149 
its small size and agility in the air, it can attack a large enemy from any 
quarter and is practically safe from counter attacks from anything heavier 
and less agile. 
Economic Status. The name Kingbird is of obvious application, but 
the other term applied to it, ‘‘Bee Martin,” naturally raises suspicion as 
to its feeding habits. It is accused of catching honey bees, and most 
circumstantial accounts of its doing so are given credence. The record 
given below shows that the charge of taking bees is to some extent true, 
but it shows also that the bees caught are mainly drones that can well be 
spared. The old story of the Kingbird opening its brilliant crest to decoy 
the bee within reach under the impression that it is a flower may be dis- 
missed as groundless folk-lore, though it has received wide circulation and 
acceptation. Of 624 Kingbirds’ stomachs examined by the United States 
Department of Agriculture in 1911, 22 contained a total of 61 bees: 51 of 
which were drones; 8, workers; and 2 were indeterminate. The remainder 
of the food consists of other insects, including many noxious forms and a 
little wild fruit and berries. 
452. Crested Flycatcher. GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. FR.—LE MOUCHEROLLE 
A HUPPE. Myiarchus crinitus. L, 9-01. Olive-brown above, turning to rufous on the 
inner webs of the tail. Throat and upper breast, ash-grey. Underparts, sulphur-yellow. 
Distinctions. The above coloration is distinctive. | No other Flycatcher in eastern 
Canada is similarly coloured. 
Field Marks. The bright yellow colour below and the long rufous tail are the most 
striking recognition marks. The loud, hoarse cry, a long drawn ‘‘wheeeeep” and a lower 
“ whip-whip-whip,”’ are very characteristic though sometimes mistakable for the notes of 
the Olive-sided Flycatcher. 
Nesting. In holes abandoned by woodpeckers. The bird shows a remarkable pre- 
ference for cast snake skins as nesting material. Scarcely a nest of the species but con- 
tains one or more. 
Distribution. Eastern North America. In Canada all along the southern border, 
breeding wherever found. 
A Flycatcher of the woodland tree tops. Its voice is constantly heard 
in the summer, but rarely at any distance from dense forest. 
Economic Status. Beetles, locusts, ants, crickets, flies, and moths 
constitute the bulk of its food. It takes more parasitic wasps and beetles 
than most birds but not enough to counterbalance the pests it destroys. 
456. Phoebe. BRIDGE PEWEE. FR.—LE MOUCHEROLLE BRUN. Sayornis phoebe. 
L, 6:99. Plate XXIII A. 
Distribution. The small, greenish Flycatchers are perhaps the most difficult of 
American birds to separate. Fortunately each has a typical habitat and characteristic 
note which form good guides to differentiation. The Phoebe is the largest of these puzzling 
little birds and the most easily recognized. It is most likely to be confused with the Wood 
Pewee, but examined in the hand, the larger and stouter legs and feet of this species 
are easily recognizable. 
Field Marks. The head of the Phoebe seems a little darker and in stronger contrast 
to the body than in the other Flycatchers. The sideways sweep of the tail is character- 
istic and in adults the lack of wing bars. The note, however, a quickly uttered Phoe-be 
with a strong accent on the first syllable, is the most easily recognized field mark. The 
Wood Pewee’s note is long-drawn and that of the Least is short and explosive. 
Nesting. A large structure of mud, moss, and grasses under bridges, the overhang 
of buildings, or ledges of rock. 
: a haiiaale Eastern America, north to near tree limit. Breeds in Canada wherever 
ound. 
_No place suits the Phoebe so well for nesting as the flat timber or 
projecting ledges of an old bridge over some little stream where the air 
