152 CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 



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 squawks^ makes no 

 attempt to defend himself. But the Kingbird is deaf to 

 pleas for mercy ; 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 Flycatcher, from being so easily observed. King- 



Myiarchus crinitus. birds can be seen whenever heard, but 



Plate xxxi. y OU mav k ear ^ 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 

 found in old orchards. His call, like an exclamation, 



