uncertain whether the male bird assists in the cares of incubation, but both parents tend their young with great care, and rear them exclusively upon insect diet. * * * * * The FLY-CATCHERS, according to Linnæus, comprise a large number of small singing birds, distinguished by their broad, flat beaks. These have again been divided into a variety of families, amongst which the following stands first upon our list as forming a connecting link between the Fly-catchers and the Shrikes properly so-called. * * * * * The KING or TYRANT SHRIKES (_Tyranni_) constitute a family of American birds, having small but powerful bodies, and long, pointed wings, which when closed extend half-way down the tail. The second and third quills exceed the rest in length. The large broad tail is either excised or rounded at its extremity; the legs are strong, the tarsi high, and the toes muscular; the straight and slightly conical beak terminates in a hook, and is surrounded with bristles at its base. The thick soft plumage is usually grey upon the back, and white or yellow upon the under parts of the body. The Tyrant Shrikes are found extensively throughout South America, and are especially numerous in the warmest latitudes of that continent. THE TRUE TYRANT SHRIKE, KING BIRD, OR TYRANT FLY-CATCHER. The TRUE TYRANT SHRIKE, KING BIRD, or TYRANT FLY-CATCHER (_Tyrannus intrepidus_), as the most noted member of this family is called, is about eight inches long and fourteen broad. The soft and brilliant plumage of this species is prolonged into a crest at the top of the head. The entire back is of a deep blueish grey, darkest upon the head, the feathers that form the crest being edged with bright red and yellow; the under side is greyish white, tinted with a deeper shade on the breast. The throat and neck are pure white, the quills and tail brownish black, the latter tipped with white, as are the wing-covers. The eye is dark brown, the beak black, the feet greyish blue. In the plumage of the female all these colours are much more dusky and indistinct than in that of her mate.