LAND BIRDS. 405 



•forks of slender bushes and usually in very wet ground, not infrequently 

 in standing water or at the very edges of streams. In this last respect 

 it seems to differ from Traill's Flycatcher, since the latter seems to be more 

 partial to higher ground, and nests more often in dry situations. The nest 

 consists of various soft substances and commonly contains three white or 

 cream-colored eggs, spotted, sometimes quite heavily, with brown. Occa- 

 sionally four eggs are found. They average .73 by .53 inches. 



The bird arrives from the south from the middle to the last of May and 

 the eggs are seldom laid before the first week in June, probably ten daj^s 

 later in the Upper Peninsula. 



Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the note of this bird, but 

 all observers agree that it is distinctly unlike that of any other Flycatcher. 

 Brewster writes it "kee-wing;" Dwight gives "ee-zee-e-up;" Mr. F. H. 

 Allen states that Dwight's rendering seems to him nearly correct, but he 

 prefers "wee-zee-up, the up very faint;" Dr. Morris Gibbs writes the call 

 "pit-too." On the few occasions when we have heard the bird there has 

 been a distinct nasal or metallic twang in the note which is not suggested 

 by any of the previous renderings unless it be Brewster's "ke-wing." 



All observers appear to agree that the bird is partial to wet situations 

 and low growths, and is seldom found in the deep woods or the dr3^er groves 

 and orchards. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult: Upper parts clear olive or olive brown, darker on the head, where the feathers 

 usually have blackish centers; throat, lower breast and middle of belly pure white; sides of 

 belly and lower tail-coverts decidedly yellowish; breast olive gray, darkest on the sides, 

 but distinct all the way across; two conspicuous wing-bars of grayish or buffy white, and 

 the secondaries and tertiaries rather broadly edged with the same; upper mandible dark 

 brown, lower mandible pale, but much darker than that of the Acadian or Yellow-bellied 

 Flycatchers; iris brown. 



A large male from Marquette coxmty gives the following measurements: Length (fresh), 

 6.10 inches; wing 2.80; tail 2.50; culmen .46. A female taken at same place and time 

 (June 10, 1894) gave: Length 5.80 inches; wing 2.60; tail 2.30; culmen .42. 



According to Brewster tliis subspecies differs from the typical Traill's Flycatcher "in 

 having the coloring of the upper parts richer and more olivaceous, the wing-bands yellower 

 and hence more conspicuous, the bill decidedly smaller and the legs'rather shorter" (Auk 

 XII, 1895, 161). 



186. Least Flycatcher. Empidonax minimus (Baird). (467) 



Synonyms: Chebcc, Sewick. — Tyrannula minima, Baird, 1843. -^Empidonax minimus, 

 Baird, 1858. — Muscicapa acadica, Nutt. 



Figure 95. 



So similar to the three preceding species as to be separated with difficulty, 

 but the Least Flycatcher is smaller than any of the others and the wing bars 

 are nearly pure white. Its note, well expressed by the common name 

 "Chebec", with strong accent on the last syllable, is distinctive; it is also 

 the only one of our flycatchers which lays unspotted eggs, the color being 

 creamy white. 



Distribution. — Chiefly eastern North America, west to eastern Colorado 

 and central Montana, south in winter to Central America. Breeds from 

 the northern states northward. 



In Michigan the Least Flycatcher seems to be universally distributed, 



