266 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



(lescrij)tiuii oi jlKrlrc/ifris, but is very like ;iii Afudiiiu sliot vt^stt'r- 

 iliiy. Evidently the species is breeding here." 



Mr. Thompson's identification appears to be correct, for I find that 

 the bii"d ga^•e utterance to the same note when found near its nest in 

 Maine. 



EMPIDONAX ACADTCrs (Gmel.). 

 191*. Acadian Flycatcher. (Kio) 



Above, ulivc-gieeii, clear, colltilluou^5 aiul uiiifoiiii (thuugli tin: eimvii laav 

 show rather darker, owing to dusky centres of the slightly lengthened, erectile 

 feathers) ; Vjelow, whitish, olive-shadeil on sides and nearly across breast, 

 vellow-washed on belly. Hanks, crissuni and axillars ; wings, dusky ; inner 

 ([uills. edged, and coverts tipped with tawny yellow ; all the quills whitish-edged 

 internally ; tail, dusky olive-glossed, unmarked ; a yellowish eye-iiiig ; feet 

 and upper mandible, brown ; lower nuindible, ])ale ; in midsummer, rather 

 darker ; in early fall, brighter and more yellowish l)elow ; wiien vei'y young, 

 the wing markings more fulvous, the general plumage slightly buti'y -suffused. 

 Length, 5'i-ti^ ; wing, 2\-li (rarely 3^) ; tail, 25-2j ; bill, nearly oi' quite h, al)Out 

 \ wide at the nostrils ; tai-sus, § ; middle toe and claw, i ; point of wing 

 reaching nearly an inch l)eyond the secondaries ; second, third and fourth quills 

 nearly equal and iiiii<-li (^ iiK'h or more) longei- than first and tiftli. wliidi about 

 equal each other. 



Firxf plumaye: Above, nearly pure olive, witli indistinct nai'i-ow transverse 

 bands of darker ; wing bands, pale reddish-brown ; undei' parts, soiled yellowish 

 white, with an olivaceous cast on the sides and breast. 



H.\B. — Eastern United States, cliicHy soutliward. west tn the Plains, south 

 to Cuba and Costa Rica. 



Nest, comjjosed of catkins, grasses, weed til)res, shreds of bark, rather 

 slovenly in appearance, from three to twenty feet from the ground, in a 

 horizontal fork, fastened by the bi-im, bottom without support. 



Eggs, two .to four, yellowish-l)uff, spotted round the larger end with lusty 

 l>rown. 



T mention this little l)ird more as one to be looked foi' than as one 

 known to occur here, for [ have no positive i-ecord of its having been 

 found in Ontario. I have always thought it would be discovered on 

 the north shore of Lake Erie, and the nearest approach I have to it 

 is in the description of a jiair of small Flycatchers whitli nested in 

 Dr. Macallum's oi-chard near Dunnville. In this case the nest and 

 eggs were taken, but the birds were allowed to escape, and, unfortu- 

 nately for identificati<jn, the eggs of this species are indistinguishable 

 from those of Tiaill's Flycatcher. 



