Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-12
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most familiar example This family is
very numerouslg represented in Argen-
tina, both in species and individuals.
Some of the species are so striking,
both in color and habits, and in one
case also in shape, as to attract the at
tention of event the unobservant. The
least conspicuous, and nevertheless very
conspicuous, among those that I saw
was the Bientevido, which is brown
above, yellow beneath, with a boldly
marked black ana white head, and a
yellow crest. 1t is very noisy, is COM
mon in the neighborhood of houses, and
builds a big domed nest. 1t is really a
big. heavy kingbird. fiercer and more
powerful than any northern kingbird.
j saw them assail not only the big but
the small hawks with fearlessness,
driving them in headlong flight. They
not only capture insects, but pounce on
mice, small frogs, lizards, and little
snalx es, rob birds nests of the fledgling
young, and catch tadpoles and even
small fish.
Two of these tyrants which l OBJ
served are like two with which l grew
fairly familiar in Texas. The scissor
tail is common throughout the open
country, and the long tail feathers,
which seem at times to hamper its
flight, attract attention whether the
bird is in flight or perched on tree,
and it has habit of occasionally soar
Gng into the air and descending in loops
and spirals. The scarlet tyrant l saw
1n the orchards and gardens. The male
IS a fascinating little bird, coal black
above, while it's crested head and the
body beneath are brilliant scarlet, He
ntters his rapid, lowyoiced musical
trill in the air rising with fluttering
wings to a height OF a hundred feet,
lowering while he sings, and then fall
mig back to earth. The color of the
bird and the character of his perform
ance attract the attention of every OBJ
server, bird, beast, or man, within reach
of vision.
The red backed tyrant Is utterly I'm
9ike any of mis- kind in the United
States, and until 1 looked him up in
Eclater and Hudson's ornithology 1
never dreamed that he belonged to this
Family. He-for only the male is so
brightly -colored-is coal-black with q
lull-red back. I saw these birds on
December l near Barillode out on tht
bare Patagonia plains. They behaved
like pipits or longspurs, running active
~ over the ground In the same manner
and showing the same restlessncss and
the same kind of flight. But whereas
pipits are inconspicuous, the red backs
at once attracted attention by the con-
trast between their bold coloring and
the grayish or yellowish tones Of the
ground along which they ran.
The silber- bill tyrant, however, is
much more conspicuous; l saw 1t in
the same neighborhood as the red back
and also In many other places. The
male is jet black, with white bill and
wings. He runs about on the ground
like a pipit, but also frequently perches
on some bush to go through a strange
flight song performance. He perches
motionless, bolt upright, and even then
his black colorlng advertises him for a
quarter of a mile round about. But
every few minutes he springs up into
the air to the height of 30 or 80 feet,
the white wings flashing in contrast to
the black body, screams and gyrates,
and then instantly returns to his for
ner post and resumes his erect pose of
waiting.
1t is hard to imagine a more conspic-
uous bird than the silver-bill; but the
next and last tyrant flycatcher Of
which I shall speak possesses on the
whole the most advertising celebration