THE LEAST FLYCATCHER. 333 



almost invariably selects a cunning tower on some naked or dead limb which 

 commands a wide sweep of mosquito territory. He is the least timid, or per- 

 haps we would better say he is the most confiding of his race. Conscious of 

 right motives himself, he is slow to think evil of others, and does not hesitate 

 to occupy a convenient station from which he may observe your business with 

 pleased interest, while not forgetting his own. Then if you are not read}- to 

 admit that be is the dearest bird, it must be conceded that he is a little the 

 noisiest member of a group in which this distinction is easy and not unflattering. 

 Sewick — sewick, or as some prefer to hear it. che-bec, sounds frequently in a 

 very business-like tune of voice from the tip of the dead branch which serves 

 the bird as a base of operations. 



The drooping wings and a general air of dejection which distinguish this 

 little Flycatcher at rest, are promptly contradicted both by the energy of the 

 bird's utterance, and by the spirited sorties which are made after passing- 

 insects. Sometimes a whole host of midges is encountered and then the little 

 mandibles go snip, snip, snip, like barbers' shears in skillful hands. 



There is also an ecstatic flight cry, which occurs either as the result of 

 the excitement of rivalry or the chase, or as a tender passage in courtship, and 

 which almost lays claim to being considered song. During its delivery the 

 bird rises from its perch, flutters its wings rapidly and turns around slowly in 

 the air, while it utters an incoherent series of screaming gasps : Sewick, tooral, 

 sewick tooral, sewick, tooral-ooral. 



The Least Flycatcher is to be found almost anywhere during the spring 

 migrations, but orchards, second-growth clearings, and brushy hillsides are 

 favorite places. The up-trip is made in rather leisurely fashion, and the birds 

 sometimes linger long enough to encourage the idea that they are going to 

 nest. Mr. I. A. Field saw two of these birds at the Licking Reservoir on 

 May 30th. and Professor Johnson of Granville believes that a pair of them have 

 nested for several years past in front of his house. 



If the nest is discovered in the state, as it is altogether likely to be. it will 

 be found in an upright fork of some bush or sapling, a very neat structure built 

 somewhat after the manner of a Redstart's ; and the pure white eggs will make 

 identification easy and certain. 



The return journey takes place early in September or late in August. It 

 is, however, an open question whether birds seen August 24th, tqoj, in Meigs 

 County, were early migrants or summer residents. 



