LITTLE FLYCATCHER 199 



kinds of dried plant material, such as bracken, fibers of weed stems, 

 coarse grasses, and bits of moss; sometimes vertically woven into 

 the structure are a few stiff straws or weed stalks, as if for strength; 

 next is a thin layer of soft material, which is lined very often with the 

 reddish flower stalks from ground mosses." 



L. B. Howsley, of Seattle, Wash., has sent me some elaborate 

 notes on the nesting of the little flycatcher, from which I quote as 

 follows: "The nesting site selected is usually the forlcs of the large 

 field fern [presumably the western bracken, Pteridmm aquilimxm 

 var. fubescens^ so common in this section of the country. In some 

 portions of the western part of the State, this fern grows over 6 

 and 7 feet high, and the plants are so thick that they constitute 

 miniature forests. Wlierever they are available, usually in an open 

 parkiike site, the little flycatcher seems to prefer it, possibly for 

 concealment or protection, as the fronds afford both. This flycatcher 

 is one of the commonest birds in this area, and scarcely a fern patch 

 is without a summer resident. The height of the nest averages 3 

 feet, my records showing the lowest as 30 inches and the highest 

 as 51^ feet up. The fork of the fern is always used, preference being 

 given to a 3- or 4-way fork — this, undoubtedly, for the extra support. 

 To the surrounding stems, the nest is securely tied with shreds of 

 weed bark." 



The building program, based on four observations, but perhaps 

 not the invariable rule, he divides into the following operations : 



"(1) The placing of a bunch of semidecayed weed bark, lint, and 

 bleached, dead grass. This platform is used by the bird in the 

 future construction work. (2) The bird then ties the framework of 

 the nest to each support, starting at the bottom until halfway up. 

 Then the top support, which will eventually be the upper edge of 

 the outside dimension, is next tied before the balance is tied in. 

 (3) After the skeleton has been completed, more miscellaneous foun- 

 dation material is piled in the bottom, rather loosely, no special 

 attention being paid to the ragged ends and somewhat unshapely 

 contour. (4) When the construction has reached the proper height, 

 the filling in of the nesting cup begins, weaving and tying in vege- 

 table fibers until the inner cup frame has been reached. (5) At this 

 point the rather haphazard actions of the builder lose all careless- 

 ness, and the final touches are affixed with a great deal of care and 

 much attention to detail. The completion of the cup consumes about 

 one-third of the total time necessary to finish a nest. 



"The total construction time was 5 to 7 days; and in one instance 

 laying started before the inside cup finish was completed. A day or 

 so is usually spent in tucking in the stray ends and binding down 

 the outside wi'h what appeared to be a very fine vegetable fiber or 

 spider web. 1 have a nest neatly bound with spider web. 



