112 BULLETIN 17 9, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



or camouflage. But in most instances it is probably used as con- 

 venient and desirable nesting material. The fact that the crested 

 flycatcher has been found so often using such material as onion 

 skins, thin, greasy, or waxed paper, parafRne paper, or strips of 

 Cellophane suggests that either these bright shiny substances attract 

 their attention, or that they, like snakeskins, furnish a certain degree 

 of resiliency, or perhaps ventilation, in the nest. Mr. BoUes (1890) 

 noted that fresh pieces of skin were brought in from time to time 

 during incubation, which may indicate that the birds appreciate the 

 value of such light, springy, and airy material in the close confines 

 of the nesting cavity. 



Eggs. — The crested flycatcher has been known to lay anywhere 

 from four to eight eggs ; five seems to be the commonest number, six 

 eggs are frequently found, and the larger numbers are very rare. 

 I have heard of only one set of eight, which is in the collection of 

 the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The eggs are 

 mostly ovate or short-ovate, occasionally elliptical-ovate or elongate- 

 ovate. They are only slightly glossy. The eggs of the genus 

 Myiarchus are all handsomely and peculiarly marked, those of this 

 species being usually more heavily marked than those of the other 

 species. The ground color varies from creamy white or "cream 

 color" to "cream-buff", or "pinkish buff", rarely "vinaceous-buff." 

 Tlie eggs are usually quite uniforml}^ covered with the peculiar 

 markings, but sometimes these are somewhat concentrated at one 

 end. The markings consist of a few irregular or elongated blotches 

 and streaks and scratches or fine hair lines, as if made with a pen, 

 of "claret brown," "liver brown," or other browns, and various shades 

 of drab, purple, or lavender. The measurements of 50 eggs average 

 22.6 by 17.2 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 23.8 by 17.8, 23.6 by 18.0, and 20.6 by 15.2 millimeters. 



Young. — The incubation period has been stated as 13, 14, or 15 

 days, by different observers. Bendire (1895) says: "As a rule but 

 one brood is reared in a season, and incubation lasts about fifteen 

 days ; the female attends to these duties almost exclusively, but is not 

 a very close setter, and it is not uncommon to find addled eggs in the 

 nests of this species. An egg is deposited daily until the set is 

 completed." 



A. Dawes DuBois says in his notes: "The voices of the young re- 

 mind me of the peepers (tree frogs) heard in early spring, though 

 more subdued. They keep up these calls when they think they hear 

 their parents coming. The parents usually came together with 

 food, and one sat on a nearby branch while the other went into the 

 nest. When the first one came out the other entered the nest and 

 gave its supply of food to the young. The usual food for the young 



