AMERICAN FLYCATCHERS . 529 
garrulous bird, and has a great range of sounds, from grating screams to long clear, 
almost mellow, call-notes. It has one pretty habit which brings out strongly the 
pleasant feature in its character. The male and female are greatly attached; they 
do not go afield to hunt in company like the short-winged tyrant, but separate to 
meet again at intervals during the day. One of a couple (say the female) returns 
to the trees where they are accustomed to meet, and after a time, becoming im¬ 
patient or anxious at the delay of her consort, utters a very long clear call-note. 
He is perhaps a quarter of a mile away, watching for a frog beside a pool, or 
s 
beating harrier-like over a thistle-bed, but he hears the note and presently responds 
with one of equal power. Then perhaps for half an hour at intervals of half a 
minute the birds answer each other, though the powerful call of the one must 
the fire-eye (i nat. size). 
interfere with his hunting. At length he returns; then the two birds perch close 
together, with their yellow bosoms almost touching, crests elevated, and, beating 
the branch with their wings, scream their loudest notes in concert, a confused 
jubilant noise that rings through the whole plantation.” In its nidification, the 
bienteveo departs widely from the traditional habits of its congeners; unlike the 
majority of tyrants, which build small and shallow nests, this species constructs a 
very elaborate domed nest, which sometimes takes weeks to elaborate. It is 
placed in a tree without any attempt at concealment, and is composed of a variety 
of soft materials, especially wool. The eggs are cream-coloured, spotted with 
chocolate and purple, chiefly at the larger end. The bienteveo preys chiefly upon 
large insects such as beetles, which it invariably beats against the perch before 
swallowing them; but sometimes it carries off the callow young of other birds 
from their nests. It is also fond of fishing in shallow pools, preying upon tadpoles 
and small fishes: while occasionally it enters the slaughter-house in search of 
VOL. in.—34 
