ARIZONA SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER 99 



the canyon, but we followed the birds for some time before we could 

 actually see them. They moved about very little and very deliber- 

 ately, often remaining still for some time. In spite of their appar- 

 ently striking color pattern, they were far from conspicuous amon<^ 

 the foliage, as their contrasting colors blended perfectly among the 

 lights and shadows of the leafage. The male of the pair that I shot 

 was only wounded, and, as I held him in my hand, he pecked at 

 my finger and spread his beautiful crest in anger; the crest when 

 opened was nearly circular in outline and brilliant chrome-yellow 

 in color, with a narrow black border surrounding it; it would make 

 a fine display in courtship, as well as a striking warning in anger. 

 Most observers agree that this flycatcher, in Arizona at least, is 

 partial to just such localities as that in which we found it, among 

 the largest sycamores in the larger, wider, and deeper canyons, 

 where it prefers to nest in the natural cavities in these big, pic- 

 turesque trees. But Major Bendire (1895) states that it has been 

 taken "among the oaks in some of the canyons near Fort Huachuca." 

 Harry S. Swarth (1904) says of its distribution in the Huachucas: 



This species does not occur in the higher parts of the range, nor is it found 

 in the foothills. Preeminently a bird of the heavily wooded canyons, it is 

 seen only along the streams; and all I have seen have been between 5,000 and 

 7.500 feet altitude. It is most abundant in Tanner Canyon, a broad, well 

 watered canyon with a far more gradual ascent than in any of the others. 

 It is on this account, I think, that this flycatcher occurs in it so much more 

 abundantly than elsewhere, for besides being the longest canyon in the range, 

 the head of it is at the lowest point along the divide; thus giving the greatest 

 area at the altitude favored by this species of any canyon in the mountains. 

 This canyon seems to be abundantly suited to the needs of this flycatcher for 

 almost its entire length, and I have seen them very nearly to the head of it. 



Alexander F. Skutch has contributed some elaborate notes on the 

 typical Central American race of the sulphur-bellied flycatcher 

 {Myiodynastes luteiventris luteiventrls) ^ from which I shall quote 

 freely, as the two races evidently do not differ materially in their 

 habits. He says that, "in Central America, as farther to the north, 

 the sulphur-bellied flycatcher appears to be merely a summer resident, 

 arriving from tlie south in early March, raising its young, and 

 then again withdrawing southward in August or September. 



"Upon its arrival from the south, this large flycatcher, easily 

 recognized by its prominently streaked plumage and its distinctive 

 voice, spreads over the clearings and open country from both coasts 

 up to about 6,000 feet in the interior. It favors open groves and 

 pastures with scattered trees, but avoids the heavy forests. Immedi- 

 ately it makes it.self conspicuous by its shrill voice and quarrelsome 

 habits; it is, indeed, during the mating season, one of the most quar- 

 relsome of the Central American flycatchers. While most of the 



