the proud possessor of a genuine
scissorstail, composed of two long, slender prongs that are spread far
apart under certain conditions of flight. Let me describe the process
minutely, for it is unique here in North America where fork-tailed
birds are rare.

When the bird starts up from a perch, he spreads apart the prongs of
his tail for a moment, as if to give himself a spring; then he closes
them in a single slender stem, tapering outward to a point, keeping
them closed during prolonged flight, and just as he sweeps down to
another perch, he opens his ornamental scissors again, shutting them up
as soon as he has settled upon his resting place. He does not open and
close his tail at regular intervals during flight, as might be
supposed, but keeps it closed until he descends to a perch, when it is
opened for a moment in the act of alighting. However, if he has
occasion to wheel or make a sudden turn in the air, either for an
insect or in a playful prank, his scissors fly open, one might almost
say spontaneously, no doubt serving the double purpose of rudder and
balancing pole. When closed, the tail is very narrow, looking almost
like a single plume. On the perch (except when he desires to shift his
position, when he also makes use of his wings) his tail is closed.
Therefore the picture of this bird in Dr. Coues's "Key to North
American Birds" is not accurate, for it represents our bird in the
sitting posture with the tines of his fork spread apart. If the wings
were outstretched, representing the bird in the act of alighting or
shifting his position, the picture would be true to scissorstail life.

The range of these birds is somewhat restricted, and for that reason,
doubtless, so little is known about their habits. According to
Ridgway, their proper home is in eastern Mexico and the southwestern
prairie districts of the United States, though many of them come north
as far as southern Kansas and southwestern Missouri to spend the summer
and rear their families. In winter they go as far south as Costa Rico.
Restricted as their habitat is, it is curious to note that they are
"accidental" in a few unexpected places, such as Key West, Fla.,
Norfolk, Va., and also in several localities in New England, Manitoba,
and Hudson Bay Territory. Prof. W. W. Cooke, of Colorado, says they
are "rare, if not accidental," in that state. To show that our birds
are unique, it is relevant to say that there are only two species of