Page:Bird-lore Vol 03.djvu/220

unfailing means of ascertaining the identity of its subject. But as a pre- h'minary to the attempt to name one of the species of passerine land -birds of eastern North America let us, as sugj^ested above, try to learn something of the eighteen families they represent. ORDER FASSERES Family i. Flycatchers. Tyrannidre. 10 species. Range. — A distinctively American family numbering nearly 400 species, which, during the summer, are distributed from Alaska and Labrador to Patagonia, one species being resident in the Galapagos. Of the ten species found east of the Mississippi only one, the Phoebe, occurs during the winter, when it ranges from the Carolinas southward. Season North of Virginia. — The Phoebe, which has just been spoken of as the only Flycatcher to winter in the eastern United States, reaches the vicinity of New York city the latter part of March and remains until the latter part of October. It is followed in the spring by the Least Flycatcher, which comes the latter part of April, and is preceded in the fall by the Wood Pewee, which remains until October i. With the exception of the Phoebe, then, Flycatchers are present in the latitude of New York city only from about April 26 to October i. Color. — The prevailing color of Flycatchers is olive-green or gray above, whitish or olivaceous below, the sexes usually being alike. There are numerous marked exceptions to this style of coloration among tropical forms, but our ten species conform to the general rule in being olive-green or gray above, white or olivaceous, or in some instances strongly sufifused with yellowish below. These colors are distributed in large masses, there being no streaks or spots, the white terminal band on the Kingbird's tail and its concealed orange-red crest being the most striking markings. Size. — Flycatchers vary in length from about 3 to 16 inches in the Scissor- tail ; our species fall between these extremes, the smallest, the Least Fly- catcher, averaging slightly less than 5/^ inches in length; the largest, the Crested Flycatcher, averaging 9 inches in length. Though half an inch shorter, the Kingbird is probably heavier than the Crested Flycatcher. External Structure. — The most noticeable and characteristic external feature of Flycatchers is a broad, flat bill, hoiked at the tip, and wider than high at the base, where it is more or less thickly beset with outward projecting bristles. The tail is square or slightly notched, the wings rather pointed, the second to the fourth primaries being the longest; the feathers of the crown are somewhat lengthened, forming, when raised, a small crest; the tarsus is rounded behind as well as in front. Appearance and Habits. — Flycatchers in life sit erect, often with the crest slightly raised, giving to them a certain look of big-headedncss which