78 



BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Jatropha (Jatropha sp.) 2 



Staff-tree (Rhacoma sp.) 1 



Bejuco prieto (Paullinia sp.) 1 



Laurel (Phcebe elongata) 1 



Camacey (Miconia sp.) 5 



Adelia (Adelia sp.) 1 



Nightshade (Solatium sp.) 4 



Aji (Capsicum sp.) 1 



Boraginaeese sp 1 



Moral (Cordia sp.) 12 



Moral (Cordia nitida) 1 



Nigua (Tournefortia sp.) 1 



Santa Maria (Lantana sp.) 1 



Rubiacese sp 2 



Balsamo Colorado (Hamelia patens) 1 



Summary, — Detailed study of the food of the gray kingbird shows it to be 

 beneficial almost without exception. A few honeybees are eaten, but they are 

 more than made up for by the large bulk of injurious weevils, mole crickets, 

 and Hemiptera destroyed. Though not so great an enemy of the changa (Scap- 

 teriscus didactylus) as has commonly been believed, it accomplishes practically 

 as much good in consuming cane root- and stalk-boring weevils and coffee leaf- 

 weevils. 



In the cultivated fields this bird should be encouraged by every mears possible 

 because of the good it does in destroying these insect pests. It is always fairly 

 common in citrus groves, and the cane fields furnish favorite feeding grounds, 

 but when the cane grows tall there are few elevated perches from which the 

 bird may watch for insects. The planting of the jobo tree (Spondias Uitea) at 

 short intervals along fences and roads is recommended, as its rather straggling 

 growth furnishes open perches and the spiny trunk is a bar to would-be nest 

 robbers. 



[KINGBIRD. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus). 



PlTIKRE. 



The kingbird is recorded by Hartlaub (1847, p. 611) and by Cory (1892, p. 108) without 

 comment. Cory (1886, p. 245) includes Porto Rico in its range with a query, and as no 

 specimens are recorded it is considered best to treat this species as hypothetical.] 



PORTO RICA3V PETCHARY. Tolmarchus taylori (Sclater). 

 Clerigo. 



The flycatcher known as the petchary is a common resident in Porto Rico and 

 on Vieques Island. Its original home would appear to be in the forests, which 

 formerly covered the island. It is common now through the dense growth of 

 coffee plantations, and in citrus groves having good-sized trees. In the low- 

 lands its habits appear to be changing, and it is scattered through pastures 

 and fields where there are mango trees or clumps of bamboo. Shaded perches 

 are chosen, especially during the heat of the day. The birds are quiet and not 

 easily seen, as they usually perch where they are hidden by clumps of leaves. 

 From these points they fly out after insects, sometimes for considerable dis- 

 tances. They are rather silent, the call note being a loud pi ti tity, heard most 

 often in the breeding season. Near Cayey, in January, one was seen bathing by 

 repeatedly darting down to the surface of a pool. These birds are pugnacious, 

 but not so much so as the gray kingbirds. 



The breeding season extends from March to June, and after the first of July 

 young birds were common. In the dense forests of El Yunque they were nesting 

 the first week in March, and scolded the crows with harsh notes when the latter 

 alighted above their nests. 



Food. — For examination in the laboratory 61 stomachs of the clerigo were 

 available, collected in the months from December to August and in all districts 

 of the island, including Vieques. Animal matter in these forms 76.91 per cent 

 and vegetable 23.09 per cent. Several species of weevils, Hemiptera, Hymen- 

 optera, and tree toads form the large bulk of the animal food. Wild fruits 

 figure somewhat more extensively than in the case of the gray kingbird and are 



