380 AISTNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 193 



looks in the nest fluttering and callinq; excitedly and after he repeats this per- 

 formance she enters. 5.15 p. m. Both Legatus sit near nest preening. She 

 flies in and remains. He continues to call. Have not heard her call since she 

 began to nest. 



From this date until March 24, the life of the two flycatchers 

 centered about this nest which the female was seen to enter almost 

 daily. 



On the night of the 23d the twig to which nest No. 1 of group 2 

 was attached broke and the nest fell. It was found to have the 

 round hole in the side at the inner nest level that I associate with 

 nocturnal attack and, since there was not sufficient wind to account 

 for the fall of the nest, I attribute the mishap to the weight and 

 movements of the marauding visitor. There was nothing in the nest 

 when, early on the morning of the 24th, I picked it up beneath the 

 tree. 



This nest hung with, and almost touched. No. 2 occupied by 

 Legatus. The latter nest was also seen to be penetrated by a hole 

 similar to that in No. 1. My records for the day read in part; 



7.30-8 a. m. Lcgatuft. male, sits above nest calling as vigorously as in Jan- 

 uary. The female appears, and preens showing the abdominal parting. The 

 male flutters excitedly at the month of the nest but does not enter. He re- 

 turns to a calling perch and the female enters the nest. All perfectly regular 

 but where are the young? 



Later in the forenoon I wrote : 



Male and female Legatus perched near nest. Both call " tweet-tweet," etc. 

 This is the first time I had seen her call since she began incubating, . . . Fe- 

 male Legatus again near nest preening. She is off the nest more to-day than 

 at any previous time during incubation. Twice the male has attacked her 

 standing over her with fluttering wings while she with belly up hangs below 

 him. I saw no blow struck but the attitudes were those of offense and defense. 

 After a few seconds both flew off. 



At 11 a. m. the female entered the nest. i\Iarch 25 Legatus called 

 as usual. At 4 p. m. a male Zarhynchus alighted on their nest. 

 I^egatus attacked vigorously but for the first time under this threat 

 no female appeared. 



Legatus continued to call loudly and persistently on the 25th and 

 26th but no female was seen. On the 28th, however, one appeared. 

 My record reads: 



Legatus has not called in vain. A female of his species was present this 

 morning and the evidence indicates that she was not the bird that occupied and 

 v%-as apparently nesting in No. 2. He chases her and is, I think, trying to show 

 her one of the group of four nests in group 2. She seems to be in fresher, less 

 worn plumage than the supposedly missing female, and when preening, which 

 she does only occasionally, the feathers do not part widely in the center of 

 the abdomen. She perched for a moment on No. 2 but she did not enter. 



March 29, 30, 31, Legatus called with all the vigor of the early sea- 

 son but no female appeared. At this point my record for the season 

 ends. 



