254 FLYCATCHERS 



without distinct rusty edging's and inner webs of tail feathers usually with- 

 out rusty edgings. Length : 7.00-7.80, wing 2.90-3.25, tail 3.00-8.25, bill 

 from nostril .48-.55, tarsus .70-.75. 



Remarks. — The olive coloration is enough to distinguish this fly- 

 catcher. 



Distribution. — Breeds in Lower Sonoran zone of Arizona and western 

 Mexico ; casual to Fort Lyon, Colorado. 



Nest. — Usually in holes in trees, 15 to 40 feet from the ground, made, 

 in two recorded cases, of fur and feathers. Eggs : 3 to 6, curiously 

 marked with fine lines and intricate pencillings of black and various 

 shades of purplish brown over bufPy or creamy ground. 



The olivaceous flycatcher, which is the smallest of the United 

 States species of Myiarchus, lives in brushy canyons in the moun- 

 tains of southern Arizona, frequenting the banks of streams, where 

 it perches on dead limbs looking for insects. The only note heard 

 by Mr. Stephens, who discovered it, was a ' mournful j^ceur. ' 



GENUS SAYORNIS. 



General Characters. — Wing more than 3.25, but not more than five 

 times as long as tarsus ; tarsus longer than middle toe with claw ; tail 

 emarginate. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Tail olive gray. Colorado to Atlantic phoebe, p. 254. 



1'. Tail black. 



2. Under parts partly brown saya, p. 255. 



2'. Under parts partly black. 



3. Under tail coverts streaked with black . . . nigricans, p. 255. 

 3'. Under tail coverts pure white semiatra, p. 256. 



456. Sayornis phoebe {Lath.). Phcebe. 



Upper parts olive gray, darker on head ; under parts whitish, tinged 



below with pale yellowish, sides of 

 breast with olive gray. Length : G.25- 

 7.00, wing 8.25-3.55, tail 8.00-3.40. 

 //1|J Distribution. — Breeds chiefly in Tran- 



^/| sition and Upper Sonoran zones in cast- 



er ern North America, west to Colo- 



rO^A) rado ; south to the Gulf of Mexico; 

 / ^^^^BS^^^^^ J^^^^vr" ^ winters from the southern Atlantic and 

 [ C ^^SI^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^> Gulf states to Mexico and Cuba ; re- 

 "^ corded from Los Angeles Co., Calif or- 



'f^^tf^ nia, in winter. 



J ^fe Nest. — A bulky felted mass, made 



largely of mosses and lined with feath- 

 ers ; attached to rocks, bridges, and 

 beams of buildings. Eggs : 3 to 8, 

 ^'•^™^'°^°»l'*^,fe"um?rk^-^-^'^*-°' white, sometimes finely but sparsely 

 Fig. 329. speckled around larger end with 



brownish. 

 Food. — Chiefly injurious insects. 



The habits of the phoebe are very similar to those of the black 



