p m . : }
ARK V.NSAW FLYCATCHER.
M USClCAl'.l VERTICALIS, BOSAE.
.PMTÍ OCÓLIX. MAIE AOT M M A I E . -
This species extends : it¡¡¡ range, from the mouth of the. Columbia
River, across our continent, to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.; but
l l ! ,w ñl" M * it may propeed is as -yet unknown. On the 10th of
April 183%,wlilU 011 Cayo Island, in the Hay of Mexico, I found a
specimen of this bird dead at. the door of a deserted house, which had
recently been occupied by some salt makers. Prom its freshness 1 sup,
pose! that it had sought refuge in thé house on the preceding: evening,
which had been very cold for the season. Bji-ds of several other, species
we also found dead on the Reaches. The individual thus met with
was emaciated, probably in consequence of a long journey and scanty
fare ; but I was not the less pleased with it, asit. afforded Sne, the means
ft!' t a t a g measurements of a. spepigs not previously described in foil.
I n W possession aro some remarkably fee skims*, from l)i' Towssfsb' s
p.o,ll(!oti,i«, which diffi;r mm.si(l.'rahUiifr..iri th.! fifturK .given b.y Bona,
ïakt»,. who first described the species. So nearly allied is it to, the
Green-crested Flycatcher, .1/. crinita, that after finding the dead-bird,
my son and I, seeing maay individuals of that species on the trees
about the house mentioned, shot several of them, supposing them,, to be
the same; We are indebted to the lamented Thomas Sav for the introduction
of the Arkansaw Flycatcher into our Fauna. Mr Ndt tal i
has supplied me with a» account of its manners.
" ®® first met with this bold and querulous species, early in July,
m the scanty woods which border the north-west branch of the Platte,
Within the range of the Rocky Mountains ; and from; thence w saw
them to the forests of the Columbia ami the Wahlamet, as well as in
all parts Of Upper California, to: latitude 32°. They are remarkably
noisy and quarrelsome with each other, and in the time of incubation,
, l |oe the King Bird, suffer nothing of the bird kind « approach them
without exhibiting their predilection for battle and disputé. About
the middle of June, ill the dark swamped forests of the Wahlamet, we
every day heard the discordant clicking warble- of this bird, somewhat
ARKANSAW FLYCATCHER. 423
like UKk, tstik, tshmdt, sounding almost like the-creaking of a rusty
door-hinge, somewhat in the manner of the King Bird, with a blending
of the notes of the Blackbird or Common Grakle. Although I saw
these birds residing in the woods of the- Columbia, and near thé St
Diego in Upper California, I have not been able to find the nest, which
is probably made, in lowthickets, where it would be consequently easily
overlooked. In the Rocky Mountains they do not probably breed before
midsummer, as they are Still together in noisy quarrelsome bands
until the middle of Juno."
Dr Towmsend's notice respecting it is as follows : " This is the
C//loK-id-fiil of the Chinooks. It is numerous along the banks of the
Platte, particularly in the vicinity of trees and bushes. It is found
also, though not so abundantly across the whole range of the ltocky
Mountains ; and along the banks 'of: the Colurnbia to the ocean, it is a
very common specie*. Its voice is much more musical than is usual
with birds of its «onus, and its motions are remarkably quick and
graceful. Its flight is often long sustained, and like the Common
King Bird, with which it associates, it is frequently seen to rest in the
air, maintaining its position for a considerable time. The males are
wonderfully belligerent, fighting almost constantly, and with great
fury, and their loud notes of anger and defiance' remind one strongly of
the discordant grating and creaking of a rusty door hinge. The
Indians of the Columbia accuse him of a propensity to destroy the'
young, and eat the eggs of other birds.w
Tyrannus vehticalis, Say, Long's Expod. vol. ii. p. 60.
Muscicapa v e r t i c a l s , Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 67.
Arkaksaw Flycatcher, Mcscicapa verticalts, Ch. Bona/pwrtx, Amer. Ornith.
vo!. i. p. 11!, :il. 2, fig. '¿.
Arkansaw Flycatcher, Manual, vol. ii. p. 273.
' Adult Male. Plate CCTCLXX. Fig. 1.
Bill rather long, stout, tapering, broader than high, unless toward
the end. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline straight and declinate,
until at the tip, where it is deflected, the ridge narrow, the sides
convex, the .edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the very narrow
tip. Lower mandible with the angle short and broad, the dorsal line
ascending and very slightly convex,, the ridge broad and flat at the base,
the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. The gape-line al