NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



tween the eggs of irailli and those of acadicus. The western eggs of 

 trailli probably have a darker ground, and the spots are more vivid, but I 

 do not believe anyone can tell them apart with certainty. Breeds from 

 New England and Canada to Dakota and Missouri; migrating through all 



the Eastern United States. Hab. Eastern North America to the Plains. 



326. Least Flycatcher — empidonax minimus. Pure white, normally 

 unspotted; usually four, sometimes only three, occasionally five; size .65 

 by. 50. The Least Flycatcher breeds abundantly in New England; is 

 very common along the Red River of the North, breeding at 49°. Nests 

 in a sapling or shrub ten or twelve feet from the ground, sometimes only 

 six or eight, again thirty or forty feet. It is placed in an upright crotch, 

 and is small, neat, compact and deeply-cupped, made of fine deciduous 

 bark, hempen fibres of plants and lined with horse-hair, plant-down and 

 fine grasses. 



Hab. Eastern North America to the Plains; ranges through Eastern United States in migrations. 



327. Hammond's Flycatcher — empidonax hammondi. White; nor- 

 mally unspotted ; four is the usual complement. Nesting the same as 

 minimus. Hammond's, or the Dirty Little Flycatcher, as it is called, is 

 the western representative of the Least Flycatcher, ininivuis, from the 

 Plains to the Pacific of United States, and British America. 



328. Wright's Flycatcher — empidonax obscurus. White, unspot- 

 ted; three or four; size .75 by .58. The nest is built the same as that of 

 the Least Flycatcher in the crotch of a sapling, made of fibres of plants, 

 shreds of bark, and lined with vegetable down and animal's hair. The 

 bird is found in woodland, groves and thickets. 



Hab. Rocky and other mountains of the West north to -19°. 



330. Vermilion Flycatcher — pvrocephalus rubineus mexicanus. 

 Rich creamy-white, with a ring of large brown and lilac blotches at the 

 larger end; three is the usual number of eggs in a complement. Four- 

 teen eggs have an average size of .73 by . 54. A very pretty little bird com- 

 mon in Arizona, and is found in the valleys of the Rio Grande and Colo- 

 rada southward. The nests are placed or saddled on horizontal forks of 

 ratana-trees, often in mesquites, not more than six feet from the ground, 

 composed of small twigs and soft materials felted together and the rims 

 covered with lichens. A few horse or cow-hairs comprise the lining. 



335. Ruby-throated Hummingbird — trochilus colubris. Pure 

 white; two in number, and the average size is .50 by .35. The eggs of 

 the whole family of Humming Birds, as far as known, are white, unspot- 

 ted ; in shape, rather elliptical than oval, and always two in number. The 



