. The birds of Washington; a complete, scientific and popular account of the 372 species of birds found in the state . aking with shrill laughter, to give his matean account ofhis adventure. It is easilypossible, how-ever, to exag-gerate the pug-nacity of theKingbird, or toinfer from ex-treme examplesthat all arequarrelsome. Itis not unusualfor Kingbirdsto be on thebest of termswith their im-mediate neigh-bors, thieves al-ways once found in one small aspen tree at Chelan the nests of three birds each containing eggs,viz., a Robin, an Oriole, and a Kingbird. The two latter were withi
. The birds of Washington; a complete, scientific and popular account of the 372 species of birds found in the state . aking with shrill laughter, to give his matean account ofhis adventure. It is easilypossible, how-ever, to exag-gerate the pug-nacity of theKingbird, or toinfer from ex-treme examplesthat all arequarrelsome. Itis not unusualfor Kingbirdsto be on thebest of termswith their im-mediate neigh-bors, thieves al-ways once found in one small aspen tree at Chelan the nests of three birds each containing eggs,viz., a Robin, an Oriole, and a Kingbird. The two latter were within fivefeet of each other. Dr. Brewer also records an exactly similar case. King-birds courage, which is unquestionable, is often tempered by prudence:altho at other times it quite overbalances his better judgment. The Bur-rowing Owl will tolerate none of his nonsense, and I have seen thebirds make sad mistakes in molesting these virtuous mousers. Thesight of a Shrike will make a Kingbird shrink into the smallest possiblecompass, while Catbirds, too, are said to be, for valid reasons, quiteexempt from Photo by F. S. Merrill. Taken near Spokane. A DEMURE YOUNG TYRANT. THE KINGBIRD. 37i The food of the Kingbird consists entirely of insects, caught on the wingfor the most part, by sallies from some favorite perch. His eyesight must bevery good, as he not infrequently spies his prey at distances of from twentyto fifty yards. Honey bees form an occasional but inconsiderable article ofdiet. Grasshoppers are not overlooked, and they sometimes capture, not with-out a scuffle, those big brown locusts (Melanoplus sp.) which make flippantexposure of their persons on a summer day. Both in the taking of food andin the discharge of police duties the Kingbird exhibits great strength andswiftness, as well as grace in flight. Once, when passing in a canoe thru aquiet, weed-bound channel, I was quite deceived for a time by the sight ofdistant white-breasted birds dashing down to tak
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