858 Eepoet or State Geologist. 



A well kaown sTimmer resident. Abundant. Breeds. The King- 

 bird has also been called "Bee-Bird," "Bee-Martin," and Mr. L. T. 

 Meyer says, in Lake County, it is called, by farmers, "Dumb-Bird." 

 Popularly, it is known as a destroyer of bees. It, with all the other 

 members of the "Flycatcher" family, are insect catchers. That is 

 their business, and they attend well to it. The Kingbird, and also 

 other niiembers of the family, are to be seen about the hives. There 

 are many bees, both workers and drones, fij'ing about. There, too, are 

 flies, gnats, moths, and other insects; for there are more insects 

 about apiaries than bees. All of these form a part of its food — of 

 which bees other than drones form a small part. 



The result of Prof. Seal's investigations of 381 stomachs of the 

 Kingbird shows that only 14 contained the remains of honey bees. 

 In these were 50 honey bees, 40 of which were drones; 4 were certainly 

 workers; of 6 he was not certain. The stomachs examined contained 

 19 robber-flies, an insect injurious to bees, and more than an equiva- 

 lent for the worker bees eaten. They do eat many wasps and native 

 bees. Indeed, they are provided with a concealed patch of orange 

 feathers on the crown, which, when exposed, seems to attract these 

 insects to it, to bring its prey within easy reach. From the specimens 

 examined, in addition to deciding its relations to the bee raiser, which 

 certainly are not injurious, it was shown that about 90 per cent, of its 

 food is insects, mostly injurious species; 10 per cent, is wild fruits, 

 such as elderberries and wild grapes (Farmers' Bulletin No. 54, JJ. S. 

 Dept. Agr., p. 12). 



Prof. King found one bee in the stomachs of 12 Kingbirds. The 

 principal food was beetles and flies (Geol. Wis., I, p. 559). Prof. 

 Forbes found that 43 per cent, of the food of some examined was 

 canker-worms (Eept. Mich. Hort. Soc, 1881, p. 204). A pair of these 

 birds about a house serves a good purpose in driving away or giving 

 warning of the approach of hawks and crows. 



The Kingbird comes into Indiana near the middle of April, or 

 later, and is generally seen all over the State by May 1. The follow- 

 ing are the earliest and latest dates of first arrivals from the places 

 named for a series of years: Brookville, April 15, 1884, latest, 18S2 

 ajid 1887, both May 1; Bicknell, April 15, both 1895 and 1896, April 

 24, 1894; Laporte, April 18, 1896, May 4, 1893; Sedan, April 32, 1896, 

 May 1, 1888. I have observed them mating April 30 (1884). Their 

 nests are usually built in a tree — an orchard tree, or one in a pasture 

 or beside a field being preferred. Twigs, weed stems, grasses and 

 hair are generally used for the nest, which is lined with horse-hair 



