Tyrant Flycatchers, 



Tyrannidse. 



MONG our native iDirds there are few who play such an important 

 part in the landscape as the Tyrant Flycatchers. Some of them 

 belong to our most beautiful and familiar species. Few birds are 

 more conspicuous in the neighborhood of man than the Scissor- 

 tailed Flycatcher, the Kingbird, and Phoebe, and to some extent, 

 at least, the Great-crested Flycatcher and the Wood Pewee. All 

 these birds are of immense service to man, as they subsist entirel}' on all 

 kinds of insects which are invariably captured in the air. The structure of 

 the bill is admirably adapted for this purpose; "the broad and deeply fissured 

 ■ mandibles form a capacious mouth, while the long bristles are of service in 

 entangling the creatures in a trap and restraining their struggles to escape. 

 - The shape of the wings and tail confers the power of rapid and varied aerial 

 evolutions necessary for the successful pursuit of active flying insects. A little practice in 

 field ornithology will enable one to recognize the Flycatchers from their habit of perching 

 in wait for their prey upon some prominent outpost, in a peculiar attitude, with the 

 wings and tail drooped and vibrating in readiness for instant action; and of dashing 

 into the air, seizing the passing insect with a quick movement and a click of the bill, 

 and then returning to their stand. . . . Depending entirely upon insect food, the Fly- 

 catchers are necessarily migratory in our latitudes; ihey appear with great regularity 

 in spring, and depart on the approach of cold weather in the fall. . . . The voice, 

 susceptible of little modulation, is usually harsh and strident, though some species have 

 no unmusical whistle or twitter. The sexes ai'c not ordinarily distinguishable, and the 

 changes of plumage with age and season are not ordinarily great. The modes of nesting 

 are too various to be collectively noted. The large kinds of Flycatchers are tmmistakable, 

 but several of the smaller species, of the genera Sayoriiis, Contopus, and especially 

 Empidonax, look much alike, and their discrimination becomes a matter of much tact 

 and diligence." (Dr. Elliott Coucs, "Key to North American Birds.") 



