;-526 ^'UKTII AMKUU'AN lUUDS. 



feathers, striii«'s, and other soft m.iterials. Tliev are iisiiallv scoured to the 

 liiiil) on wliieh they are phieed hy a portion of the strin;^'. The dianietv r of 

 tlie cavity of the nest is ahoiit tliree inches, (K'|>th one and a lialf. Their 

 v^'^a iuv hiid in May and dune, an<l are four, live, or six in nund)er. They 

 ail' (h'scrihetl as white, marked witli dark ]»ro\\n spots on ^he larger end. 

 In 8«»nie the spots, (U'ereasin^^ in si/e, exten«l to tlie sniaUer end. 



I>r. Hny inlorms nie that he lias never detected tliis hird witliin tlie limits 

 of \\'iscnnsin, thou-ih \n' has no douht that they mav occasituiailv stratrirle 

 into its limits, as have many of the Itirds jK'culiar to the Missouri region. 



Mr. h'idij^way gives it as one of the most almndant and familiar of 

 tlie Tjirn iiniihr in the Sacramento Valley and the tertile ]>ortions of the 

 (Ireat liasin. lie notes their excessively tpiarndsome disposition, which far 

 exceeds that of the eastern Kinj^hird, for ti.^ditin;^' among themselves seems 

 to be their chief annisement. As many as half a dozen of these hirds were 

 sometimes noticed jtitching at one another promiscuously, in their j>layful 

 cond>ats; and when a nest was disturhed, the cries of the j)arents invariahly 

 brought to the vicinity all the birds of this species in the neighborhood, 

 which, as soon as gathered together, began their aerial battles by attacking 

 each other without regard api)arontly to individuals, aceomi)anying the fight 

 by a shrill twitter, very different from the loud rattling notes of the T. rtrm/i- 

 nmsifi. Indeed, all the notes of the western Kingbird are very conspicuously 

 different from those of the eastern species, being weaker, and more twitter- 

 ing in their character. The nesting habits, the construction of the nest, and 

 appearance of the eggs, are, however, almost perfectly identical. 



Mr. liidgway gives an interesting account (Am. Xat., Aug., ISiJ'.l) of a 

 young bird of this sjjecies which became (piite domesticated with his party 

 in the geological survey of the 4()th parallel. It had been taken about the 

 middle of duly, fully fledged, from the nest, by some Indians, and was fed 

 with grasshoppers and flies until able to catch them for itself. When not 

 in (piest of food it remained (piietly perched on ]\Ir. iJidgway's shoulder or 

 his hat, or would perch on a rope extending from the to]) of the tent to a 

 stake. At night it frequently roosted under an uml)rella which hung outside 

 of the tent. If permitted, it would have preferred to keep on its master's 

 shoulder, snuggling against his neck. In the morning it was sure to come 

 fluttering about his head, singling him out from a dozen or more persons who 

 lay around u]>on the ground. It had an insatiable appetite, and was ascer- 

 tained by actual count to consume one hundred and twenty fat grasshoppers 

 in a day. It soon learned its own name. Chippy, and always answered to 

 the call. It f(dlowed ^Ir. IJidgway when on horseback, occasionally leaving 

 to sport ^vitll other birds, but always retuining to his shoulder or liat. It 

 evidently ])referred the society of the camp to that of his own race. It 

 was once, by accident, nearly shot, and ever after held the gun in great dread. 

 It went with Mr. Kidgway from camp to camp, continuing perfectly tame 

 and domesticated, imtil, as was supposed, it fell a prey to a Hawk. 



