526 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PA SSERES — CLAM A TORES. 



may be heard in almost any piece of woods, while the dolorous little bird is at his post, perched 

 on some exposed twig near his nest, and continually raiding after insects, which he captures 

 with a quick twist in the air and a click of the bill, regaining his perch adroitly, and standing 

 erect with hanging tail and wings, saying pe'-d-ivee' — Ah! poor me! Nest a very pretty 

 structure, saddled on a horizontal bough, at little or great height, flat and thin-bottomed, with 

 thick walls and well-turned brim, of fine fibres stuck over with lichens, the whole looking 

 much like a natural excrescence of the tree, or, if in a pine, a lichen-bunch. Eggs 2-4, oftenest 

 :J, but rarely 4, creamy-white, marked with reddish-brown and lilac in various pattern, usually 

 wreathing and blending about the larger end, sparser elsewhere; size about 0.75 X 0.55, with 

 tlie usual range of variation both in length and breadth, some being only 0.65 X 0.50. 

 C. rich'ardsoni. (To Sir John Richardson.) Western Wood Peavee. Similar; darker, 

 more fuscous-olive above ; shading of sides reaching almost uninterruptedly across breast; belly 

 rather whitish than yellowish ; outer primary usually not obviously white-edged ; bill below 

 oftener dusky than yellow, sometimes quite black. I fail to appreciate any reliable differences 

 in size or shape, though some have been alleged ; the wing and tail average a trifle longer. 

 It is impracticable to pronounce upon a Pewee, in the closet, without knowing the locality ; 

 but those familiar with both eastern and western Pewees in the field will agree with me that 

 they are not the same bird. Note not exactly like that of rirens, being abrupt and emphatic, 

 rather than drawling and listless. The eggs are indistinguishable, but the nesting is somewhat 

 difl'ereut; the fabric is often or usually placed in the forking of small horizontal branches, con- 

 trary to its saddling on a larger bough by virens ; conformably with which practice, the shape 

 is usually deeper for its breadth, more like a cup than a saucer, measuring about 2.50 X 2.00 

 outside, with a cavity 2.00 X 1-00 or more. Eggs 2-4, usually 3, averaging 0.70 X 0.55, with 

 a range of variation in length of at least 0.10. They are laid mostly in June, in any region, 

 but may also be taken fresh during the first half of July. The range of this species extends 

 from the eastern slopes and foothills of the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, N. to Saskatchewan, 

 Alaska, and British Columbia, S. in winter to equatorial America; breeds throughout its N. 

 Am. range, but vvinters extralimital ; migrates mainly in April, May, and SejDtember. The 

 range is for the most part separated from that of virens by the treeless plains, but the two 

 species are found together in the valley of the Red River of the North, in Manitoba; " Labra- 

 dor" (A^idiibon'). (Tyrannula richardsonii Sw. Fn. Bor.-Am. ii, 1831, p. 146? Contopus 

 rkhardsonii Bd. B. N. Am. 1858, p. 189 ; C. rirens richardsoni Coues, Key, orig. ed. 1872, 

 p. 174, and of later eds. 1884-90, p. 440. Muscicapa phoehe Aud. B. Am. 8vo ed. i, 1840, 

 p. 219, pi. 61 ; NuTT. Man. i, 2d ed. 1840, p. 319. See Coues, B. N. W. 1874, p. 247.) 

 C. r. penin'sulae. (Lat. peninsula, that which is almost an island.) Large-billed West- 

 ern Wood Pewee. Brewster's Pewee. Like the last ; smaller, but with bill abso- 

 lutely as well as relatively longer and broader; upper parts slightly grayer; yellowish of throat 

 and belly clearer and more extensive ; pectoral band narrower and grayer ; light edgings of the 

 wings broader and clearer, AVing 3.30; tail 2.38 ; tarsus 0.52 ; bill from nostril, 0.42 ; width 

 there 0.31. Sierra de la Laguna, Lower California. Brewster, Auk, Apr. 1891, p. 144; 

 A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 462 a. 



EMPIDO'NAX. (Gr. ifinls, gen. etiniSos, empis, empidos, a gnat; "wa^, (ina.v, king. Fig. 

 344, d.) The Little Olivaceous Flycatchers. Small olivaceous species, 5.00-6.00 (rarely 

 6.25) long ; wing 3.12 or less ; tail 2.75 or less ; whole foot at least | as long as wing; tarsus 

 more or less obviously longer than middle toe and claw, much longer than bill ; 2d, 3d, and 

 4th quills entering into point of wing, 1st shorter or not obviously longer than 5th ; tail not 

 over ^ an inch shorter than wings. As in allied genera^ several outer primaries are slightly 

 emarginate on inner web, but tliis character is obscure, often inappreciable, and may be dis- 

 regarded. The coronal feathers are lengthened and erectile, but scarcely form a true crest. 

 There are never any more conspicuous color-marks than in Smjornis phoehe or Contopus rirens. 



