CRESTED FLYCATCHER, 193 
and fearlessness which no bird can withstand. It is a case 
of “ right makes might,” added to a very dexterous use of 
wings and bill. The Crow, if he be experienced, turns 
tail at once and, beyond protesting sguawks, makes no 
attempt to defend himself. But the Kingbird is deaf to 
pleas for merey; he too has had experience, and well 
knows that only his own watchfulness has saved his eggs 
or young. Far in the distance he relentlessly pursues his 
foe, leaving him only when he has administered a lesson 
which will not be forgotten. Then he returns to his post 
and, with crest erect and quivering wings, gives voice to 
cries of victory. 
Bee-keepers accuse the Kingbird of a taste for honey- 
bees, but the examination, made by Prof. Beal, of two 
“hundred and eighteen Kingbirds’ stomachs shows that 
the charge is unfounded. Only fourteen stomachs con- 
tained remains of bees, most of which were drones, while 
sixty per cent of the Kingbirds’ food was found to con- 
sist of injurious insects. 
Kingbirds winter in Central and South America, re- 
turning to us in the spring about May 1, and remaining 
until September. Their nest is a compact, symmetrical 
structure of weed stalks, grasses, and moss, lined with 
plant down, fine grasses, and rootlets, and is usually placed 
at the extremity of a limb about twenty feet from the 
ground. The eggs, three to five in number, are white, 
spotted with chocolate. 
The Crested or Great Crested Flycatcher is, as a rule, 
not so common as the Kingbird, and its habits prevent it 
Crested Flycateber, from being so easily observed. King- 
Myiarchus crinitus. birds can be seen whenever heard, but 
PlateXXXI == you may hear the Greatcrest’s whistle 
many times before you see the whistler. Generally he 
lives in the woods high up in the trees, but he is also 
j found in old orchards. His call, like an exclamation, 
