314 



NORTH AMEKK^VN BIRDS. 



iigain about tlio first of A]>nl. Tlie icsoundiiii;' strokes of their wings niul 

 tiieir oft-repeated cries are lieanl just before llie dawn of dry. Tliey usually 

 linve but throe egt^s. 



\ siu.yle individual of Jfi/ni/ns, and su])i)osed to be one of this species, 

 was seen by Mr. ( '. Dre.xler, May (i, 18(11, but was not obtained, in the 

 vicinity of Washington. Another bird of this species is mentioned by ^Ir. 

 Alibott as lia\in,y- been taken near Trenton, N. J., A])ril IH, 1872. It was a 

 male bird in full lu'alth and feather. Its stomach was found to be full of 

 small coleoptera, insects' egi^s, tlies, etc. 



Tiie engs of this s])ecies vary greatly in size, from .92 by .75 to .80 by .GO 

 (;f an inch. They are in shajjc a rounded oval, and tapering at one end. 

 The ground-color is white, marked with a few very large dark red spots, 

 and occasionally of an obscure purple. 



Gi-.Ms TYRANNUS, (^ivter. 



Tjimnmis, CuviEii, Lei;oiis Anat. Comi). 1799, 1800 ^.\^.A.>;sIz). 



Gkx. Cn.\i!. Tail nearly even, or moderately forked; rather shorter than the wingr.« ; 



the leathers broad, and widen- 

 injr -somewhat at the ends. 

 Wings lonfj and pointed ; the 

 outer priniai'ies rather ahrnptly 

 attenuated ni'ar the end, the 

 attenuated portion not linear, 

 however. Head with a con- 

 cealed patch of red on the 

 crown. 



The s]iecies of this 

 genus are especially char- 

 actyrized by their long, 

 attemiated j)rimaries, their 

 nu'derately forked or 

 nearly even tail, and the 

 concealed coh -d crest in 

 T,m„n,„^ r„rn>i,„„s„. ^j^g crown. Their ailini- 



ties iire nearest to Milnilua, from which the tail, shortei' than the wings, 

 instead of twice as long, or niftre, will always serve as a point of distinction. 

 Th(^ attenuiilion of the ])rimary differs in being less abrupt, and not truly 

 linear, sloping gradually, and not bounded behind by a notch. We are 

 unable to appreciiite any other diHerences of importance. 



The character and extent of the attemiiition of the ])riniaries, the depth 

 of the fork of the tail, with the size of the legs and bill, all vary considerably, 

 and may, ]ierha|is, serve as ground for further subdivisions. The bill, in 

 particular, varies nuich in size in the North American si)ecies, from that of 



