from being accurate. This author having been unable to procure a
3§brth American specimen*, chb§am®Kmthnless,,to introduce the species
inhis Natural History of. North American Birds, on the authority .of
former a u th o r giving.;,a figure;'from a South American specimen.
The error in representing the exterior tail feathers-curved-,''doubtless
arose from the manner in which the dried skin was packed for transportation.
That our drawing %hf. this gracefuLbird isxfaf superior
to those'* above mentioned, will»?atléb%éi^bef?e^iidêrit on comparison ;
this superiorityiisiôwing to the ciuCumstance of this drawing, like all
; théf,çtbers given in the present work,Jbeing made. fr omv;tl|u recent
specimen. Buffon’s plain*figure is a more f^fMufe representation
than that givtnin*his coloured engravings.
From the vefy great rarity of the -Fof^tailed .Flycatcher hi' fbhis
region, and bM advanced season in which this indiM^WvS'bs killed,
byidhnt that it mu$-Rg|e strayed-iifrso^its native country, under-
the influcncc-of exlraordinarv circumstances; and^we.,are unable..l‘o
believe that its wanderings bave ever 'extended as far’;asu<Canada,
.notwithstanding the statements of authors to the contrary. It may
t $ ; proper tqr, observe, •thafc the difference indicatednby f(bjfe|t,and
Latham between; the yariefy-which they supposé to -inhabit Canada,
and that of Surinam, appears to have, no existence in nature.
- ;iythqugh* this bird iffso very rare and accidental here,-we should
be led to supposent a more regular summer Visitant ofrthe^southern
states, were it not: impossible to.bé^^ve that so showy a bird could
have escaped the observation of travellers ; hence we- infer, that the
Fork-tailed Flycatcher must be included in the catalogue of those
*sIl§£y?s which are mere fortuitous visitors to the United States. .-‘As
but a single Specimen of this bird has been •'obtained, I cannot give
any account of its manners and habits from personal observation.
, The natiye country of the Fork-tailed Flycatcher is Guiana,
wherp it is rather common, and is improperly called, Veuve (Widow-te
from the great length of its tail, in which character only it resembles
the African birds of that name. .
The habits of the Fork-tailed Flycatcher resemble those of other
isjaecies ojMieHsame'tgfenus’.. It is a solitary bird, remaining for a
*|<|hg time perched omPliciii mb of a tr^^whehce it occasionally darts
after passhag) |nsfecf§$t or, flying downwards, it alights on the tufts
.0$ herb age which appe’ar • above the water, affording rfja resting place
in the midst of those partiaby inundated lapdst called savannas,
|||von(l llu limits ot vmcli it is nol liequentljr,seen. While on the
tuft, this birdsitaoges' its tail in a manner similar1 to that'bf the Wagtails.
1 4 e i c t <>rk-1 ailed.cad:clier( l^Uds occasionally
on vegetableishb^ances. as, om^rljvSeUio'jt. t^eslomachol^oiur specimen
$vbs found tq b® {filled with Pokeber^iesy (&$$■iolawavdecandra, L.)
Beyond these particulars; we have no positive knowledge of the
manners of our Flycatcher thoughfi^ieillot' has recorded a history
of g^Epiedength,,taken; from D’Azara; but the bj|d^observed by the
latter author .iii Paraguay and Buenos Aywes, though closely alli4dr,
.appearS'Vto «be specifically distinct from th e one we; are describing.
Yiejllot'.hasfisipoe been convinced of this difference, and, in the
(French) New Dictionary'Sft Natural History, he'has separated the
more southern spe^es under the name of Tyrannus violentus. In
.colour that bird strongly ;Ee£fUmbleis. our Muscioapa savana, but it is
considerably smaller, and has different habits, being gregarious; whilst
the savma, as we have already stated, is a solitary bird.
Another species, for which ours may1 be readily mistaken, is the
Tyrannus Vieill., ^Mph, however, is much larger, with a still
longer tail, differing also by having a large black collar extending
to each corner oj&utKe^ye, margining the white throat; and the head
of the same bluish-gray colbiir^with the other superior parts of the
body; the remaining under parts being of the same colour, with a
narrow brown line in ;the middle of each feather; and by having a
whitish line on each side of the head behind the eye, extending to
the occiput. The Tyrannus bellulus is a native of Brazil.
von. I.-t-B