HABITS OF THE KINO BIRD. 
255 
but also on account of the flame-colored crest which appears whenever the bird raises the 
feathers of the head. 
The habits of this Fly-catcher are very remarkable, and have been so ably narrated by 
Wilson, that they must be given in his own graphic language : — 
“The trivial name, King, as well as Tyrant, has been bestowed on this bird for its 
extraordinary behavior, and the authority it assumes over all others during the time of breed- 
ing. At that season, his extreme affection for his mate, and for his nest and young, makes 
him suspicious of any bird that happens to pass near his residence, so that he attacks, without 
discrimination, any intruder. In the months of May and J une, and part of J uly, his life is 
one continued scene of broils and battles, in which, however, he generally comes off conqueror. 
KING BIRDS.— Tyrannus carolinensis. 
Hawks and crows, the bald eagle and the great black eagle, all equally dread a rencontre with 
this dauntless little champion, who, as soon as he perceives one of these last approaching, 
launches into the air to meet him, mounts to a considerable height above him, and darts down 
upon his back, sometimes fixing there, to the great annoyance of his sovereign, who, if no 
convenient retreat or resting-place be near, endeavors by various evolutions to rid himself of 
his merciless adversary. 
“But the King Bird is not so easily dismounted. He teases the eagle incessantly, sweeps 
upon him from right and left, remounts, that he may descend on his back yrith the greater 
violence ; all the while keeping up a shrill and rapid twittering, and continuing the attack 
sometimes for more than a mile, till he is relieved by some other of his tribe equally eager for 
the combat. 
“There is one bird, however, which by its superior rapidity of flight, is sometimes more 
