414 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
of the upperparts of the body. At its full development this natal down 
presents a soft, fluffy appearance over the cowering nestlings. It is 
pushed outward by the feathers of the juvenal plumage, to the tips of 
which portions of it may be seen adhering when the young bird leaves 
the nest. ... In most cases the nestling or juvenal plumage is soon 
followed by the first winter plumage, but some few birds . . . wear it 
for two months or more. As a rule, at the post-ju venal molt, the feathers 
of the body and small wing-feathers are molted, while the primaries and 
secondaries with their coverts and the tail are retained, and it is often 
only by the color and appearance of these feathers that the bird of the 
year can be distinguished from the adult in winter. . . . The spring 
molt is rarely complete; more frequently it is restricted to the body 
feathers, more frequently still it affects only the region about the head 
and throat, while some species undergo no feather renewal at that season. 
The post-breeding molt of the bird a year old, as well as of those older, 
is complete” (Chapman). As a general rule the Perching Birds have 
broivn eyes, and black or brownish bills; legs , and feet. 
References. — Dwight, J., jr., Sequence of Plumages and Moults of the Pas¬ 
serine Birds of New York, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., XIII, 173-360, 1900. 
* TYRANT FLYCATCHERS: Family Tyrannidae 
As their vocal organ is less highly developed than in the other Passeri¬ 
formes, the Flycatchers are known as the songless Perching Birds. 
As these birds live on aerial insects, their feet are used only for perching 
and are accordingly small and weak, while their bills are in general broad, 
flattened, and lightly hooked at the tip, the wide gape furnished with 
flaring bristles “of service in entangling the creatures in a trap and 
restraining their struggles to escape” (Coues). Many of the Flycatchers 
eject the hard, indigestible parts of their food such as beetles’ wings in 
the form of pellets. They have characteristically large heads, short 
necks, broad shoulders, and short legs; and most of our species are som¬ 
berly colored, without spots or streaks (Eaton). Adapted like the Night- 
hawks and Swifts to catching aerial insects, they differ from them in 
lying in wait for their prey in some exposed position, darting out for it 
and circling back again; but like them they are highly migratory in 
habit. 
Reference.—Beal, F. E. L., Food of Our More Important Flycatchers, Bull. 
44, Biol. Surv., U. S. Dept. Agr., 1912. 
KINGBIRD: Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus) 
Plate 40 
Description. — Length: 8-9 inches, wing 4.4-4.7, tail 3.4-3.7. Two outer 
wing quills cut out on inner web near tip (less in female). Adults: Upperparts 
blackish , slightly erectile crest black with concealed orange or reddish patch (smaller 
