318 NORTH AMERICAN BIIID$. 



rior to all other l»ir»ls in tlu\se coiitosts. ^ly own observations lead me to 

 tlie conclusion tliat writers have somewhat exai^nerated tlie (quarrelsome dis- 

 ])osition of this Itird. I have never, or very rarely, known it to m(»lest or 

 attack any other l>irds than tliose which its own instinct prompts it to drive 

 away in self-det'ence, such as Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows, Jays, Cuckoos, and 

 (Jrakles. These it will always attack and drive oil" to (piite a distance from 

 their nest>». Nothinj^ can he nmre strikini; than the intrei)i(lity with which 

 one of these birds will pounce ui)on and harass birds vastly larj^er and more 

 powerful than itself. The Kingbird is always prompts to ])erceive the ap- 

 j)rnach of one of these enemies, and always rushes out to meet it. Mount- 

 ing in the air liigh above, it pounces tlown upon its back, upon which it will 

 even rest, furi«»usly pecking at the ex])Osed flanks of its victim, and only 

 leaving it to descend again and again with the same unrelenting animosity. 

 In these encounters it always comes off conipieror. 



Wilson states that his jealous afl'ection for his mate and for his nest and 

 young makes him sus}>icious of every bird that hajjpens to pass near his resi- 

 dence. But this is not the case in all instances. A i)air of these birds 

 nested, in the sunnner of 1871, and i)eacefully reared their young, in an 

 apple-tree near my residence, wiihin four feet of the nest of the IJaltimore 

 Oriole, and not more than eight or ten feet from the nest of a Jlobin, all 

 in the same tree. The three pairs were on evident terms of amity and 

 mutual g()(»d-will. The male Kingbird kept a sharp lookout for danger 

 from the topmost bough, and seemed to have all under his special guardi- 

 anship, but showed no disi)Osition to molest or annoy them. 



The Purple Martin is said to l)e the implacable enemy of the Kingbird, and 

 one of the few birds with which the latter maintains an uneijual contest. 

 Its .su])eri(»rity in flight gives the former great advantages, while its eijual 

 courage and strength render it more than a match. Audubon relates an 

 instance in which the Kingbird was slain in one of these strun^des. 



Wilson also narrates an encounter, of which he was an eyewitness, be- 

 tween one of this species and a licd-headed Woodpecker, in wliich the latter, 

 while clinging on the rail of a fence, seemed to amuse itself with the vio- 

 lence of tlie Kingbird, ])laying bo-peep with it round the rail, while the 

 latter became greatly irritated, and made repeated but vain attempts to strike 

 at him. 



The Kingbinl feeds almost exclusively upon winged insects, and consumes 

 a vast number. It is on this account one of our most useful birds, but, 

 unfortunately for its ])opularity, it is no respecter of kinds, and destroys 

 large numbers of bees. In districts where hives of honey-bees abound, the 

 Kingbird is not in good repute. Wilson suggests that they only destroy the 

 drones, and rarely, if ever, meddle with the working bees. But this dis- 

 crimination, even if real, is not appreciated by the raisers of bee.s, who 

 regard this bird as their enemy. 



The Kingbirds arrive in Pennsylvania the latter part of April, and in New 



