BIEDS. 11 



up at a later period, like the owl and tlie hawk, the indigestible parts in the form of a pellet. 

 Watchful and shy, it flies off at the least approach of danger with great rapidity. The young 

 resembles the female, taking on the full livery of the adult after the first year. The nest, composed 

 of a few loose straws thrown negligently together, on which are laid 4 white eggs of a spherical 

 form, is placed in a burrow varying in length from 2 to 10 feet, excavated in the steep river banks. 



MILVULUS F0BFICATU8, S w .—Swallow-tailed Fly-catcher. 



Muscicapa forficata, Gmel Syst. Nat. vol. I, part II, p. 931. 

 Milvulus forficatus, Baird, Gen. Kep. IX, 1858, 169. 



Sp. Ch. — Head, cheeks, and upper parts ash gray; back ditto, with the addition of a roseate tinge. A concealed patch of 

 orange-vermillion on the top of the head. Rump of a brownish hue. Upper tail coverts sooty black. Wings dusky brown , 

 the secondaries and coverts being edged with clear grayish white. Throat, white; breast an impure white, inclining towards the 

 vent to a roseate blush. Axillary feathers scarlet. Tail twice the length of the body, forked, and composed of twelve 

 feathers, the two outer ones roseate white to within one and a half or two inches of their tips, which are black. Outer tail 

 feathers black. Length fourteen inches. 



Female like the male, the tail being shorter, and the Vermillion patch on the head less distinct. Length eleven and a half 

 inches. 



Abundant and frequenting the prairie lands of Texas. Of a quarrelsome disposition, they 

 are often seen five or six in the air at a time fighting together, presenting a very beautiful sight 

 as they turn and manoeuvre, spreading at every movement their long forked tail to its fullest 

 extent. 



The family of the fly-catchers is both numerous and resident of every portion of the globe. 

 In the deep forests of the tropics we flnd some of brilliantly colored plumage, while those of 

 more temperate regions assume a more modest garb. Their food consists principally of insects, 

 though occasionally varied with fruit. Certain species are in continual movement, actively 

 engaged in seeking insects on the lofty trees, while others, perched silently on the bush tops or 

 branches of a tree, await with patience their approach, when, after darting upon and devouring 

 them, they resume their post. Tyrannical in the extreme, they frequently prove themselves 

 especially courageous during the breeding season, attacking and driving ofi' all intruders on 

 their domain, not excepting even crows and hawks, so much larger and more powerful than 

 themselves. In some species there are marked difl'erences between the sexes, but this is not 

 generally the case. The young take on the plumage of the adult after the first year. Their 

 nest is generally built on a bush or tree ; some choose the hollow of a tree, while others, under 

 cover of a shelving rock or other sheltered situation, build a nest of mud. The eggs are gener- 

 ally four in number. 



? HAEPORHTNCHUS CUBVIROSTEIS, C a b a n i s .—Curved-bill Mocking Bird. 



Orpheus curvirostris, Sw. Phil. Mag. and Annals. 1827, p. 368. 



Harporhynchus curvirostris, Baird, Gen. Eep. IX, 1858, 351. 

 Sp. Ch —Upper parts pale brown, increasing gradually in depth of color from the head to the tail. Under parts brownish 

 gray, becoming of a feeble clay color towards the vent. Throat ash color. Breast and abdomen thickly covered with faint, 

 rounded, dusky spots. Tail feathers tipped underneath and edged with ashy margins. Bill black. Feet brown. Length 



I first met with this species in the thickets near Tucson, or saw it on the topmost branches 

 of the mezquite tree, pouring forth its melody. Like the California mocking bird it possesses 

 musical powers surpassed by few other birds. When alarmed, it dives immediately in the 

 underbrush, whence it is almost impossible to dislodge it. Though the specimens shot were 



