56 SOME CANADIAN BIRDS. 



zealously guards his kingdom from all such malevolent intruders as 

 egg-stealing jays and blood-thirsty hawks. Be the intruder ever so 

 large or tierce the kingbird will attack him with a persistent 

 courage that yields to no opposition, and with a skill that baffles 

 all defence. These battles in mid-air are interesting as exhibitions 

 of the art of flight, and often are quite ludicrous. 



The kingbird is not so large as a robin, and his attack on a 

 goshawk — that terror of the barn -yard — has in it all the elements 

 of at. ard audacity ; while the futile efforts of the larger bird to 

 defend himself from attack or to reach his exasp. rating assailant 

 with either talon, beak, or wing, complete an amusing spectacle. 

 A few instances are recorded of the king bird attacking others than 

 his natural enemies, but I doubt if these occur with frequency. 

 After the brood have gone from the parental care even old enemies 

 seem to be forgiven, for the war-cry of the kingbird is heard 

 no more during that season. This harsh, shrill cry is the kingbird's 

 song — he has none other. His call note is less harsh. 



WOOD PEWEE. 



Nine species of the flycatcher family are regular summer visitors 

 in all of these Eastern Provinces, though some of them are most 

 abundant near our southern border, while others find more favorable 

 conditions in the northern districts. 



In habits they are quite similar, but the kingbird is the only one 

 of our nine that is aggressively pugnacious, and that utters a harsh, 

 twittering cry. The other species are more or less irritable, though 

 they rarely make a serious attack upon other birds, and all have calls 

 — songs we may term many of them — of two or three notes, varying 

 in quality from the sharp-toned and abrupt kil-lic of the yellow- 

 breasted flycatcher to the soft, sweet strain of the present species. 



These birds are not classed with the oscines, the singing birds, 

 the anatomy of their throats forbids that ; but if the scientists 

 put them elsewhere the people number them with the sylvan song- 

 sters, and with good cause, for their voices would be much missed 

 from the woodland chorus. The song of the wood pewee — for 



