DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Gymnokitta. De Wied in Bonap. Consp. Av., p. 382. (1850.)

General form, rather short, robust; bill, straight, wide at base, somewhat rounded and flattened at the point, ridge of the under mandible (or gonys) very distinctly ascending; wings, rather long, first quill very short, fourth, longest, but only slightly longer than the third and fifth; tail, moderate, containing twelve feathers; legs and feet, strong.

Gymnokitta cyanocephala. (De Wied). Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus. De Wied, Travels in North America (1839, Coblenz). Cyanocorax Cassinii. McCall, Proc. Acad. Philada., V. p. 216. (1851.)

Form. Bill, straight, wide at base, blunt and rounded, and somewhat flattened towards the point; wings, rather long, secondaries, broad and mostly obtuse at their ends; tail, moderate, tarsi rather long, moderately robust, and with the toes distinctly scaled; claws, curved, rather strong and sharp.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin), about 10 inches; wing, 6; tail, 4½; bill, from gape, 1½ inches.

Colors. Adult.—Throat, white, tinged with bluish running into stripes on the neck before. Entire other plumage, above and below, ashy-blue, much darker and clearer on the head, palest on the abdomen, tibiæ and under wing coverts. Cheeks and frontal feathers, pale ultramarine; bill and claws dark; irides, light-brown—sexes alike.

Hab. New Mexico, Nebraska. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington city.

Obs. This species does not resemble any other in such degree as to readily lead to confusion, and as yet stands alone in its genus.

The bird described by Col. McCall, as above, and to which he did us the honor to apply our name, he has since ascertained to be the present species, of which, at the time of the publication of his description, no specimen was exhibited in the nearly complete collection of Jays in the museum of the Philadelphia Academy, nor had it ever been mentioned by any American ornithologist. He observed it in the vicinity of Santa Fé, in considerable numbers.

Although as we have said above, nearly the whole of the valuable Zoological notes in the German edition of the Prince Maximilian’s Travels, are omitted in the English translation; two notices of the present species may be found in the latter, pp. 287, 297, the last of which is the description, and seems to have accidentally escaped the singular want of judgment which induced the omissions to which we allude.

Plate 29
The Black Flycatcher
Ptilogonys nitens (Swainson)

PTILOGONYS NITENS.—Swainson.
The Black Flycatcher.
PLATE XXIX.—Adult Male and Female.

This gracefully formed, but sombre-colored little bird was first added to the Ornithological fauna of the United States, by our valued friend, Colonel George A. McCall, Inspector General in the Army of the United States, who observed it, and obtained numerous specimens, while on a tour of duty in California, in 1852. It had previously been known as a Mexican species, having been described by Mr. Swainson, in 1838, from specimens sent from that country.

This bird belongs to a small group of Fly-catchers, containing not more than five or six species, all of which are inhabitants of either Western North America, Mexico, or the southern portion of this continent. They appear to possess the habits of true Fly-catchers, and are remarkable for their slender but active forms, in which the long and ample tail and the elongated feathers of the head, capable of being erected into a handsome crest, are generally conspicuous. The best known North American species is Ptilogonys obscurus, La Fresnaye (which is Ptilogonys Townsendii, Audubon), a bird that is now brought from the far west by nearly all collectors.

Respecting the curious little species which is the subject of our present article, we have the pleasure of laying before the reader the following notes very kindly furnished by Col. McCall.

“The first opportunity that I had for observing the manners of this bird, was afforded me in 1852, while travelling from Valle-cita to El Chino, in California. On that occasion, as I left the country bordering the desert, and began to ascend the hills, my route followed the course of a mountain brook, whose clear waters were at intervals shaded with gnarled and scrubby oaks. In approaching one of these clumps of trees, I remarked a number of dark-colored birds, which afterwards were found to belong to this species, darting upwards from the topmost branches, and after diving and pitching about in the air for a moment, returning again to the dead branches with the lively port that proved them to be engaged in the agreeable pastime of taking their insect prey. A nearer approach showed them to be light and graceful on the wing; but less swift and decided in their motions than most of the true Fly-catchers. There were about a dozen in company, and they presented a pleasing sight, as three or four together were constantly either pitching upwards to a considerable height in the air, or gliding silently back to their perches. In these ærial evolutions, the bright spot on the wing, which is formed by broad patches of white on the inner webs of six or seven of the quill feathers, and is visible only when the wing is spread, gleamed conspicuously in the sunshine, and formed a fine contrast with the glossy black of the general plumage. I sat upon my horse, watching their movements for some time, and I now perceived that two of their numbers were of a dusky hue, and without the wing spot to which I have referred; but I could discover no difference in their manners or their style of flight. I, therefore, had little doubt of their being adult females; for although at that period of the year, (June 20) the young birds might have been well grown, yet there is generally a want of decided character in the unpractised flight of young birds, which betrays them to the Sportsman’s eye. In fact, these birds agreed with Swainson’s description of the female in general terms; and my only regret is that I was not able to satisfy myself by dissection whether these to which I now refer were in reality adult females, or young males in their first plumage.

“However, on my attempting to approach still nearer, these birds became alarmed, and winging their way to the hill-side, alighted on the scraggy bushes scattered among large projecting rocks, where they resumed their sport, rising lightly into the air and darting about after insects, which seemed to be abundant. I followed—but they were now on the qui vive, and, without permitting me to get within gun-shot, flew from bush to bush, as I advanced, keeping all the while in a loose irregular flock, and still pursuing their sport of fly-catching. In this way they continued to ascend the hills, until the broken character of the ground abruptly stopped my horse. Having, however, dismounted, I clambered over the rocks, and at last succeeded in killing two of them. These were alike in plumage—black, with the wing spot; and one of them, which I dissected, proved to be a male.

“As I journeyed on towards the Sierra Nevada, I met, during several days succeeding, these birds, either in small companies, or singly; and subsequently I found a few individuals between El Chino and Los Angeles; but they were invariably black, with the white wing spot. And I never on any occasion, except the one I have referred to, saw one of those clad in dusky garments, which I had supposed were females.

“The localities in which I found these birds, were either on the mountainsides, or in the timbered borders of mountain streams.

“The measurements of the fresh specimen were as follows—length, 8 inches; wing, 3½; tail, 3½.

“The figure slender—the feet rather strong.”

This bird has also been noticed by Dr. Heermann, in various parts of California, and by Dr. Henry, and Dr. Kennerly, in New Mexico. To the former gentleman, we are indebted for the following contribution, intended for our present article:

“This bird is seldom found in the northern part of California, though I procured both adults and young on the Consumnes river, in 1851. Since then, however, a naturalist and friend of mine residing there has not seen a single other specimen, though giving much of his attention to ornithology, and to the migratory habits of such birds as pass through that section of country.

“I was therefore surprised to meet with this species after sixty miles of travel on the Colorado desert near the Little Lagoon. It was perched on a Mesquite tree, jerking its tail almost incessantly, as do various other species of Fly-catchers, and dashing occasionally in irregular curves and angles high into the air in pursuit of insects. On approaching the Colorado, this Fly-catcher became quite abundant, as I frequently saw companies of twenty or thirty together, many of which would be on the wing at the same time, engaged at their usual employment. At Fort Yuma, this species was also met with in considerable numbers late in November, when they were migrating southward. Its note is a low, plaintive whistle. This bird undoubtedly incubates in California, as I have seen specimens which were certainly very young birds, though I have not been so fortunate as to discover its nest.”

Near Fort Webster, in New Mexico, Dr. Henry has seen this bird, though he considers it of rather rare occurrence. Dr. Kennerly noticed it in abundance during the months of February and March, on the route of Lieut. Whipple’s party, from the Big Sandy creek to the Great Colorado river.

Our plate represents the adult male and female about two-thirds of the size of life.