116 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



bird, playing bo-peep with it round the rail, while the latter became greatly irritated, and made 

 repeated, but vain attempts, to strike at him. The Kingbird feeds almost exclusive^ upon winged 

 insects, and consumes a vast number. It is on this account one of our most useful birds, but unfortu- 

 nately for its popularity 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 

 discrimination, if even real, is not appreciated by the raisers of bees, who regard this bird as their 

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

 early in May, and leave for the south in September. They nest in May, selecting an iipper 

 branch, usually of an isolated tree, and often in an exposed situation. Their nests are large, 

 broad, and comparatively shallow, and coarsely, though strongly, made of rude materials, such as 



twigs, withered plants, bits of rags, string, &c. These, are lined with fine rootlets, horsehair, and 

 fine grasses. 



"The Kingbird has no song, but instead utters an incessant monotonous succession of twitterings, 

 which vary in sharpness and loudness with the emotions that prompt them. The flight of the 

 Kingbird, when on the hunt for insects, is very peculiar and characteristic. It flies slowly over 

 the field with rapid vibrations of the wings in the manner of Hawks, and soars or seems to float 

 in the air in the manner of a Swallow. It also exhibits great power and rapidity of flight when 

 rushing forth to encounter a Hawk or an Eagle. As they are known occasionally to plunge into 

 the water, and, emerging thence to resume their seat on a high branch, to dry and dress their 

 plumage, it has been conjectured that they feed on small fish, but this is unsupported by any 

 positive evidence. Though the Kingbird usually builds in trees, it does not always select such 

 situations. In the summer of 1851, passing over a bridge near the village of Aylesford, in Nova 

 Scotia, I observed a Kingbird fly from a nest built on the projecting end of one of the planks of 

 which the bri :lge was made. So remarkably exposed a position, open to view and on a level with 

 and within a few feet of a highway, must be quite unusual. The eggs of this bird are five, 

 sometimes six, in number, and vary considerably in size. Their ground colour is white with a more 

 or less decided roseate tinge, beautifully spotted with blotches and markings of purple, brown, and red- 



