254 
THE KING BIRD. 
instinctively wonders how so small a bird can eat so large an insect. It will also feed npon 
berries and many kinds of fruit. The color of this bird is dark olive-green npon the upper 
portions of the body ; the breast and the under surface of the wings are light yellow, and 
the abdomen is nearly white. 
The Yellow-breasted Chat (Trier ia mrens) is a larger bird than the others of this family. 
The description by Wilson given above is one of the author’s best pieces. Yo one has ever 
excelled this poet naturalist, in the fidelity and accuracy of his bird literature. 
A species found in the Western Territories has been named the Long- tailed Chat. 
Another group of the Fly-catchers is denominated the Alectrurinse, or Cock-tailed birds, a 
name which has been given to them on account of their habit of raising their long and curiously 
formed tails in a manner similar to that of the domestic fowl. These birds are only found in 
South America, and are all of small dimensions, the average length being about six inches. 
There are many species of this group, and they differ considerably in their habits and in the 
localities which they frequent. Some are fond of forest lands, perching upon lofty branches, 
and fluttering from their post in chase of passing insects, while others shun the wooded dis- 
tricts and are only found upon the low-lying lands where water is plentiful, and where they 
find their insect food uppn the leaves and stems of aquatic plants. In all the species the bill 
is flattened towards the base and rather convex at the point. 
One of the most interesting of the Alectr urine birds is the Cunningham’s Bush Shrine, 
which from the strong and slightly hooked beak was formerly supposed to belong to the 
Shrike family. It is a native of South America, and haunts the thickly wooded districts, 
foraging in many directions in search of its prey, which generally consists of the larger insects. 
It is possessed of strong and firmly vaned wings, and is able to fly with remarkable rapidity. 
The tail of this species is extremely elongated and deeply forked, the two exterior feathers 
being the longest, and the others decreasing rapidly in length. Even when the bird is 
stationary, this long tail renders it very conspicuous, but when it is living and in motion, it 
renders the tail a very ornamental appendage, by raising it so as to droop like the feathers of 
a cock’s tail, and permitting the long plumes to wave gracefully in the breeze. 
The general color of this bird is a uniform ashen-gray over the upper surface, covered with 
numerous longitudinal streaks of brown. The throat is white, with the exception of a rather 
broad semi-lunar band of deep purple-brown, which marks the division between the chest and 
the throat. The wings and tail are blackish -brown, and the quill-feathers of the wing are 
marked with a series of longitudinal ruddy bands. 
A second group of the Fly-catchers is distinguished by the name of Tyranninae, a title 
that has been applied to them on account of their exceedingly combative habits during 
the season of incubation, and the tyrannous sway which they exercise over birds of far greater 
size, powers, and armature. They are all inhabitants of America, and for the greater part are 
found in the more tropical regions of that land. They have a very shrike-like bill, and many 
of the shrike habits, preying not only upon insects, but pouncing upon young birds, animals, 
and reptiles, and even adding fish to their scale of diet. The beak of these birds is very large, 
wide at the base, and narrowing gradually to the tip, where it is boldly compressed and rather 
strongly hooked. The angle of the mouth is furnished abundantly with strong bristles, and 
the small nostrils are almost entirely hidden by the feathers of the forehead. 
Several species are included in this group, among which the two birds which will be 
described in the following pages are the most remarkable. 
The first of the Tyranninse is the well-known King Bird, or Tyrant Fly-catcher, 
(Tyr annus carolinensis), celebrated by Audubon, Wilson, and many other writers on the 
ornithology of America. 
This very interesting bird is one of the migratory species, arriving in the United States 
about the month of April, and remaining until the end of the autumn, when its young are 
fully fledged, and able to shift for themselves. The name of King Bird has been given to this - 
species not only on account of the regal sway which it wields over most of the feathered race, 
