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Show Pi ' & e l; VX. (ONntionnl Wildlife Federation Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher Bird Lore ... "Ka-quoe, ka-quee, ka-quee " M'lfHms the Scissor-tailed Fly- t r,8 h rises into the air So no,s, y does he ca, that n o llr tryinR: t0 warn his notes re part of his flight. with ench "ka-quee," the Flv-a Flv-a .C'.i!"bS another notch up-nn, up-nn, i hP Same time' he opens and closes his long, slender tail. Watching the performance, you can easily imagine that you are seeing a pair of scissors held with points downward and steadily snipping; away. Their owner keeps them busy whether he is rising into the air or dropping toward the ground. There are moments, though, when the Flycatcher rests his tail. It always hangs still and closed when he perches atop a bush or a fence. That is the best time to get a good look at him. lhe male Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher Fly-catcher is light gray, with a touch of white at the throat and a dash of salmon pink under his wings, on his sides, and beneath his tail. Almost hidden under the gray on his head is a tiny patch of red. He is from thirteen to fifteen inches in-ches long, including a tail that measures up to nine inches. The female is smaller and a bit fuller in color. The summer home of the Flycatcher, Fly-catcher, says the National Wildlife Wild-life Federation, is from Nebraska southward through Kansas, Missouri, Miss-ouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico. It spends .the winter months in Central America. When they are in the states, the Flycatchers like to live in the open country. They want a few trees about, not for hiding places, but to use as lookout perches. They also build their nests in trees about fifteen feet off the ground. The home of a Flycatcher fam- are buzzing through the air. Interesting information on other wildlife species can be obtained by writing to the National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D. C. ily is carelessly put together, but the building materials are soft pieces of plant fibers. It is a warm, comfortable nest in which to lay five small, creamy eggs which are spotted with brown. It would be risky for a marauding maraud-ing bird to bother the eggs, because be-cause the Flycatcher likes nothing better than to dart at a larger foe and chase it away. In fact, the bird with the scissors goes out of his way at times to tease and pester pes-ter other birds. It is always in fun, though, and no harm is done. While he may irritate his feathered feath-ered neighbors now and then, the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is a real help to farmers. According to the National Wildlife Federation, he has a big appetite for grasshoppers, grasshop-pers, crickets, and beetles. Despite Des-pite his name, he eats few flies. Sometimes he goes to the ground in search of insects, but more often of-ten he catches them while they |