THE WHITE-SHAFTED FAN-TAIL. 
257 
their bases are seen to be of a bright orange or flame color. This appearance is never seen 
unless the bird is excited. The tail is also black, but is tipped with white. The general color 
of the upper parts of the body is ashen-gray, and the quill-feathers and coverts of the wing are 
marked with dull white. The under parts of the body are white with the exception of a large 
gray patch on the breast. The total length of the bird is about eight inches. In the Southern 
States of America the King Bird is called the Field Martin. 
The Kwg Bird. This bird, called also Bee Marti jst, is common to all parts of America, 
from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. As a summer resident it is abundantly distributed 
throughout New England. 
There are thirty-three species of this group of Fly-catchers, having quite characteristic 
features, that at once distinguish them. 
The flat and wide bill is the principal one. Many of them have crests ; the larger species 
having scarlet feathers concealed under the topknot. 
The Great Crested Fly-catcher (. Myiarchus crinitus ) is one of the larger species. It is 
a rare bird in New England ; but is known to breed in Massachusetts occasionally. 
Our second example of the Tyrant Birds is the curious Fork-tailed Fly-catcher. 
This remarkable species is an inhabitant of tropical America, and is rather frequently 
found in Guiana, where it is popularly, but erroneously, called the Widow Bird, that appella- 
tion belonging by right to one of the finches. Sometimes the bird is quite solitary, but at 
other times it assembles in little flocks on the branches, and from thence darts on the passing 
insects. It is also fond of frequenting the low flooded lands, and of perching upon the tufts 
of rank herbage that appear above the water, opening and shutting its long tail like a pair of 
shears. Its food is mostly of an insect character, but it will feed upon various fruits and 
berries. 
It is quick and agile of wing, and by means of its long and firmly set tail is enabled to 
make many sharp turns in the air, an accomplishment which is needful for the purpose of 
overtaking the large winged insects on which it loves to feed ; and while engaged in these 
aerial manoeuvres it constantly spreads or closes its tail. Except immediately after moulting, 
the long scissor-like feathers of the tail are seldom in a perfect state, as the bird is very 
vivacious in its movements, and in its quick glancing flight among the branches is apt to fray 
the beautiful plumes against the boughs, and often rubs the webs entirely away, leaving the long 
shafts protruding, clothed only with little ragged fragments of web. The Fork -tailed Fly- 
catcher is quite as brave a bird as the preceding species, and is frequently seen to attack and 
defeat birds that are far superior in size and bodily strength, but inferior in dashing courage. 
The coloring of this bird is briefly as follows : The top of the head is velvety black when 
the bird is at rest ; but when it becomes excited, it raises the feathers of its head into a 
kind of crest, and displays a bright orange spot, caused by the orange hue which tinges the 
basal parts of each feather. The neck, back, and upper parts of the body are dark gray, 
deepening gradually towards the tail, which is jetty black with the exception of the white 
outer web of the exterior quill-feathers. The under portions of the bird are white. The total 
length of this bird is about fourteen inches, of which the tail occupies ten, so that the dimen- 
sions of the bird itself are really small. 
TYPICAL FLY-CATCHERS. 
We now arrive at the typical Fly-catchers, named, in allusion to their insect-eating habits, 
the Muscicapine birds. 
This group includes many curious and interesting species, one of the most remarkable 
being the White-shafted Fax-tail of Australia. Beyond elegance of form and pleasing 
arrangement of rather sombre coloring, this bird possesses no great external attractions ; but 
for the singular form of its nest, and the eccentricity of some of its habits, it is well worthy 
Vol. n.— 33. J 
