412 CONTOPUS VinENS. 



find a clear illustration of the use of the vocal muscles, they being imperfectl)^ developed 

 the bird is incapable of uttering- any thing approaching the songs of its better endowed 

 neighbors. Rarely, these biivls give a harsh cry not unlike sonic of the sounds produced 

 by the Oliv^e-sided Flycatchers. 



I have described the Wood Pcwees as inhalnting the deep woods and, althougli this- 

 is their frequent custom, they occasionally inhal)it orchards, but it is quite rare to find a. 

 nest on other than a forest tree. The neat doniicilo of this Flycatcher is one of the prettiest 

 among those of our native birds and its covering of lichens renders it quite inconspicuous 

 vfhen placed on a limb. The birds are usually wise enough to select a large branch where 

 the nest resembles one of the peculiar knobby excrescences so often seen on oaks. There 

 arc a few species of birds which use this peculiar kind of coveri»g for their structures. 

 Notably among these arc the Vireos, Gnatcatchers, the present species, and the Humming- 

 Birds, and it is obsen'able that all birds which make use of it seldom employ any other 

 material, even if they build in widely different sections. Thus the nests of the Wood 

 Pewees that I have examined which were taken in Georgia were not essentially different 

 from those taken in Maine. There is also a singular uniformity in the eggs of this species 

 which arc among the most beautiful of any I ever saw, occasionally one is found that is 

 not spotted as thickly as usual, but the form of the egg, the shade of ground color, with 

 the position of the markings are so peculiar and constant that the species is always recog- 

 nizable at sight. 



The Wood Pewees arrive late, about the first week in Ma,y, shortly after which they 

 begin to build but, as some time is required to construct their elaborate domiciles, the eggs 

 are not deposited until June. The birds guard their nests very carefully and in spite of 

 their usual gentle disposition, will not hesitate to dart into the face of any one who attempts 

 to scale the tree in which their home is placed. The young appear about the first of July 

 and lca,ve the nest the latter port of that nnnith. They follow theit parents for a, long 

 time an;l are fed by them, as their bills are quite soft and are long in assuming the liooked 

 form peculiar to the adults and which may be necessary in order to catch insects successfully. 

 At this time the young have a continuous twittering cry, quite unlike anything that their 

 pMrents ever utter, and they always keep well together, seldom scattering about woods. 

 They remain in Massachusetts until the middle of August, when they all disappear. I 

 found them m )re alnindant in Watsontown, Pennsylvania, the first week in September, 

 than I ever saw thorn in any other given section. Their call notes could be heard on all 

 sides for there were hundreds of them, but in a few days they hail all departed lor the 

 south. 



GENUS IV. SAYORNIS. THE PIKTIBES, 



Gen-. On. Bill, much slior/rr Ihnii /he In nit which in scrni-crcxtcel hul wi/hout the central comnal patch. Outer ijuilh. 

 not incised. Tail, xqunre and cmnriiinntc. Upper outline nf manuhrium, viewed from the .tide, ancjled nhii'iuely downicriril. 

 Hfi(jht of keel, aJmut equal to one half the lcn(jtk of the coracoids. Broncho-trachenlis , very sliijhtltj developed. Bronrlaa- 

 liS, quite larcje. 



Coloi-s above quite dark, usually relieved by lighter l)clow. The bill is Iilaf'k nn both mandiblos. Althoun'h there is au. 

 elongated patch of feathers on the upper rump, yet thay are not as thick as in the last genus, n.ir as white 



