220 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



season tbcir deportment is very similar to that of the 

 robins, and indeed the species is known in some localities 

 as the "wood robin," the robin of the wood. They are to 

 bo observed much of their time on the ground and among 

 the bushes and shrubbery, and it is probable that like the 

 robin, the}^ take a large share of their food from the 

 ground, perhaps taking all their insect food in this man- 

 ner. They do not ordinarily take long flights, but flit 

 from the ground to the lower branches of a tree, and 

 then to another tree, always keeping well away from the 

 observer, and soon disappearing behind the foliage of an 

 intervening bush, or in some sheltering tree. A favor- 

 able place to watch their movements is in some secluded 

 ravine through which wanders a little stream, from 

 which they can slake their thirst, and in which they 

 can perform their ablutions in the middle of the warm 

 summer afternoons. 



CKESTEl) FLYCATOHEK. 



In our rambles through the woodlands we shall cer- 

 tainly see and hear the crested flycatcher, for it is no less 

 noisy and loquacious than the jay, attracting attention 

 almost continually by its loud calls and restless move- 

 ments. Though one of the most abundant species of its 

 famil}^ and as likely to attract notice as the kingbird, the 

 crested flycatcher is perhaps the least known of its group. 

 Its pronounced preference for the wooded regions serves 

 to keep it away from the society of man, as a rule, and 

 hence its presence is overlooked in localities where it is 

 probably more abundant than the kingbird. However, 

 there are notable exceptions to its preference for the 

 woodlands, for frequently a pair will become attached to 

 some particular neighborhood in suburbs, and at irregular 

 intervals their loud, querulous notes can be heard through 

 the day until the first of July. Especially in the morning 

 is it noisy and demonstrative, flitting restlessly about 

 over the neighborhood, and calling loudly to its mate Irom 

 favorite high perches. 



Noisy and attractive as it is, even n^my who should 



