NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 289 



appears to answer the description of Gosse's Foolish Petchary : his dimen- 

 sions are, "length 1h inches, expanse 10t, flexure 3, tail 3, leg nearly 1, bill 

 (not given by Gosse) f by 5-16ths at the base." His description, "Iris 

 hazel, bill black, feet blackish grey, upper parts bistre brown, darker on the 

 head, paler on the back, basal part of the outer edge of the primaries nar- 

 rowly chestnut, greater and mid coverts, secondaries and tertiaries edged and 

 tipped whitish. Tail even, feathers broadly edged inwardly with chestnut. 

 Cheeks grey, mottled ; chin, throat and forebreast greyish white ; breast, 

 belly, vent, under tail coverts, and interior of wing pale yellow. Head 

 feathers erectile. The female has the primaries and tail feathers edged with 

 whitish instead of chestnut," (this is not constant.) This and the next spe- 

 cies, if they be really distinct, build in hollow stumps, bamboos, and decayed 

 hollows of low trees, a matting of leaves and down intermixed with soft hair: 

 and sometimes pieces of snake's and lizard's skins are found in the nest of 

 this as well as of the other smaller species of fly-catchers ; they all seem to 

 have a predilection for the hollow, decayed stumps of the upright Cerei. 

 The nest of this is often found in a pengirin plant ; the eggs are usually three, 

 oval or longish oval, cream or yellowish drab, splashed with umber and slaty 

 spots. They measure 15-16ths by ll-16ths of an inch. 



215. Myiarchus . The common Tom Fool is like the preceding in 



general habits, but differs otherwise in many respects. The bill is ^ by nearly 

 ^ an inch wide at the base ; the length the same. The wings a little longer. 

 The entire upper plumage bistre brown ; the markings of the wing coverts 

 imperfectly defined and rusty white ; the feathers of the head close and com- 

 pact, and not darker than the rest of the upper plumage. The chin, throat, 

 head and sides dappled grey, lighter on the breast, rest of the under plumage 

 and under wing coverts yellowish. This species often builds in the thatch or 

 shingles under the eaves of houses and house gutters. I have one nest found 

 in the shell of an old gourd, which bad fallen into a forked branch of the 

 tree, and remained there until the pulp decayed. The coloring of the eggs 

 is lighter than that of the preceding. 



Myiarchus . The greater Tom Fool approaches the Red Petchary 



(M. validus) in general habits and nidification, but the plumage is that of the 

 black cap. The bill is much stouter than either of the preceding ; the four cover- 

 ing feathers of the tail edged with white at the tips ; the length over eight inches. 

 It will sit perched for hours on a dry branch of some tall tree, from which it 

 now and then makes a short flight after some passing insect, uttering a 

 harsh, shrill note or cry, (somewhat like pip-pir-e-pir-ee,) captures its prob- 

 and immediately returns to its perch. It builds, like the M. validus, a slight 

 matting in the hollow at the top of a decaying tree or tall stump. The eggs 

 are four, longish oval, about 1 by f of an inch, pale green, splashed with 

 burnt sienna and slaty spots, partially confluent at the large end. 



212. Myiarchcs *. This is the second specimen (both females) I 



have met with of this " curiously-feathered bird." This one was obtained, with 

 the eggs, at Two-mile Wood Savannah, near Spanish Town. It appears to be an 

 individual of the last species in adventitious plumage. The nest, a slight 

 matting, was taken from the hollow top of a decaying tree. The eggs four, 

 oval, pale green, splashed with burnt umber and slaty spots, partially con- 

 fluent on the large end, measured 1 by ll-16ths of an inch. The three 

 species or varieties known as our Tom Fools are subject to albinism. 



194. El^enia cotta. This species of fly-catcher was at one time supposed 

 to be confined to the southwest parishes, but I have, within the last five or 

 six years, found it abundant about the south mid-land districts during the 



* Probably a partial albino of M. stolidus (B.) 



1863.] 21 



