196 



THE OOLOGIST 



A Belated Nest of the Olive sided 

 Flycatcher. 



The Olive Sided Flycatcher arrives 

 in Nova Scotia about the 22nd of May 

 and by the first week in June the 

 birds are usually paired and nesting 

 operations underway. Full sets of 

 fresh eggs of the first laying may be 

 taken from the tenth to the twenty- 

 first of June. 



These birds are rather local in 

 their distribution and like Hawks, 

 Owls, loons, etc. each pair seems to 

 have its own special preserve or do- 

 main, into the confines of which, 

 others of the same species are not 

 permitted to intrude. 



On the 4th of June, while passing 

 a suitable nesting grove of spruce 

 trees, about a mile from Wolfville, 

 my attention was called to the loud, 

 clearly accented notes of the 'Olive 

 Sided" so aptly translated by Chap- 

 man into the phrase "come right 

 here." Crossing a field and a brook 

 I was soon beneath the tall dead tree, 

 the topmost twigs of which seemed 

 to suit him admirably for a perch. 



I knew I was too early for eggs, 

 but I confidently expected to find the 

 nest either ready for eggs, or in a 

 state of semi-completion. Having dis- 

 covered upwards of fifty nests of this 

 species, during the years of my field 

 work, I knew probably well how to 

 begin what to expect from the birds. 



As I approached the tree the "come 

 right here," call changed to the well 

 known note of alarm — "tip-tip-tip" — 

 "tip-tip-tip" which always sounds to 

 me like "go-a-away — go-a-away" (a 

 translation which seems quite fitting). 

 1 looked about in vain for the female. 

 The scolding of the male was kept 

 up for about ten minutes, while I 

 was moving from tree to tree hoping 

 to see the nest. Suddenly the calling 

 ceased and the bird flew off and 

 alighted on a dead tree some two hun- 



dred yards away, ignoring my intru- 

 sion completely. Now experience 

 had taught me that this was 

 not the normal behavior for nest- 

 ing "Olive Sides," so 1 decided to 

 waste no time looking for the nest 

 and I went away somewhat puzzled. 



Four days later I returned and 

 there he was perched on the self 

 same prong of that dead tree, and as 

 I drew near he plainly showed his 

 objections by repeated scoldings and 

 altogether nervous manner. Still no 

 female in sight. I thought that by 

 this time she might possibly be sit- 

 ting on the eggs and as some of the 

 branches were thick and most of the 

 trees quite tall, I resorted to an oft- 

 tried trick of tossing a stick or stone 

 into the boughs to frighten her from 

 the eggs, thus revealing the location 

 of the nest. This proved unsuccess- 

 ful here and was soon given up as 

 the lone bird had by this time flown 

 to another part of the grove and only 

 occasionally gave a half hearted note 

 of alarm. As I was about to leave, 

 more puzzled than ever, I noticed on 

 a fiat limb of one of the smaller 

 trees, a spot which seemed to show 

 up as a dark patch against the sky. 

 I climbed up and found what ap- 

 peared to be a new nest ready for 

 the lining. By this time the male 

 had returned and by his actions, 

 seemed to take more than a passing 

 interest in what was going on. I was 

 satisfied now that I had found the 

 nest and that I had just happened 

 along when Mrs. Flycatcher was 

 away from home. 



Early in the morning, June 15th, 

 1 went back. At first no bird was in 

 evidence, but before 1 got to the first 

 trees the male again appeared on his 

 favorite perch and began telling me 

 to "go-a-away," but not as though he 

 cared very much and by the time I 

 got to the tree which contained the 



