80 



YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHEE. 



Upper parts olive green; wings and tail dusky; greater and lesser wing 

 coverts tipped with white; under parts sulphur yellow, the throat, breast and sides 

 more or less washed with olive green. 



L., 5.65; W., 3.65; T., .2.16. 



Nest, on the ground. Eggs, four or five, creamy white, spotted and blotched 

 with brown or various shades. 



TEAILL'S FLYCATCHEE. 



Upper parts olive green, with a brownish tinge; wings and tail dusky; greater 

 and lesser wing coverts tipped with tawny white ; under parts whitish, washed with 

 dusky gray on the breast and sides; a slight tinge of yellowish below. 



L., 6.09; W., 2.87; T., 2.33. 



Nest, low down in a hush. Eggs, four or five, creamy white, with reddish 

 brown markings chiefly towards the larger end. 



LEAST FLYCATCHEE. 



Upper parts grayish olive ; wings and tail dusky ; greater and lesser wing 

 coverts tipped with ashy brown; under parts whitish, washed with dusky grayish 

 on the breast and sides; pale yellowish below. 



L., 5.40; W., 2.50; T., 2.20. 



Nest, in a crotch of a tree. Eggs, four or five, usually pure white. 



SWALLOWS. 



Of this family we have five species, viz. : the Purple Martin, the Barn Swallow. 

 Cliff Swallow, White-breasted Swallow, and Sand Martin, all regular summer 

 residents. Another one, the Eough-winged Swallow, occasionally occurs here, but 

 as it closely resembles the Sand Martin its appearance is not readily noticed. 



The economic importance of these birds is very great; without them the 

 smaller winged insects would multiply to such an extent as to become an un- 

 bearable nuisance to men and animals ; for it is, I believe, to these birds chiefly 

 that we are indebted for our freedom in the cleared and cultivated parts of the 

 country from the swarms of midges, black flies, and gnats of various kinds that so 

 abound in the woods. 



These birds seem to have a great predilection for the society of men, partly 

 because the clearing he makes in a forest country opens up to them the necessary 

 space for feeding grounds, and partly because the buildings he erects afford them 

 convenient nesting places, of which the House Sparrow, unfortunately, is dis- 

 possessing them. 



Except in very stormy weather Swallows usually capture their food whilst 

 they are on the wing, but in the cold windy days that frequently occur in early 

 spring the insects on which they depend are too chilled to fly, and then the 

 Swallows seek them in open places on the ground. The sandy shores of our lakes 

 are particularly resorted to at such times. 



In the latter part of July and the heginning of August the large female ants 

 swarm from their nests, each one prepared to found a colony for herself were she 

 permitted : the Swallows, fortunately for us. however, interfere and gorge them- 

 selves upon these creatures, the Purple Martins particularly destroying vast 

 numbers of them, even after the ants have divested themselves of their wings : when 



