158 KEY AND DESCRIPTION 



a decided grayish color and tlie breast pale yellow, more or less dotted 

 with grayish brown. The throat and line over eye are also a light yellow. 

 Wing, 3|-3|. The Skylark (473. Alauda arvensis) of Europe and Asia 

 may have been successfully started breeding on Long Island. It can be 

 known by the short first primary, the notched tail, and the lack of the 

 black, elongated feathers above the eyes. Its general color is a dull 

 brown, much streaked both above and below. Length, 7| ; wing, 3|-4^ ; 

 tail, 2|; tarsus, 1; culmen, J. 



FAMILY XVIII. FLYCATCHERS (TYKAnNID^) 



A large family (350 species) of American perching birds, 

 with a broad, depressed, notched bill, slightly hooked at tip;^ 

 and almost no vocal powers. The flycatchers can be 

 distinguished from most other birds by their peculiar 

 method of feeding. They perch on some outlying 

 twig or other support, watching for their prey ; when ^ 

 a passing insect is seen, they dart out, seize it with a charac- 

 teristic dick of the bill, and in an instant return to their old 

 station, ready for another victim. Other birds (warblers, etc.) 

 catch insects on the wing, but have not this deliberate plan ; 

 they chase their prey. These solitary birds are to be found 

 wherever there are trees and bushes, but are most abundant 

 in the tropics. The sexual and seasonal differences are but 

 slight, but in nesting habits there are great variations. 



Key to the Species 



* Bird over 11 long', with tail over 6 long, and deeply forked. 



— Cap ashy 1. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. 



— Cap black Fork-tailed Flycatcher (1). 



* Bird, 8-11 long; wing, 4^-51 long; crown of adult with a partially 



concealed patch of bright yellow or red, which can be seen by dis- 

 placing the feathers. (G.) 



* Head somewhat crested ; wing and tail feathers with much chestnut on 



their edges ; no concealed crown patch of bright color 



5. Crested Flycatcher. 



* Not as above. (A. ) 



A. Wing, 2-3^ long. (E.) 

 A. Wing, 3-3^ long. (C.) 

 A. Wing, 3i-4i long. (B.) 



