34 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



But the most conspicuous birds I saw were members of 

 the family of tyrant flycatchers, of which our own king- 

 bird is the most famihar example. This family is very 

 numerously represented in Argentina, both in species and 

 individuals. Some of the species are so striking, both in 

 color and habits, and in one case also in shape, as to at- 

 tract the attention of even the unobservant. The least con- 

 spicuous, and nevertheless very conspicuous, among those 

 that I saw was the bientevido, which is brown above, 

 yellow beneath, with a boldly marked black and white 

 head, and a yellow crest. It is very noisy, is common in 

 the neighborhood of houses, and builds a big domed nest. 

 It is really a big, heavy king-bird, fiercer and more power- 

 ful than any northern king-bird. I saw them assail not 

 only the big but the small hawks with fearlessness, driving 

 them in headlong flight. They not only capture insects, 

 but pounce on mice, small frogs, lizards, and little snakes, 

 rob birds' nests of the fledgling young, and catch tadpoles 

 and even small fish. 



Two of the tyrants which I observed are like two 

 with which I grew fairly familiar in Texas. The scissor- 

 tail is common throughout the open country, and the long 

 tail feathers, which seem at times to hamper its flight, at- 

 tract attention whether the bird is in flight or perched on 

 a tree. It has a habit of occasionally soaring into the air 

 and descending in loops and spirals. The scarlet tyrant 

 I saw in the orchards and gardens. The male is a fasci- 

 nating little bird, coal-black above, while his crested head 

 and the body beneath are brilliant scarlet. He utters his 

 rapid, low-voiced musical trill in the air, rising with flut- 

 tering wings to a height of a hundred feet, hovering while 



