THE GEAT KINGBIRD. 241 



88. Tyrannus dominicensis (Gmelin). 



GRAY KINGBIRD. 



Lanius tyrannus jS. dominicensis Gseelin, Systema Naturae, I, 1788, 302. 

 Tyrannus dominicensis Richardson, Report Sixth Meeting of the British Association, Y, 

 1837, 170. 



(B 125, C 243, E 303, C 369, U 445.) 



Geographical range: West Indies, coasts of Carribeau Sea, and Gulf of Mexico; 

 north to Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Accidental in Massachusetts and British 

 Columbia. 



The Gray Kingbird is a moderately common visitor to and breeds along the 

 southern border of the United States, and its habitat is mainly confined to the 

 immediate vicinity of the seacoast and the banks of the larger streams flowing 

 into the Gulf of Mexico. Audubon, who called this bird the Pipiry Flycatcher, 

 reported it as quite common on most of the Florida Keys, and Dr. Bachman 

 observed a pair breeding in the college yard at Charleston, South Carolina, which 

 returned for at least three years in succession and raised two broods in a season.^ 

 Mr. Arthur T. Wayne took a nest and eggs of this species on Sullivan Island, near 

 Charleston, South Carolina, m June, 1893. Mr. C. J. Maynard found them rather 

 common on some of the Florida Keys, and writes about them as follows: "The 

 Gray Kingbirds appear to prefer the outer or higher keys, and visit them in 

 great numbers, especially during the spring migration. In order to give some 

 idea of the home of these birds, I will describe Bamboo Key, where I found 

 them particularly common. This little island, which contains nearly 2 acres of 

 land, lies about midway between Key West and Cape Florida. It is one of a 

 line of outer keys which have an old coral reef for a foundation, and as the 

 present reef, which extends parallel with the keys, but which lies 5 miles at sea, 

 is clearly visible, this is used as a wrecking station, and has a lookout erected on 

 it. There were two families living there; but, with the characteristic improvi- 

 dence of the poorer class in Florida, they did not attempt to cultivate the soil, 

 choosing rather to depend upon a precarious livelihood gained by wrecking. 

 Thus the vegetation of the place was, in a great degree, in a primitive condition. 

 Nearly the whole key was surrounded by a belt of mangroves, but these grew 

 on very low ground, over which the tide rose every day; higher on the dry land 

 were bushes, among which two or three species of cacti grew in profusion, and 

 as the Avhole was overgrown by a tangled mass of vines it formed an impene- 

 trable thicket. The wreckers had formed a small clearing in the midst of this 

 jungle and erected two or tliree wretched houses. 



"I landed on the 1st of May, and remained there several days, during 

 which time I saw hundreds of Gray Kingbirds. They appeared to be migrating, 

 for numbers were constantly arriving from seaward; yet, unlike many other 

 species, they invariably came in pairs, and were evidently mated, as they were 

 constantly pursuing each other through the air in a playful manner, at the same 



1 History of North Americau Birds, 1874, Vol. II, p. 320. 

 16896— No. 3 16 



