508 A VES— FLYCATCHER. 



him, mounts to a considerable height above him, and darts down on his 

 back, sometimes fixing there to the great annoyance of his sovereign, who, 

 if no convenient retreat be near, endeavors, by various evolutions, to rid 

 himself of his merciless adversary, but the king-bird is not so easily dis- 

 mounted. He teazes the eagle incessantly, sweeps upon him, and remounts, 

 that he may descend on his back with greater violence ; all the while keep- 

 ing up a shrill and rapid twittering. The purple marten, however, is some- 

 times more than a match for him; and the red-headed wood-pecker is seen 

 to amuse himself with the violence of the king-bird, and play bo-peep 

 with him round a rail, while the latter, highly irritated, makes every attempt 

 to strike him, but in vain. 



He annoys the farmer very much by his partiality to bees. He plants 

 himself on a post of the fence near the hives, and makes great havoc among 

 these industrious insects. But the cultivator maybe assured that this bird is 

 greatly his friend, in destroying multitudes of insects and their larvae, which 

 prey on the harvests of his fields. He often takes his stand in fields of 

 pasture, on the tops of muUen and other rank weeds, near the cattle, and 

 makes sweeps after passing insects, particularly the large black gadflies, so 

 terrifying to horses and cattle. His eye moves restlessly about him, traces 

 the flight of an insect, then that of a second, and even a third, till he sees 

 one to his liking, when with a shrill sweep he pursues it, seizes it and re- 

 turns to the same spot, to look out for more. He hovers over the river for a 

 considerable time, darting after insects, snatching them from the surface of 

 the water, and diving about in the air like a swallow; for he possesses, at 

 will, great powers of wing. His flight is much like that of a hawk. Beside 

 insects, he feeds on various sorts of berries, particularly blackberries, of 

 which he is extremely fond. 



The general color of this bird is a dark slaty ash ; the throat and lower 

 parts are pure white ; the plumage on the head, though not forming a crest, 

 is frequently erected, and discovers a rich bed of orange color, called by the 

 country people his crown ; when the feathers lie close, this is concealed. 



THE GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS 



Is not so well known as the preceding, being chiefly confined to the woods. 

 There, his harsh squeak, (for he has no song,) is heard above most others. 

 He also visits the orchard, is equally fond of bees, but wants the courage 

 and magnanimity of the king-bird. He builds his nest in a hollow tree 

 deserted by the blue-bird or woodpecker. The materials of which this is 



1 Muscicapa crinita, Lin. 



