KINGBIRD. 259 



of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Milvnlus forficatus Sw.) at York 

 Factory. 



"Hitherto its range has been considered to extend only from 

 Mexico to Central Texas. Baird, Cassin and Lawrence say with 

 regard to it : * This exquisitely beautiful and graceful bird is quite 

 abundant on the prairies of Southern Texas, and is everywhere 

 conspicuous among its kindred species. It is usually known as the 

 Scissor-tail from its habit of opening and' closing the long tail 

 feathers as if they were the blades of a pair of scissors.' The specimen 

 in the Government Museum was shot at York Factory in the summer 

 of 1880, and I have since learned that these remarkable birds were 

 commonly seen at the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company all the 

 way westward to the valley of the Mackenzie River." 



The Scissor- tails are beautiful birds which we should gladly 

 welcome to Ontario if they find the attractions sufficient] to induce 

 them to extend their habitat in this direction, but of these they are 

 the best judges, and they will no doubt act accordingly. 



GENUS TYRANNUS CUVIER. , 



X 



TYRANNUS TYRANNUS (LINN.). 

 185. Kingbird. (444) 



Two outer primaries obviously attenuate ; above, blackish, darker on the 

 head ; crown with a flame-colored patch ; below, pure white ; the breast 

 shaded with plumbeous ; wings, dusky, with much whitish edging ; tail, 

 black, broadly and rather sharply tipped with white, the outer feathers 

 sometimes edged with the same; bill and feet, black. Young: Without the 

 patch ; very young birds show rufous edging of the wings and tail. Length, 

 about 8 inches ; wing, 4^ ; tail, 3 ; bill, under 1. 



HAB. Eastern North America, from the British Provinces south to Central 

 and South America. Rare west of the Rocky Mountains (Utah, Nevada, 

 Washington Territory, etc. ). 



Nest, large for the size of the bird, placed on the horizontal bough of an 

 isolated tree, composed of vegetable fibrous materials and sheep's wool 

 compactly woven together. 



Eggs, three to five, creamy or rosy-white, spotted and blotched with 

 reddish, brown and lilac shell-spots. 



The Kingbird arrives in Ontario from the south about the 10th 

 of May, and from that time till it leaves again in September, it is 

 one of the most familiar birds in the rural districts. It is generally 



