A FIGHT IN THE AIR 
“Look, Marylee, at that beautiful bird on the telephone 
wire,” called Buddy. 
Marylee and the other children came running. “What 
a long tail he has!” she said. “Uncle Jack, come and see 
this bird. Did you ever see such a long tail? It looks 
like a pair of scissors. I wonder if he cuts things with it.” 
“I believe that he does,” said Buddy. “He opens and 
shuts his tail just as if he would like to cut something.” 
Uncle Jack, who had just walked up to them, laughed. 
“His tail does look like scissors,” he told them. “That is 
the reason this bird has been named the Scissor-tailed 
Flycatcher. But he does not use his tail for cutting. The 
long tail helps him to turn quickly, when he is catching 
insects on the wing.” 
“There he goes,” said Marylee, “flying after that big 
moth. My, how quickly he turns, and see how fast he 
flies!” 
“He caught it!” cried Buddy, as the scissor-tail flew 
back to the wire, where he ate the moth. 
“Why is he called flycatcher, when he catches moths?” 
asked Bess. 
“People used to think that the scissor-tails caught a 
great many flies; so they called them flycatchers,” re¬ 
plied Uncle Jack. “We know now that they catch moths 
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