352 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



species are as difiFerent as their habits, those of the Wood Pewee 

 being pecuHarly plaintive, — a sort of waihng p-e-e-e-e-i, nee, the first 

 syllable emphasized and lonp drawn out, and the tone a clear, plain- 

 tive wii-y whistle, strikingly ditfertut from the cheerful, emphatic 

 notes of the tnie Pewee. Says Dr. Brewer (Hist. .V. Am. B., Vol. 

 II., p. 858) : 



"This species, like all its family, is a very txpirt catcher of in- 

 sects, even the most minute, and has a wonderful quick percep- 

 tion of their near presence, even when the light of day has nearly 

 gone and in the deep gloom of the thick woods. It takes its station 

 at the end of a low dead limb, from which it darts out in quest of 

 insects, sometimes for a single individual, which it seizes with a 

 pecuhar snap of its bill ; and, frequently meeting insect after insect, 

 it keeps up a constant snapping sound as it passes on, and finally 

 returns to its post to resume its watch. During this watch it occa- 

 sionally is heard to twitter, with a quivering movement of the wings 

 and tail, and more rarely to enunciate a louder but still feeble call- 

 note, sounding like 'pee-e.'" 



The nest of this species, which is always "saddled" and securely 

 attached to a rather stout branch, usually lichen-covered, is one of 

 the most elegant examples of bird architecture. From beneath, it 

 usually so much resembles a natural protuberance of a branch, or 

 knotty excrescence, that but for its betrayal by the owner it would 

 seldom be discovered. It is a very compact saucer-shaped stracture, 

 with thick walls, and the whole exterior is a beautiful "mosaic" of 

 green, gray, and glaucous lichens. The eggs themselves are ex- 

 tremely handsome, having a rich but delicate cream-colored ground, 

 and oruiinuuted by a "wreath" round the larger end of rich mad- 

 der-brown, pui-ple, and lilac spots. 



Genus EMPIDONAX Cabanis. 



Empidonnjr CiVAJils, Jouniul fur Ornithologlo. lii, Nov. 1855. 480. Type, Turannula 

 pusilla Swains. 



"Gen. Chad. Tursu.s loiiKtlioneil.con.'iidenibly lonsor than tlip lull, iiml o.\oeo<llnstho 

 middle too.wliich i.s docldi'dly loiiiier thim tlu' hind Inc. Kill viirlablo. Tail very sliKlitly 

 rorkod.cvon.orrcuindcd: alitllo shortor only than the \vint;s. which iiro consldcnibly 

 rounded; the (Ir.it primary much shorter than the fourth. Head moilerulely crested. 

 Color olivaceous above, yellowish beneath: throat generally gray. 



"The lennthened tarsi. the short toes, the short androunded wiuRs, and the plain didl 

 olivaceous ot the pluma«e. readily distiuBuish the species ot this Rcnus from any other 

 North Amoricuu Flycatchers. The upper plates of the tarsi in a good many species do 

 not encircle the outside, but moot there a row on lUo posterior face." {Hist. A'. Am. Ji.) 



