Kingbird 163 
KINGBIRD 
Called also: Bee Martin 
In spite of his scientific name, which has 
branded him the tyrant of tyrants, the kingbird 
is by no means a bully. See him high in air in 
hot pursuit of that big, black, villainous crow, 
who dared try to rob his nest, darting about the 
rascal’s head and pecking at his eyes until he 
is glad to leave the neighbourhood! There 
seems to be an eternal feud between them. 
Even the marauding hawk, that strikes terror 
to every other feathered breast, will be driven 
off by the plucky little kingbird. But surely 
a courageous home defender is no tyrant. A 
kingbird doesn’t like the scolding catbird for 
a neighbour, or the teasing blue jay, or the 
meddlesome English sparrow, but he simply 
gives them a wide berth. He is no Don Quixote 
ready to fight from mere bravado. Tyr annus 
tyrannus is a libel. 
For years he has been called the bee martin 
and some scientific men in Washington deter- 
mined to learn if that name, also, is deserved. 
So they collected over two hundred kingbirds 
from different parts of the country, examined 
their stomachs and found bees — ^mostly drones 
— ^in only fourteen. The bird is too keen sighted 
and clever to snap up knowingly a bee with a 
