THE TRAILL FLYCATCHER. 389 



the}' ohlain iduglily alic-lil, in a gruuii vvlnre e\cr\ lloaiing mote <<i difference 

 is gladl}' welcomed. Tiie Traill Flycatcher, morcnver, is a l()\er of the half- 

 open silnations. bush_\- rather than timbered, of clearings, low thickets, and 

 river banks. L'niike its congeners, it will follow a stream out npon a desert; 

 and a spring, which gladdens a few hundred \ards nf will(_>ws and cnitccgi in 

 some n(jok of the bunch-grass hills, is sure to numljer aniung its summer 

 boarders at least one [y,\\v of Traill Flycatchers. This ])artialit_\- for water- 

 courses does not. howe\er, ])re\'ent its fre(|nenting drv hillsides in western 

 Washington and the Ijordcrs of mountain meadows in the Cascades. 



TrailTs Fh-catclier is a tard\- migrant, for it arrives not earlier than the 

 20th of May, and frequently not before June 1st. In 1890, the bird did not 

 appear at Ahtanuni, in \'akima County, until the 14th of June; and it became 

 C(immon immediately thereafter. This bird is restless, energetic, and imgna- 

 cious to a fault. It posts on C(_)nspicuous places, the to])most twig of a 

 j_\'ringa Inish, a will<iw, i>r an as|)en, making frequent outcries, if the mood 

 is on, and darting nimbly after passing insects. During the nesting season 

 it [joimces on [massing birds rif whatever size and drixes them out of bomids. 

 It is not always so hardy in the presence of man, and if jjresseil too closely 

 will whisk out of sight for good and all. 



The m'ltes of the Little Flx'catcher, as it used to be called, are \-arious and 

 not always distinctive. Particularly, there is one style which cannot be dis- 

 tinguished from the commonest note of the Hammond Flycatcher, szvitchoo. 

 szi'cccliciv, or iniblushingly, .zwccbcw, .ZK'ccbczi'. .':::zvrct. C)ther ni;>tes, deliv- 

 ered soinetimes singly and sometimes in groups, are pisoo: si^'it'oo. s:vci-t. 

 s'Zi'it'oo; St^'cr. kntip, kutip; Hi<.'it or Iiooif. softly. 



Nesting begins late in June and fresh eggs may be expected about the 

 4th of Jidw Xests are ])laced characteristically in upright forks of willows, 

 alder-l)err\- bushes, roses, etc. They are usually compact and artistic struc- 

 tures lit dried grasses, hemp (the inner bark of dead willnws) and plant- 

 down, lined with fine grasses, horse-hair, feathers and other soft substances. 

 Xot infrequently the nests are placed o\'er water; and low ele\'ations of, say, 

 two or three feet from the ground appear to i>re\'ail wester! w ,\ \';Lkima 

 Co.unty nest, taken Jul\- loth, containing two eggs, was half saddled npon, 

 half siuik into the twigs of a horizontal willow l)ranch one aufl a half feet 

 aliiA-e running water, and had to be readied b\- wading. 



Tncu!:)ation lasts twelve days, and the babies require as much more time 

 to get a-wing. But In' September ist, tickets are bought, grips are packed — 

 or, no! think of being able tn traxel without luggage — goodbyes are said; 

 and it's "Heighln'! foi- Mexico!" 



