314 



NORTH AMKKICAN BIRDS. 



nuaiii about tin* first of A]>nl. Tlie resinindiiiji: strokes of their wings aiifl 

 tlieir ott-repeated cries are heard just liefore the (hiwn of dav. Thev usually 

 liave hut tliree eijLis. 



A single individual of Mi/rtdv!^, and suj)]iosed to he one of this species, 

 was seen hv ^Ir. ( '. Orexler, May ♦"., I8(il, but was not obtained, in the 

 vicinity of Washington. .Vnother bird of this s])eeies is mentioned by ^Ir. 

 Altbott as having l»een taken near Trenton, X. J., A])ril IT), 1H72. It was a 

 male bird in full health and feather. Its stomach was found to be full of 

 small coleoptera, insects' eggs, Hies, etc. 



The eggs of this sj>ecies vary greatly in size, from .92 by .75 to .80 by .GO 

 of an inch. They are in sha])e a rounded oval, and tapering at one end. 

 The ground-color is white, marked with a few very large dark red spots, 

 and occasionally of an obscure purple. 



Genus TYRANNTTS, TrviER. 



Tifmnnus, CrviEr., Lemons Aiiat. Coinp. 1799, 1800 ^Ar.Assiz). 



Gkx. Ch.\h. Tail nearly even, or moderately forked ; rather shorter than the wing-s ; 



the teatluTs broad, and widen- 

 ing: somewhat at the ends. 

 Wings long and pointed ; the 

 outer primaries rather abruptly 

 attc'nuate<l near the end, the 

 attenuated portion not linear, 

 however. IIea<l with a con- 

 cealed patch of red on the 

 crown. 



The species of this 

 genus are especially char- 

 acterized by their long, 

 attenuated i>rimaries, their 

 moderately ftuked or 

 nearly even tail, and the 

 concealed colored crest in 

 nmnn.. rarofin.ns,.. thccrown. Their atlini- 



ties are nearest to Milndus, from which the tail, shorter than the wings, 

 instead of twice as long, or more, will always serve as a point of dist'uction. 

 The attenuation of the ])rimary diti'ers in being less abrupt, and nc' truly 

 linear, slo])inir uraduallv. and not bounded behind l)y a notch. We are 

 unalde to ap])reciate any other ditterences of importance. 



The character and extent of the atteniuition of the primaries, the depth 

 of the fork of the tail, with the size of the legs and bill, all varv considerably, 

 and may, ])erha])S, serve as ground for further sidulivisions. The bill, in 

 particular, varies much in size in the North American species, from that of 



