4£fl EMPWONAX ACADICUS. • , 



EMPIDONAX ACADICUS. 



Acadian' Flycatcher. 



Empidonax Acadicus Bairh, Birds N. A.; 1858, 197. 



DESCRIPTION. 

 Plate X. Adult in spring with the nest and «;g?^. 



Sp. Cn. Form, rather robust. Size, large. Sternum, stout. Tongue, thin antl tlat hut not horny, bifid at tip huta 

 not provided with terminal cilia. Bill, broad. Stomach, somewhat muscular, walls -10 thick. Larynx, provided with a> 

 thick and strung sterno-traehcalis. Bronchialis, quite well developed, but there is only a small remnant of either division, 

 of the lironcho-trachealis. 



Color. Adult. Above, including upper tail coverts, olivaceous with a decidetUy greenish tinge predominating, dark- 

 est on the head, where the feathers show dusky centers. Wings and tail, hruwn, with the outer edges of the featheis of 

 the latter, greenish, and outer webs, lighter. Outer edges of primaries, also greenish. Tips, edges of the terminal two 

 thirds of the secondaries, outer edges and tips of the tertiaries, tips of two rows of wing coverts, forming bars, yellowish- 

 white, with the upper bar inclined to be of a deeper yellow, i'.cneath, white, with the sides, flanks, under wing and tail 

 coverts, greenish-yellow. There is a greenish-yellow ring around the eye but the lores are olivaceous. Bill, brown, yellow 

 on lower mandilile. Feet, Iirown. 



Younc) of the year in autumn. Somewhat darker above than in the adult stage, but the greenish markings below are 

 more restricted and the yellow of the wings is darker or replaced by yellowish-rufous. 



N'X/lini/s. Very light beneath, showing but little of the greensh markings. More olivaceous above than in the pre- 

 ceding stage and having indistinct transverse bars of dusky. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Specimens of the same ago and season do not vary much; the wing bars are occasionally darker than the type but oth- 

 erwise the jilumage is similar. The bills are aLso singularly uniform in size and color for Flycatchers. Known from other 

 members of the genus by the larger size, broader bill, decidedly greener color above, and lighter tints beneath, hut more 

 particularly by the proportionately shorter fourth primary which causes quite a gap in the otherwise regular graduation of 

 the ends of the quills when seen I'roni above. Distributed in summer throughout Eastern United States south of latitude 

 42", exclusive of New England and Florida. Winters in the West Indies. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of eleven specimens from Pennsylvania. Length, 5'75; stretch, 8'!)5; wing, 3'00; tail, 9-25; 

 bill, -50; tarsus, -.W. Longest specimen, 5-90; greatest extent of wing, !)-nO; longest wing, 3-10; tail, 2-'10; bill, -55; tarsus, 

 ■CO. Shortest sj-iccimen, .5-00; smallest extent of wing, 8-90; shortest wing, 2-80; tail, 2-13; hill, -45; tarsus, •50. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed in trees and buslies, composed of sticks, moss, and dried blossoms of beach trees, lined with moss. Di- 

 mensions, exteiTial diameter, 3-00, internal, 2'00. External depth, I'.50, internal, '75. 



F.(jijs, three to Ran- in numlicr, o\al in form, creamy-white in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with reddish- 

 brown. Dimensions from '75 x '50 to '78 x '55. 



HABITS. 



In the spring of 1R72, I went to Williiimsport, Pennsylvania, in order to study the 

 hahits of some 1)irds that I hail never liefore had the opportunity of seeing alive and thnaigli 

 the kindness of my friend, Mr. August Koch, whose hospitality I enjoyed for several weeks, 

 I soon beciimc familiar with the best collecting grounds in the vicinity, for Mr. Koch proved 

 a most excellent guide as he had always lived in the phice and had scoured the country 

 diligently every season from childhood in search of its avian treasures. Therefore his 

 assistance proved invtilunblc to me as Avithout it I should have been long in disco v'ering 

 some of the most delightful spots that I ever beheld. 



The country about Williamsport is very conducive to bird life as it presents features 

 which prove quite attrtictive to nearly all species. The Susquehanna River flows through 



