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FAMILY—-TYRANNID4. TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 
General Description. The Tyrant Flycatchers are most easily recognized among 
Canadian birds by their bills (Figure 43, p. 25) which are comparatively long, somewhat 
flattened and broadened at the base, wider than high, and slightly hooked at the extreme 
tip. 
Field Marks. Easily recognized in life by their characteristic habits and attitudes 
which soon become familiar to the discerning observer. When perching they usually sit 
in an upright attitude, quite still except for an occasional spasmodic jerking of the tail. 
On observing a passing insect they dash out and capture it in the air with a nimble evolu- 
tion and quick snap of the bill. 
The Flycatchers are one of the most difficult families to identify 
specifically. Some of them are strongly characterized, but of the com- 
monest ones, several species are so nearly alike as to puzzle the experienced 
ornithologist when they are silent or not in normal habitats. In identifying 
them in life, attention should be paid to their notes. These and the type 
of habitat in which they are observed are good guides to differentiation in 
the case of the more puzzling species. 
Economic Status. Their food consists almost entirely of insects, 
caught on the wing, for which the broad bill is well adapted. As they take 
most of their food in the air near the ground they catch varieties of insects 
not taken by other birds. The species found in their stomachs include 
beetles, flies, wasps, crane flies, ants, grasshoppers, tent caterpillars, and 
moths. Indeed, nearly all the harmful species of insects are found in their 
crops and they must be classed as highly beneficial. 
443. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Muscivora forficata. L, 13 (about). (Tail, 9.) 
This Flycatcher is an occasional wanderer within the borders of Canada, from sub- 
tropical America. It is unmistakable—a light, ash-coloured bird about the size of a 
Kingbird, with darker wings, scarlet or orange cap and the same colour under the wings, 
and with a great tail 8 to 9 inches long, split to a depth of 6 inches or more, which, 
when the bird is at rest, opens and closes like a pair of scissors. Strangely enough one 
of our best authenticated records comes from York Factory on Hudson bay. With 
this record before us, it is difficult to state positively what species may or may not be 
found anywhere in Canada. 
444. Kingbird. BEE MARTIN. FR.—LE MOUCHEROLLE DE LA CAROLINE. Tyrannus 
tyrannus. L, 8-51. Plate XXII B. 
Distinctions. The black and white coloration, orange crown patch showing in 
moments of excitement, and the black tail conspicuously tipped with white as if dipped 
in white paint. 
Field Marks. Easily recognized in life by the above marks. The orange crown, 
however, is rarely seen. In life, the head and tail appear to be dead black in colour in 
strong contrast to the pure white below. 
Nesting. In trees, 5 to 40 feet above the ground; the nest a well built structure of 
weed stalks, grasses, and waste vegetation lined with plant-down, rootlets, and fine grasses. 
The fact that the bird not uncommonly nests in orchards and near cultivated fields is 
much in its favour. 
: Eee North America north to near tree limits. Breeds in Canada wherever 
ound. 
The Kingbird is a familiar species, coming close around houses and 
orchards, and the presence of a pair nesting close by is one of the best 
preventives of the depredations of hawks or crows. None come anywhere 
near the Kingbird’s home, without being vigorously challenged. The 
Kingbird flies at the intruders with an energy that is surprising in so 
small and weak a bird. It cannot do them any real harm, but drives them 
away and its outcries give wide notice of the impending danger. Owing to 
Ee 
