OUR HOME BIRDS. 
207 
plishment which birds possess and we do not : they 
can eat bees without getting stung; and the king- 
bird is not the only one that fancies this very lively 
food. The purple martin is also very partial to bees, 
and while the honey is not disturbed, the poor little 
honey-makers are gobbled up with frightful rapidity. 
The king-bird, when engaged in this business, coolly 
plants himself on a post of the fence or on a small 
tree in the garden not far from the hives, and from 
thence sallies on them as they pass and repass, mak- 
ing great havoc among them. His shrill twitter, 
however, so near the house, warns the inmates of 
what is going on, and the gun soon puts an end to 
his career. 
“ This bird first makes his appearance in this 
region about the last of April, coming in parties 
of five or six, and his nest is often built in the 
orchard on an apple tree not very far from the 
ground. It is made large and very firm and close, 
small twigs and the tops of withered flowers of the 
yarrow being woven together with tow and wool. 
It is lined with fine, dry, fibrous grass and horse- 
hair. There are five cream-colored eggs, marked 
with a few large spots of deep purple and small 
ones of light brown. 
“‘The name of “king,” as well as “ tyrant,” has 
been bestowed on this bird for its extraordinary 
