THE LEAST FLYCATCHER OR CHEBEC 

 Flycatcher Family — Tyrannidcs 



IN March, there comes to us from the South the phoebe, 

 inconspicuous in plumage, yet easy to identify be- 

 cause of its distinctive caU. About a month later there 

 arrives the smallest member of our Flycatchers, — the Che- 

 bee or Least-Flycatcher. Less than five and a half inches 

 in length, slender, olive-brown above, grayish-w^hite be- 

 neath with an indistinct grayish band across the breast, 

 this little bird might escape our notice were it not for its 

 oft repeated and unmistakable call-note. It announces its 

 presence by uttering its name Chebec, as clearly and per- 

 sistently as its cousins, the phoebe and pewee, say theirs. 



The chebec is a bird to be found in orchards, by road- 

 sides, and in trees of village streets. Like other mem- 

 bers of its family it seeks conspicuous perches, from which 

 it dives after flies, moths, and other insects, returning to 

 its perch to wheeze out its name, with jerks and twitches 

 of its tail. 



It breeds from central Canada to central United States 

 as «far south as Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, 

 and New Jersey, and in the Alleghany Mts. to North Caro- 

 lina; winters from Mexico to Panama and Peru. 



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