HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER 229 



fresh; some eggs are more elongated or shorter ovate in shape, and 

 some have been reported as somewhat glossy. The ground color 

 seems to vary from dull white to pale creamy white, or a deeper 

 cream color; Mr. Ray describes the ground color of his set as a "pecu- 

 liar, clear, rich, yellowish tint." A majority of the eggs are un- 

 marked, but many are marked with minute dots, or small spots, of 

 dark liver-brown, or lighter shades of brown. A set taken by Denis 

 Gale in Colorado is described by Bendire (1895) in Mr. Gale's own 

 words, as having "a decided light-yellow ground, with a slight pow- 

 dering of dark specks, with larger shell markings of lavender tints." 

 The measurements of 50 eggs average 16.8 by 12.9 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 17.8 by 13.7, 17.6 by 14.0, 

 15.2 by 13.2, and 16.6 by 12.4 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation is probably the same as for the 

 other small flycatchers, about 12 days. Probably only the female 

 incubates the eggs, but both parents feed and care for the young. 

 Dr. Russell T. Congdon has sent me some photographs of the feeding 

 process (pi. 29), and he says in his notes: "The taking of food by the 

 young bird stimulates active peristalsis, and the parent is so alert to 

 grasp her opportunity that not once was the nest soiled. After 

 feeding the insect to one of the young the parent flycatcher would 

 remain on the edge of the nest in a watching attitude, and after 

 a brief period, the young bird just fed would elevate its rump, extend 

 the tail feathers way back, and extrude the pellet (or bolus) of waste 

 matter. This the parent immediately seized in her bill, before it 

 could drop into the nest, and made off with it." 



A family of young, "obviously just out of a nest," was watched 

 by Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) : "They kept at a height 

 of about ten meters above the ground, among the branches toward 

 the center of a lodgepole pine. 



"The young birds were well feathered except that their tails were 

 not quite of full length. Both parents were in attendance. After 

 the old female had been collected the male alone fed the family. 

 The young ones would, in turn, fly out after the parent and there 

 would be a melee during which feeding apparently took place. The 

 young birds gave a faint food call, cJilipy 



Referring to the Sierra Nevada, W. W. Price (Barlow, 1901) says: 

 "Late in the summer the young of this flycatcher are common in the 

 tamarack thickets along Silver Creek and on the slopes of Pyramid 

 Peak. They are usually associated with the young of two or three 

 warblers and Cassin vireo. I have noted this congregation each 

 season previous to the migration. The large scattering flocks are 

 often miles in extent, and probably contain thousands of birds." 



324726—42 16 



