Flycatcher

a family of songless, perching birds given to catching insects on the wing. There are 350 world species, chiefly tropical; 35 species nest in the United States. By keeping a sharp lookout along the edges of copses and in open woodlands one cannot fail to see, ere long, a small olive-colored crested bird, sitting on a dry limb or dead shrub. Every moment or two it will dart off into the air, snap an insect, and wheel back to its old position. Each dart marks the capture of a passing insect. If undisturbed, a flycatcher will use the same perch for hours at a time. In the season for feeding the young a pair of flycatchers will carry hundreds of insects to their nestlings daily. The flycatchers are of untold service to the fruit raiser. Flycatchers have rather wide mouths, surrounded by bristles to facilitate the capture of their food. The pewee, phoebe, and kingbird are members of the family.