WRIGHT'S FLYCATCHER 237 



Young. — Mr. Howsley says in his notes that "the period of incu- 

 bation Lists 12 to 15 days, one set showing a period of 17 days from 

 the last egg laid." In this latter case it is probable that incubation 

 did not begin until some time after laying had ceased. Mrs. 

 Wlieelock (1904) writes: 



During incubation, which lasted tliirtecn or fourteen days in two cases, the 

 male was frequently found on the nest, not merely guarding but bi'ooding. 

 When not thus occupied, he flitted restlessly through the bushes, bringing 

 "insects to his mate, not spending one moment in idleness except to take a 

 sunbath, and his cheery twitter could be hoard all day above the music of his 

 more ambitious neighbors. As soon as the young Flycatchers were out of the 

 shell, he redoubled his efforts and seemed to do much more than half the 

 feeding. For the first few days this was by regurgitation, but later fresh food 

 was given to them. Small wonder that with four such voracious appetites to 

 satisfy he came and went in preoccupied silence. In two weeks the babies had 

 filled the nest to overflowing and were fairly crowded out of it. Then the 

 trials of the father bird really began, for they tagged him from twig to twig 

 with open mouths and quivering wings. * * * In every instance the mother 

 helped faithfully, and in one case she alone fed a nestling almost as large as 

 herself, at the rate of six bugs in three minutes. Sometimes she liberated 

 one in front of him, in an effort to teach him to hunt for himself, but he was 

 the only young Flycatcher I have ever seen refuse to try to catch an Insecr ; 

 he would not budge. This little comedy was played all one day, and early 

 the next morning the worn and weary little mother was seen alone, no trace of 

 the youngster could be found, nor did she seem to care. 



In a nest watched by Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) the 

 young remained approximately 18 days. Ten days later "an observer 

 was surprised to see a bird sitting on this same nest. When disturbed 

 the brooding bird flew to a near-by twig, and the nest was found to 

 contain three eggs.'' 



Plumages. — Young Wright's flycatchers, in fresh juvenal plumage, 

 are much like the adults, except that the top and sides of the head 

 are decidedly grayer, the wing bands are huffier, and the breast and 

 flanks are strongly huffy, the latter becoming whiter later on. 

 Apparently the postjuvenal molt is not accomplished until the young 

 birds reach their winter home. 



Some adults may begin the fall molt while migrating, but, as I have 

 seen a number, taken in Mexico in September, that were still in worn 

 summer plumage or molting the body plumage, it seems as if the 

 molt must be mainly accomplished after migrating. Birds collected 

 in Central America in October and November are mostly in fresh 

 winter plumage. I have seen no evidence of a spring molt in the few 

 specimens available, but probably there is at least a partial pre- 

 nuptial molt before the birds return north, as is true of several other 

 species of the genus. 



