CLASS II. AVESi OEDEE 2. PASSEEES. 
125 
THE SPOON-BILL TXRANT JPLr-CATCHER. 
THE TYEANNIN^ OR TYRANT FLY-CATCHERS. 
These are American birds, differing little from the trne fly-catchers, except that they have the 
tip of the bill more strongly hooked; they also resemble the shrikes a good deal in their habits, 
preying not only upon insects and berries, but some of them also upon small vertebrate animals, 
including even fishes. Two species are well known in the United States. 
Genus. TYEANNTJS : — Tyrannus.- — The best known species is the Kingbikd, T. intrejndus, 
eight inches long, of a slaty ash-color above and white beneath ; on the head is a tuft of yellow 
feathers, capable of being erected into a crest, which circumstance, as well as the despotic author- 
ity he exercises over other birds, has given him the names of Kingbird and Tyrant Fly-Catcher. 
It arrives in small parties in the United States in the month of April; they then soon pair and 
begin to build their nests. Before very quiet, the male now becomes exceedingly quarrelsome ; 
and such is his fierceness, that hawks and crows, the bald eagle, and even the great black eagle, 
dread a rencounter with the dauntless little champion. The kingbird feeds on insects, generally 
sitting on the tops of fences; posts, or mullein-stalks, till opportunity offers, when he darts upon 
his prey with infallible aim. 
The Crested Tyrant, T. crinitm, is somewhat larger 
than the kingbird, and is found in the United States, from 
Texas northward ; the color is greenish-olive above, and 
sulphur-yellow beneath ; the throat and upper part of 
the breast ash-color ; on the head, the dark brown feathers 
form a sort of crest. 
The Spoon-bill Tyrant, Zarams sidphuratus of Gmelin, 
found in Brazil, has a large, thick bill, a large head, the 
upper parts of the body a reddish-brown, the breast yel- 
low, on the top of the head a yellow crest. It is found in 
Brazil, feeds on butterflies, and is popularly called Bem- 
te-veo, from its habitual cry. 
THE ALECTRURIN^ OR COCK-TAILS. 
In these birds the bill is broad and depressed at the 
base, convex toward the point, which is more or less 
hooked; the nostrils are rounded and exposed; the tail 
is elongated, compressed, and capable of being raised in a 
very singular manner, which has caused those birds to be 
THE TRicoLOEBD AiECTEtTHTig. compaTcd to Little Coclcs, and the scientific name of 
Alectrurus applied to the typical genus may, perhaps, be translated Cock-tail, The tarsi are slender, 
