ZOOLOGY-BIRDS. 
37 
are unable to penetrate. Hence they seek out the holes and crevices in the dwelling-houses of 
the town, there to build their nests and raise their young. Somewhat puzzled to comprehend 
why these birds frequented and flew so constantly in the back court of the Plaza House, as they 
generally wander over the prairies and in the vicinity of water in search of their food, I watched 
them and perceived several dart between the curtains enclosing a piazza, and disappear in large 
cracks of the wall, where the twittering of their nestlings welcoming their return at once 
explained the mystery. 
TYRANNUS VERTICALIS, Say.—Arkansas Fly-catcher. 
Tyrannies verticalis, Say, Long’s Exped. vol. II, p. 60 .—Baird, Gen. Rep. IX. 
Muscicapa verticalis, Bonap. Am. Orn. vol. I, p. 18, pi. 2, fig. 2 .—Aud. B. of A. Oct. vol. I, p. 199, pi. 54.— 
Nutt. Orn. vol. I, p. 273. 
Very abundant, replacing in California the Tyrannus intrepidus , Vieill., or king-bird of our 
eastern States, as he unrelentingly pursues and drives away all hawks and crows that encroach 
on his domain. The nest is the counterpart of that of the king-bird, being constructed of the 
same material, while the eggs so resemble those of that species that, placed side by side, it is 
impossible to distinguish between the two unless previously marked. 
SAYOENIS SAYUS, Rich .—Say’s Fly-catcher. 
Tyrannula saya, Rich. & Sw. F. Bor. Am. vol. II, p. 142, pi. 45. 
Muscicapa saya, Bonap. Am. Orn. vol. I, p. 20, pi. 2, fig. 3.—Aud. B. of A. Oct. vol. I, p. 217, pi. 59 .—Nutt. 
Orn. vol. I, p. 277. 
Sayornis sayus, Baird, Gen. Rep. IX, 185. 
We met this bird abundantly in southern California, where, in the course of a day’s hunt, I 
have killed five or six of them. It is more especially plentiful in the fall, at the time of its 
migration southward. I found this species in New Mexico, in the northern part of Texas, near 
El Paso, and, though somewhat rare in Sacramento valley, 1 there procured two specimens. In 
migrating it prefers the deep valleys bordered by high hills, hut is found also on the open plains, 
where, perched on the stalk of some dead weed or on a prominent rock, it darts forth in pursuit 
of its prey, to return again to its point of observation. 
CONTOPUS BOREALIS, R ich .—Cooper’s Fly-catcher. 
Tyrannus borealis, Rich. & Sw. F. Bor. Am. vol. II, p. 141, pi. 35. 
Muscicapa ccoperii, Aud. B. of A. Oct. vol. I, p. 212, pi. 58.— Nutt. Orn. vol. I, p.282. 
Contopus cooperi, Baird, Gen. Rep. IX, 188. 
Although I have not myself seen this species in California, a friend of mine procured two 
specimens on the Cosumnes river, one of which he presented to me. Both proved to he females. 
MYIARCHUS MEXICANUS, Iv a u p .-Ash-colored Fly-catcher. 
Tyrannula cinerascens, Lawrence, Annals of N. Y. Lyceum, Sept. 1851, p. 121. 
Tyrannula mexicana, Kaup. 
Myiarchus mexicanus, Baird, Gen. Rep. IX, 179. 
Abundant. The individuals obtained for the collection were shot near Posa creek. Of shy 
and retiring habits, it prefers the deep shady forests, where its insect food abounds. The 
nest, found in the hollow of a tree or in a deserted squirrel or woodpecker’s hole, is composed 
of grasses lined with feathers. The eggs, five in number, are cream color, marked and speckled 
with purplish red dashes and faint neutral tint blotches. 
