THE GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 



interests of agriculture are greater than those of a hive of 

 bees. 



About the middle of September, this bird with his family 

 and neighbors gather into a scattered flock, and depart for 

 the south, spending the winter in Central America and 

 Southern Mexico. 



MYIARCHUS, CABANIS. 



Myiarchus, CABANIS, Fauna Peruana (1844-46) 152. Burmeister, Thiere Bra- 

 siliens, II. Vogel (1856) 469. 



Tarsus equal to, or not longer than, the middle toe, which is decidedly longer 

 than the hinder one ; bill wider at base than half the culmen ; tail broad, long, even, 

 or slightly rounded, about equal to the wings, which scarcely reach the middle of 

 the tail, the first primary shorter than the sixth; head with elongated lanceolate 

 distinct feathers; above brownish-olive; throat ash; belly yellow; tail and wing 

 feathers varied with rufous. 



MYIARCHUS CRINITUS. Cabanis. 

 The Great-crested Flycatcher. 



Muscicapa crinita, Linnaeus. Syst. Nat., I. (1766) 325. Wilson, Am. Orn., II. 

 (1810) 75. Aud. Orn. Biog., II. (1834) 176; V. 423. 

 Tyrannus crinitus. Nutt. Man., I. (2d ed., 1840) 302. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Head with a depressed crest ; third quill longest, fourth and second successively 

 but little shorter, first a little longer than seventh, much shorter than sixth; tail 

 decidedly rounded or even graduated, the lateral feather about twenty-five one- 

 hundredths of an inch shorter ; upper parts dull greenish-olive, with the feathers of 

 the crown, and to some extent of the back, showing their brown centres; upper tail 

 coverts turning to pale rusty-brown; small feathers at the base of the bill, ceres, 

 sides of the head as high as the upper eyelid, sides of the neck, throat, and forepart, 

 of the breast, bluish-ashy ; the rest of the lower parts, including axillaries and lower 

 wing coverts, bright sulphur-yellow; a pale ring round the eye; sides of the breast 

 and body tinged with olivaceous; the wings brown, the first and second rows of 

 coverts, with the secondary and tertial quills, margined externally with dull-white, 

 or on the latter slightly tinged with olivaceous-yellow; primaries margined exter- 

 nally for more than half their length from the base with ferruginous, great portion 

 of the inner webs of all the quills very pale-ferruginous; the two middle tail 

 feathers light brown, shafts paler, the rest have the outer web and a narrow line on 

 the inner sides of the shaft brown, pale olivaceous on the outer edge, the remainder 

 ferruginous to the very tip; outer web of exterior feather dull brownish-yellow; feet 

 black; bill dark-brown above and at the tip below, paler towards the base. 



The female appears to have no brown on the inner web of the quills along the 

 shaft, or else it is confined chiefly to the outer feathers. 



Length, eight and seventy-five one-hundredths inches ; wing, four and twenty- 



