FLYCATCHERS 
247 
thin, and the black of the wings contrasts well with the bright sal¬ 
mon sides. He sits quietly like any every-day bird, giving only an 
occasional bee-bird like note, till suddenly up he darts into the air, 
and with delighted wonder you watch his odd figure and odder 
gyrations in the sky. 
One of his favorite performances is to fly up and, with rattling 
wings, execute an aerial seesaw, a line of sharp-angled YVVYVVV’s, 
helping himself at the short turns by rapidly opening and shutting 
his long white scissors. As he goes up and down he utters all the 
while a penetrating scream ka-quee'-ka-quee-ka-quee'-ka-quee-ka- 
quee . the emphasis being given each time at the top of the ascending 
line. 
Frequently when he is passing along with the even flight of a 
sober-minded crow and you are quietly admiring the salmon lining 
of his wings, he shoots rattling into the air, and as you stare 
after him, drops back as suddenly as he rose. He does this appar¬ 
ently because the spirit moves him, as a boy slings a stone at the 
sky, but fervor is added by the appearance of a rival or an enemy, 
for he is much like a Tyrannus in his masterful way of controlling 
his landscape. He will attack caracaras and white-necked ravens, 
lighting on their backs and giving them vicious blows while scream¬ 
ing in their ears. 
GENUS TYRANNUS. 
General Characters. — Adults with a bright-colored concealed crown 
patch; feet small and weak; tarsus not longer than middle toe with 
claw ; bill notched and hooked, broad at base, its width at nostrils much 
more than half the distance from nostril to tip; adults with outer quills 
abruptly narrowed at tip. 
KEY TO ADULTS. 
1. Under parts white. tyrannus, p. 247. 
1'. Under parts yellow. 
2. Tail even. 
3. Primaries with gradually narrowed tips . . verticalis, p. 248. 
3'. Primaries with abruptly narrowed tips . . vociferans, p. 249. 
2'. Tail decidedly emarginate. couchii, p. 248. 
444. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.). Kingbird. 
Adults. — Under parts and band on end of tail pure white ; head and tail 
black ; rest of upper parts slate gray; middle of crown with a concealed 
patch of orange red. Young: crown patch wanting and colors duller, wing 
and tail coverts edged with brownish, tail band and chest tinged with 
brownish. Length: 8-9, wing 4.45-4.75, tail 3.40-3.75, bill from nostril 
.50-. 57. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Sonoran zones of temperate 
North America from the British Provinces chiefly east of the Rocky 
Mountains to the southern border of the United States. Not recorded 
from Arizona. Migrates to middle and South America. 
