1907] New Brunswick Flycatchers. 63 



section are they found in abundance, and with the exception of a 

 family gathering, not more than a pair will b^e found togetVier. 

 They arrive in this section from the south about the middle of 

 May, They apparently migrate at all hours. The first arrivals 

 have been heard in early morning, during the middle of the day, 

 and well along in the afternoon. When near at hand, the call 

 or song of the male sounds like the three notes " Whew-take care," 

 but at a distance of a hundred yards or more the first note is not 

 audible, and we hear only the two last syllables, "take-care." 

 Many of the small birds and various species of insects could 

 undoubtedly interpret the call of the olive-side as it sounds in the 

 ear of the Anglo-Saxon, " take-care," for yoti are liable to he way- 

 laid by a feathered tyrant who seems to know no fear. 



The olive-side chooses some tall evergreen tree as a screen 

 and foundation for its nest, which is composed of twigs and mosses 

 and built well out on a limb. The usual number of eggs is four. 

 The voung are fledged and ready to begin the southward march 

 by the first of August. The migration route of this species is 

 along the larger streams, and by the tenth of August they have 

 gone from this section for a period of eight mionths. 



The calls of the olive-sided flycatcher made such an impres- 

 sion upon the memory of the writer in his early days that near- 

 ly thirty years later when the bird was identified and its name 

 learned , the calls would awaken childish reminiscences of earlier 

 days when not more than a half dozen birds were known to the 

 people of an entire settlemicnt. 



The Wood Pewee {Coniopns virens) is*a bird of the orchards 

 and hardwood knolls. Tt is a bii-d sn'.aller than any of the fore- 

 going species, except the phoebe, which it closely resembles in 

 size. The call or song of the pewee is characteristic of the species 

 and is a series of modulated tones imitating the word "pewee". 

 The pewee is due to arrive from the south the latter part of May, 

 and stays with us about fotir months. During its stay the greater 

 part of the time is taken up with family affairs. The nesting site 

 is usuallv chosen upon some horizontal limb of a goodly sized 

 tree, and at a height varying from a few feet to fully sixty feet. 

 The nest is built of a downv substance inside, covered with lichens 

 or mosses, to closely resemble natural growths upon the limbs 

 and trunks of surrounding trees. The eggs, usually four in 

 number, are beavitifulh^ marked, an^l carefully guarded by the 

 parent birds. ., 



The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) 

 is tolerably common in southern parts of this province, but in the 

 int-erior it is a rare species. It breeds throughout the sections 

 where it is a summer resident. The writer has had no personal 

 experience with this species, so rare is it injthis locality. 



