TYRANT FLYCATCHER. 129 



Purple Martin, one whose food and disposition is pretty similar to his 

 own ; but who has greatly the advantage of him on wing, in eluding all his 

 attacks, and teasing him as he pleases. I have also seen the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker, while clinging on^ a rail of the fence, amuse himself with 

 the' violence of the King-bird, and play bo-peep with him round the rail, 

 while the latter, highly irritated, made every attempt as he swept from 

 side to side to strike him, but in vain. All this turbulence, however, 

 vanishes as soon as his young are able to shift for themselves ; and he 

 is then as mild and peaceable as any other bird. 



But he has a worse habit than all these ; one much more obnoxious 

 to the husbandman, and often fatal to himself. He loves, not the honey, 

 but the lees ; and, it must be confessed, is frequently on the laok-out 

 for these little industrious insects. He plants himself on a post of the 

 fence, or on a small tree in the garden, not far from the hives, and 

 thence sallies on them as they pass and repass, making great havoc 

 among their numbers. * His shrill twitter, so near to the house, gives 

 intimation to the farmer of what is going, on, and the gun soon closes 

 his career for ever. Man^ arrogates to himself, in this case, the exclu- 

 sive privilege of murder ; and after putting thousands of these same 

 little insects to death, seizes on the fruits of their labor. 



The King-birds arrive in Pennsylvania about the twentieth of April, 

 sometimes in small bodies of five and six together, and are at first very 

 silent, until they begin to pair, and build their nest. This generally 

 takes place about the first week in May. The nest Is very often built 

 in the orchard, on the horizontal branch of an apple tree ; frequently 

 also, as Catesby observes, on a sassafras tree, at no great height from 

 the ground. The outside consists of small slender twigs, tops of withered 

 flowers of the plant yarrow, and others, well wove together with tow 

 and wool ; and is made large, and remarkably firm and compact. It is 

 usually lined with fine dry fibrous grass, and horse hair. The eggs are 

 five, of a very pale cream color, or dull white, marked with a few large 

 spots ^ of deep purple, and other smaller ones of light brown, chiefly, 

 though not altogether, towards the great end (See Fig. 1). They gene- 

 rally build twice in the season. 



The King-bird is altogether destitute of song, having only the shrill 

 twitter above mentioned. He usual mode of flight is singular. The 

 vibrations of his broad wings, as he moves slowly over the fields, re- 

 semble those of a Hawk hovering and settling in the air to reconnoitre 

 the ground below ; and the object of the King-bird is no doubt something 

 similar, viz. to look out for passing insects, either in the air, or among 

 the flowers and blossoms below him. In fields of pasture he often takes 

 his stand, on the tops of the mullein, and other rank weeds, near the 

 cattle, and makes occasional sweeps after passing insects, particularly 

 the large black gad-fly, so terrifying to horses and cattle. His eye 



Vol. II.— 9 



