A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
639 
SUB-ORDER CLAMATORES : SONGLESS PERCHING 
BIRDS 
Family Tyrannidae: Tyrant Flycatcher 
Kingbird: Tyr annus Tyr annus 
Bee Martin 
r , . Plate VII Fig. 1 
Length: 8 inches. 
Male and Female: Above black, orange-red streak on poll. Beneath 
grayish white, darkest on breast. Tail terminating in a white 
band. Bill and feet black. 
N ote: A piercing call note — “ Kyrie-K-y-rie ! ” 
Season: Common summer resident; May to September. 
Nest: Bulky and deeply cupped, made of sticks and grass, lined with 
matted fibres, usually in a conspicuous position on a horizontal 
branch in orchards or thin woods. 
Eggs: Nearly an inch long and almost round, cream or bluish white, 
boldly scratched and spotted with brown and lilac. Very hand- 
some and richly colored. 
“ The Kingbird is essentially a lover of the orchard, and 
wherever the native groves have been replaced by fruit trees 
this pugnacious bird takes up its abode. It breeds in all of the 
states east of the Rocky Mountains, and less commonly in the 
Great Basin and on the Pacific coast. It migrates south early 
in the fall, and generally leaves the United States to spend the 
winter in more southern latitudes. . . . 
“ The Kingbird manifests its presence in many wavs. It is 
somewhat boisterous and obtrusive, and its antipathy for 
Hawks and Crows is well known. It never hesitates to give 
battle to any of these marauders, no matter how superior in 
size, and for this reason a family of Kingbirds is a desirable 
adjunct to a poultry yard. On one occasion in the knowledge 
of the writer a Hawk which attacked a brood of young tur- 
keys was pounced upon and so severely buffeted by a pair of 
Kingbirds, whose nest was near by, that the would-be robber 
was glad to escape without his prey. Song birds that nest near 
the Kingbird are similarly protected. 
In its food habits this species is largely insectivorous. It 
is a true flycatcher by nature, and takes a large part of its 
food on the wing. 
“ Three points seem to be clearly established in regard to 
the food of the Kingbird: (1) that about 90 per cent, consists 
Ed — 41 
