THE CONDOR 
Vol. XIII 
9(. 
ing plumage that obtains between the male Robert of Lincoln and the male 
Bunting. Every ranchman in the flat country can tell you how the “blackbird 
with the white wings, ” as he calls the Lark Bunting, soars and sings ecstatically 
above the spot where the female bird is concealed in the grass. 
In the year 1904, on April 13, there came to the stacks a Bronzed Grackle 
{Qniscalus quiscula cpiieiis)-, on April 27 I saw a small flock of Brewer Blackbirds 
{ Euphagiis cyanocephaltis) at the same place, and thence during the spring both 
kinds passed much time in the barnyard, often commingling in flocks. Unobserved 
by the birds, I often watched them from the stable while they devoured grains of 
oats that had shelled out upon the ground. Never is contentment more plainly 
expressed than in the actions of a flock of blackbirds upon their feeding-ground, 
and to contemplate them is good for the soul. The “cre-eak" of the “rusty hinge” 
is full of good cheer, as also is the “chuck” of the lesser bird. 
I have whiled aw'ay much time in watching the courtship of the Brewer 
Blackbird. Once, while I was at work in the garden, several female blackbirds 
made their appearance, being soon joined by a number of males. These latter, 
each, for the most part, having selected his mate, proceeded to make love — ruffled 
their feathers and expanded their tails and wings, at the same time uttering a sound 
that partook equally of a rattle and a ring. Sometimes the females replied, but 
their antics and voices w^ere far feebler than those of their lovers; apparently they 
were much more interested in searching for larvae than in the doings of the males. 
As they walked about over the freshly turned earth, each favored one was closely 
attended by her suitor. Bachelor and maiden birds came and went, fancy free, but 
in every instance these had the good taste not to molest the love-makers. Thus it 
w^ent on until I grew tired of watching them. He who has noted the vast amount 
of time and energy consumed by birds — and other animals — in their courtship must 
needs admit the reasonableness of the theory of sexual selection. 
Comes the springtime with its hosts of flying insects, and darting from the 
fence posts in pursuit thereof are soon seen the remarkable tyrant flycatcher. 
About my Dakota home both the common Kingbird ( Tyranmis tyranmis) and the 
Arkansas Flycatcher ( Tynuimis verticalis) were often met with. In the spring of 
1902 the Kingbird appeared on May 23, and became common immediately. In 
1903, several of the birds were seen on May 15, and the species was in evidence 
from that date. In 1904, the first Kingbird as recorded by me was noted on May 
8, but the birds, though one or more were seen nearly every day from the date 
of their first appearance, did not show their normal abundance until May 20. 
My meager records touching these birds seem to indicate that the Arkansas Fly- 
catchers arrive in that region a few days in advance of the Kingbirds, that they 
are not so sensitive to cold as their congeners, and that some of them, at least, 
tarry with us much later in autumn than the common species. 
The habits of these two tyrants, of necessity, are much the same, but their 
appearance is dissimilar. I used often to pass an old elm with a large dead limb 
at its summit, and many times I saw perched thereon, side by side, a single repre- 
sentative of either species. They often “hunt” together, and appear to be on good 
terms always, as though recognizing their kinship. 
Because he gave them wire fences to serve as lines of perches wherefrom to 
sally out upon their insect prey, these birds no doubt owe much to man. One 
would think, too, that they would prefer the posts as points of observation, as 
these most resemble the dead limbs and snags of trees that nature first gave them 
for this purpose, but as a rule they perch upon the wires instead. 
After cold and prolonged rains in summer when the insects on which they 
