210 WAKE-ROBIN 



properly songsters, but are classed by some writers 

 as screechers. Their pugnacious dispositions are 

 well known, and they not only fight among them- 

 selves but are incessantly quarreling with their 

 neighbors. The kingbird, or tyrant flycatcher, 

 might serve as the type of the order. 



The common or wood pewee excites the most 

 pleasant emotions, both on account of its plaintive 

 note and its exquisite mossy nest. 



The phoebe-bird is the pioneer of the flycatchers, 

 and comes in April, sometimes in March. It comes 

 familiarly about the house and outbuildings, and 

 usually builds beneath hay-sheds or under bridges. 



The flycatchers always take their insect prey on 

 the wing, by a sudden darting or swooping move- 

 ment; often a very audible snap of the beak may 

 be heard. 



These birds are the least elegant, both in form 

 and color, of any of our feathered neighbors. They 

 have short legs, a short neck, large heads, and 

 broad, flat beaks, with bristles at the base. They 

 often fly with a peculiar quivering movement of 

 the wings, and when at rest some of the species 

 oscillate their tails at short intervals. 



There are found in the United States nineteen 

 species. In the Middle and Eastern districts, one 

 may observe in summer, without any special search, 

 about five of them, namely, the kingbird, the 

 phoebe-bird, the wood pewee, the great crested fly- 

 catcher (distinguished from all others by the bright 

 ferruginous color of its tail), and the small green- 

 crested flycatcher. 



