TVIUNNID.E — THE FLYCATCHERS. 3] 7 



])atch oil tlie crown wanting. Tlie tail more rounded; tlie primaries not 

 iittemiated. ^ 



Si)('c'iiuoiis vary in the aiiioiint of wliito niiirt^iiiinu; tlio wing- leathers ; 

 the u|)])('r tail-ooverts are also margined sonietinies witii wliite. 



IIai'.its. The coninioii Kingl)ird or l>ee Alartiii of Noitli America is 

 found throughout tlie continent, from Te.\a.s and Florida, on the south, as far 

 to the noitli as tlie oTtii parallel of north latitude. Westward, north of the 

 44tii i)arallel, it is found from the Atlantic tt) the I'acilic, hut south of this 

 it has not been found west of the liocky Mountains. It is included hy Dr. 

 Cooper among the liirds of California, hut 1 am not aware that it has ever 

 been taken within tlie limits of that State. Mr. Allen regards tlie eastern 

 slope of the Kocky Mountains its extreme western limit ; but Mr. Itidg- 

 way states that this sjjccies was met with by him in var: s portions of the 

 Great Hasiii, though always in less abundance than the T.vcrtu'cilu. Among 

 the cottonwoods of the Truckee Valley, in Western Nevada, two or three 

 pairs were seen in July and August. In the fertile Salt Lake Valley it was 

 nearly or quite as common as the T. verticalis, aud was also met with in the 

 fertile " parks " of the Wahsatch Mountains. 



Tiiis species not only has this widely fextended area, but is also quite 

 abundant wherever found. It is apparently as alnmdant throughout Nova 

 Scotia as it is in the State of Florida. Iiichardson even found it common on 

 tlie banks of the Saskatchewan, where he traced its northern migrations 

 beyond the oTth parallel of latitude. It was found at the Carlton House 

 early in May, and retired southward in September. It winters in Central 

 and South America, and has been received by Mr. Lawrence from Panama. 



Dr. Suckley found this species (luite plentiful at the eastern base of the 

 liocky Mountains, in Washington Territory, and more s])ariiigly at Paget 

 Sound, where he ol)taiiied .several specimens. They appeared to shun the 

 dense forests near Puget Sound, but were moderately ])lciitiful in the groves 

 of low oaks, and among the cottonwood-trees fringing the lakes on Nisqually 

 Plains, wlicre, August .">, he ol)tainod a nest with newly llcducd young. 



Mr. Jose[ili Lcyland found this s) cies near Omoa, in Hont'nras, migra- 

 tory. Tiiey came in tiocks of two or three hundred, but remained only a 

 short time before di'iiiirting faather south. Tlicy Hew high, and seemed very 

 wild. This s])ecies was also met with, in ^lay, at Playa Vicente, in the low 

 lands of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Mr. Boucard, and during t'.ie win- 

 ter montiis is tbund throughout Mexico. 



No one of our co;,inion birds ])nssesses more strongly marked characteris- 

 tics of manners and habits than this s]H>cies. Its pugnacious dis))ositioii 

 during tiie breeding-season, the audacious bohliiess with which it will attack 

 any liirds larger than itself, the persistent tenacity with wliicdi it will con- 

 tinue the.s(! attacks, and the reckless courage with which it will maintain its 

 une(]ual warfare, are well-known ju'culiarities of this interesting and familiar 

 species. Its name, Kingbird, is given it on the supjiositiou that it is supe- 



