MusciCAPA Tybannus, lAnn. voL i. p. 325 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. iL p. 484.
MusciCAPA Savana, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 67-
FOHK-TAILED FLYCATCHER, MusciCAPA Savana, Ch. Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith.
voL i. p. 1. pi. 1. fig. 1 Nuttall, Manual, part ii. p. 274.
Adult Male. Plate CLVIII.
Bill of moderate length, rather stout, straight, broad at the base, compressed towards the end ; upper mandible with the dorsal outline a little convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and nearly perpendicular, with a very small notch close upon the small deflected tip ; lower mandible with the back broad, the sides rounded, the edges sharp and inflected. Nostrils basal, lateral, oblong, partly covered by the bristly feathers. Head rather large, depressed, neck short, body rather slender. Feet rather short ; tarsus compressed, rather sharp before and behind, ante- riorly covered with broad scuteUa ; toes free, the hind toe not propor- tionally larger ; claws slightly arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage soft, blended, slightly glossed. Basirostral bristles strong. Wings rather long, second quills longest, third a little shorter, first almost as long as third, all the three curiously cut into near the end, with a sharp sinus, the rest of the quills to the tip being extremely slender. Tail with the lateral feather extremely elongated, very deeply forked, the middle feathers being of ordinary length, the intermediate ones graduated.
Bill and feet black. Iris dusky. Head and cheeks deep black, the feathers of the crown deep yellow at the base, that colour being visible only when the crest is elevated. The back is ash-grey, becoming darker behind, so that the tail-feathers are blackish-brown, margined with grey. Wing-coverts and quills blackish-brown, slightly margined with grey, as is the tail, of which, however, the outer web of the lateral feather is white for half its length from the base. The lower parts are white.
Length 14;^ inches, extent of wings 14 ; bill along the ridge ^'j, along the edge % ; tarsus l. Outer tail-feathers 10, the next 4|, the middle ones 9,.
The Female resembles the Male.
