TYRANNIDAE 473 



buildings, and so forth, is formed of bents, roots, and feathers, and 

 contains from three to five wliite eggs. 



Fam. IV Tyrannidae. — This comprises some four hundred 

 species, chiefly of an olive or black-and-grey coloration, which is occa- 

 sionally relieved by bright scarlet as in Py otocephalus, orange-red as 

 in Muscivora, or yellow as in Todirostrum ; but these hues are not 

 necessarily common to whole genera. Agriornis and Megarhynclius 

 are exceptionally large forms,but the majority are small,and in habits 

 and appearance resemble the Old "World Flycatchers, or even Shrikes. 

 From the former, however, they are* easily distinguished by their 

 normal outer primary and the exteriorly scutellated back of the 

 metatarsus (exaspidean). Dr. Sclater ^ recognises four Sub-families, 

 Taeniopterinae, Platyrhynchinae, Elaineinae, and Tyranninae. 



The curved bill, varying in length and stoutness, is compressed 

 and bristly at the gape in the Taeniopterinae, hardly bristly in the 

 Elaineinae, depressed and decidedly bristly in the Platyrhynchinae 

 and Tyranninae ; while the culmen is most strongly hooked in the 

 larger species, being much curved in Oncostoma, particularly broad 

 and fiat in Platyrhynchus, Megarhynclius, Muscivora, Todirostrum, 

 and PJuscarthmus, swollen and very wide in Rhynchocyclus. In 

 the first and last of the Sub-families the metatarsus is strong and 

 often long ; in the remainder it is comparatively weak ; Ci'ntrites 

 has an extremely elongated hallux, correlated with Lark-like 

 habits. The wing is usually short, but is often long in the 

 Taeniopterinae and Tyranninae; the outer of the ten primaries are 

 at times acuminate in Tyrannus, Hapalocercus, Cnipolegus, and 

 Taenioptera, whereas in. Colopterus and Alectrurus these quills are 

 unusually reduced. The secondaries are nine. The tail, normally 

 of twelve rectrices, varies much in length, and is very deeply forked 

 and graduated in Milvulus, Muscipiprcc, and three members of 

 Tyrannus, moderately divided in Contopus and certain species of 

 Taenioptera, and so 'forth ; it is not infrequently nearly square ; 

 while it is long and rounded in Capsiempis and the like ; long and 

 graduated, with only ten narrowly-barbed feathers in Culicivora; of 

 the same shape in Cybernetes ; and excessively reduced in Orchilus 

 ecaudatus. Copurus possesses two very long median rectrices ; the 

 male of Alectrurus tricolor has the two fairly long outer feathers 

 with their inner webs abnormally developed, and that of A. riso- 

 rius has them enormously lengthened and broadened. 



1 Cat. Birds Brit. Miis. xiv. 1888. 



