Fork-Tailed Flycatcher

A male fork-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) is seen on the branch of a blooming loblolly-bay tree (Gordonia lasianthus). The author offers the following anecdote about this bird:

In the end of June, 1832, I observed one of these birds a few miles below the city of Camden, New Jersey, flying over a meadow in pursuit of insects, after which it alighted on the top of a small detached tree, where I followed it and succeeded in obtaining it. The bird appeared to have lost itself: it was unsuspicious, and paid no attention to me as I approached it. While on the wing, it frequently employed its long tail, when performing sudden turns in following its prey, and when alighted, it vibrated it in the manner of the sparrow-hawk.