FLYCATCHERS. 249 



may be heard as long as one remains in his vicinity. During the mi- 

 gration this species is silent and its several distinctive notes are not 

 available for its identification, and the same thing may be said of our 

 other small Flycatchers. Great similarity in plumage exists between 

 them all, and without the bird in hand identifications are at best 

 questionable. 



The song is more suggestive of a sneeze on the bird's part than of 

 any other sound with which it may be compared. It is an abrupt 

 pse-ek', almost in one explosive syllable, harsh like the deeper tones 

 of a House Wren, and less musical than the similar but longer songs 

 of Traill's or the Acadian Flycatcher. It is hardly surprising that the 

 birds sing very little when we see with what a convulsive jerk of the 

 head the notes are produced, Its plaintive call is far more melodious 

 — a soft, mournful whistle consisting of two notes, the second higher 

 pitched and prolonged, with rising inflection, resembling in a measure 

 chu-e-e-p. J. D wight, Jr. 



/ 465. Empidonax virescens ( Vieill.)* Acadian Flycatcher. 



ylt/. —Upper parts between olive-green and dark olive-green; wings and tail 

 fuscous ; greater and lesser wing-coverts yellowish white, forming two con- 

 spicuous wing- bars ; under parts white, washed with pale yellowish and 

 sUgJdly tinged with greenish on the breast ; the throat, and frequently tlie 

 middle of the belly, pure white; upper mandible black, lower mandible whit- 

 ish or flesh-color; second to fourth primai-ies of about equal length, the first 

 and fifth shorter and also of equal length. Im. — Upper parts greener ; under 

 parts more tinged with yellow; wing- bars and outer edges of the tips of the 

 secondaries ochraceous-buft'. L., 5-75 ; W., 2-85 ; T., 2'35 ; B. from N., -36. 



Remarhs.—Uh'is species has the upper parts fully as olive-green as the 

 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but the under parts are never entirely yellow, and 

 the throat is always white. 



Range. — Eastern United States ; breeds from Florida to southern Connect- 

 icut and Manitoba ; winters in Central America. 



Washington, common S. E., May 5 to Sept. 15. Sing Sing, common S. K., 

 May 10 to Au^ 27. 



Nest^ shallow, of plant stems, grasses, and blossoms, generally on a fork 

 of a beech about eight feet up. -Eggs^ two to three, creamy white, with a few 

 cinnamon-brown spots about the larger end, '74 x -56. 



Look for the Acadian Flycatcher in woodlands watered by small 

 streams. It selects a low rather than a high perch, and is rarely seen 

 more than twenty feet from the ground. The frequently uttered calls 

 of this bird are characteristic and will enable you to identify it with 

 more ease in the field than in the study. The most common is a sin- 

 gle spee or peet, repeated at short intervals and accompanied by a 



* Equivalent to Empidonax acadlcus of authors ; see Brewster, Auk, xii, 

 April, 1895. 



