344 CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 



common species. This can be said also of Couch's Kingbird, Tyraimus melancholicus 

 coitchi CouES, which has been found by Major Chas. Bendire near Tucson, Ariz., and 

 by Mr. Geo. B. Sennett on the lower Rio Grande, in Texas. 



The Derby Flycatcher, Pitangus derbianus Sclater, is a bird of Mexico, crossing 

 our border on the lower Rio Grande, where it has been observed bj' Mr. Geo. B. Sennett. 

 .This beautiful and interesting bird in flight resembles the Kingfisher. The nest is very 

 bulky, dome or oven-shaped, with the entrance on the side. It is composed of coarse 

 straws, lichens, etc., lined with finer materials, and is placed in thorny trees. The eggs 

 are buffy-white, speckled and spotted, chiefly on the larger end, with madder-brown 

 and purplish-gray. 



Giraud's Flycatcher, Myiozetetes texensis Sclat., a bird of Central America 

 south to Colombia, and north to northern Mexico, is said to occur sometimes in 

 southern Texas. 



The Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Myiodynastes luteiventris Sclater, is a rare 

 bird of southern Arizona, its real home being Mexico, south to Panama. 



CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 



Myiarchus crinitus Cabanis. 



Plate XXXIII. Fig. 1. 



^HE post oak woods of Texas cannot compare in beauty with the forests of 

 Wisconsin and Michigan. Consisting almost exclusively of medium-sized post 

 oaks, they show a rather monotonous appearance. Gurgling springs and rippling brooks 

 are nowhere found. The character of these woodlands is open, and the soil is not very 

 productive. These localities, however, have one advantage over those of more northern 

 regions. They display a wonderful variety of showy flowers in spring and summer. 

 Indeed, the ground often seems to be transformed into a veritable flower garden. Many 

 of the high-prized flowers of the present Atiy, adorning the gardens of all civilized nations, 

 have originally been found wild in the post oak woods. The most striking of them all 

 is the common phlox {Phlox Drummondii), which covers in spring large tracts of land. 

 It is a sight ever to be remembered when you see hundreds of acres covered with these 

 gorgeous red flowers. This phlox grows most luxuriantly and flowers most profusely 

 where the ground is of a sandy nature. In places where the soil is of a deeper black color 

 and moister, we may find the less showy, though very beautiful common coreopsis {Core- 

 opsis tinctoria). The graceful Gaura Lindheimeri, another garden favorite, with its slender 

 arching wands scattered over with light airy blush or white blossoms, also grows 

 luxuriantly in these woods. The standing cypress {Gilia coronopifolia) , a flower of striking 

 beauty, grows often together in groups. The plant attains a height of from two to four 

 feet, its plume-like stem closely beset with delicate fringe-like leaves, and bearing at the 



