Great-crested F. is extending its habitat northward 

 and eastward to localities where it was unknown at the 

 beginning of the century. It makes its nest in hollow trees 

 or stumps, generally lining it with cast-off snake-cuticles. 



ORDER PICARI^E. 



General Characteristics. To the peculiarities of this 

 order given in the table, p. 113, may be added their altricial 

 nature, though the young are in some species hatched with 

 down. 



Alcedinidae. The King-fishers* have a long, pointed 

 beak, and the outer and middle toes united as far as the last 

 joint. For nesting, they dig holes ten to fifteen feet deep in 

 a sandbank. 



* They always bring the fish out of the water seized near the tail. If small, it is? 

 swallowed immediately, head foremost ; if large, it is carried to a rock or stump and 

 thrashed till dead. 



