FLYCATCHERS 



205 



which it may also be di>tin,£;uishcd by its smallor 

 size and its plainly marked wing-bars. On the 

 other haiul it is considerably larger than the 

 Chebec, or Least Flycatcher. 



A curious characteristic of the Pewee is its 

 apparent indifference about betraying the where- 

 abouts of its nest. Many birds consider this a 

 subject of the utmost secrecy, and act accord- 

 ingly, absolutely refusing to go to their nests 

 as long as an intruder is in sight. Others be- 

 come tremendously excited and indignant under 

 the same conditions : the wrath and courage of 

 the Brown Thrasher, when his home is 

 threatened, are beautiful to behold. But Pewee 

 is likely to sit quite still and regard yott with a 



bees, wasps, and ants which they cat. The Wood 

 Pewee is probably the worst sinner of the family 

 in this respect. It is safe to say that about one- 

 fourth of the bees, wasps, and ants eaten by the 

 Wood Pewee are of parasitic species. This. 

 however, is probably not so great a fault as may 

 at first appear, and does not necessarily condemn 

 the bird. Flies are the most regular and constant 

 constituent of the food, .\niong these are horse- 

 flies, robber flies, syrphus flies, tachina flies, and 

 long-legged crane flies. The great bulk of this 

 food, however, belonged to the house-fly family. 

 The syrphus and tachina flics are useful insects, 

 but the great majority of members of the fly 

 families are a nuisance and many of them pests, 



Photograph by A. A. Allen 



A WOOD PEWEE AT ITS NEST ON A DEAD BRANCH 



somewhat ])uzzled air as yuu api)roach; and if 

 you will remain motionless probably either the 

 male or the female will go directly to the nest, 

 even if it be only a few yards away. Whether 

 this trait reveals confidence or indifference, it 

 might be difficult to say ; but anyone who has seen 

 the bravery and rage with which the little bird 

 attacks a prowling red squirrel will not accuse 

 it of lack of solicitude in the presence of a real 

 enemy. George Gladden. 



The animal food of the \\'ood Pewee is made 

 up of insects, spiders, and millepeds. and amounts 

 to about 99 per cent, of its total food; the vege- 

 table consists of berries and seeds. The beetles 

 eaten include such harmful species as the clover- 

 leaf weevil, the plum curculio, the corn weevil, 

 and the rice weevil, besides several species of 

 the Scolytida, a family which includes some of 

 the worst enemies of forest trees. 



Bees, wasps, and ants are eaten largely. The 

 Flycatchers, as a group, take a considerable 

 number of useful parasitic species among the 



and it is a benefit to the world to have their num- 

 bers reduced ; in this respect the Wood Pewee is 

 doing a good work. Moths and caterpillars are 

 eaten by the Wood Pewee every month of its 

 stay in the North, but not quite so regularly nor 

 in such quantities as flies. 



Among the bugs which are eaten in small and 

 rather irregular quantities, are tree-hoppers, leaf- 

 hoppers, negro-bugs, stink-bugs, the squash-bug 

 family, assassin bugs, and water striders. All 

 of these are harmful in their habits except the 

 assassin bugs, which destroy caterpillars and 

 other insects, and the water striders, which have 

 no economic significance. 



The one unfavorable feature concerning the 

 food of the Wood Pewee is that it eats too many 

 parasitic bees and wasps. There is no doubt 

 that all birds which prey upon bees and wasps 

 destroy some of the useful species, but the 

 proportion in the food of this bird is greater than 

 in other birds whose food has been investigated. 

 As these insects are for the most part smaller 

 than the more common wasps and bees, it would 



