RED PETCHARY.[52]
Loggerhead.—Great Crested Flycatcher.—Wils.
Tyrannus crinitus.
| Muscicapa crinita, | Linn.—Aud. pl. 129. |
| Tyrannus crinitus, | Bonap. |
[52] Length 9 inches, expanse 13¼, flexure 4¹⁄₈, tail 4, rictus 1²⁄₁₀, tarsus 1, middle toe ¾.
Though found in Jamaica through the winter, the Loggerhead is not then very common; but in March many begin to frequent the groves, and trees of the pastures; and may be observed pursuing each other in devious flights, uttering a rattling cry, harsh, though not loud. As they sit in a tree, they emit at intervals a loud pirr, in a plaintive tone, ruffling the plumage, and shivering the wings at the same time. Its general habits are those of its congeners, but it lacks their pugnacity. Very large insects form its ordinary prey: one I shot in the very act of taking a large cicada, while sitting on a twig, the insect was still in its throat when killed. In November I have found the stomach filled with the large red-berries of the Tropic birch.
Sam tells me he has found the nest of this bird, containing four young, at the very bottom of a hollow stump, in a mountain district.
BLACK SHRIKE.[53]
Judy.—Mountain Dick.
Tityra leuconotus.