250 FLYCATCHERS. 



rapid twitching of the tail. A more peculiar note is a louder pee-e- 

 yuk. The bird seems to articulate this note with dilRculty, with bill 

 pointed upward and wings trembling like a fledgling begging for food. 

 Sometimes you may hear only the first call, sometimes only the 

 second, while on other occasions the two may be uttered alternately. 

 A rarer note may be heard when the bird makes a short, fluttering 

 flight. It resembles the soft murmuring of whistling wings. 



466a. Empidonax traillii (^M(/.). Traill's Flycatcher. Ad. — 

 Upper parts between olive-green and olive or oiive-browii ; wings and tail 

 fuscous; greater and lesser wing-coverts tipped with brownish ashy; under 

 parts v/hitish, washed with dusky grayish on the breast and sides and pale 

 yellowish on the belly ; throat pure white ; upper mandible black, lower 

 mandible whitish or flesh-color. Im. — Similar, but wing-bars ochraceous- 

 butf and under parts slightly yellower. L., 6-09 ; W., 2-87 ; T., 2-33 ; B. from 

 N., -35. 



Remarlcs. — This is the hroivnest of our small Flycatchers. The upper 

 parts liave an evident tinge of brown or olive-brown, a color entirely want- 

 ing in the Acadian and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. In this respect it resem- 

 bles the much smaller Least Flycatcher. 



Range. — North America; breeds from Arizona, Missouri, southern Illinois, 

 northern New England, and casually Connecticut, north to New Brunswick 

 and Alaska ; winters in Central America. 



Washington, irregularly common T. V., May 10 to May 28; Aug. 15 to 

 Sept. 25. Sing Sing, rare T. V., May 19 to May 31 ; Aug. 29. Cambridge, 

 rare T. V., May 25 to May 31 ; Aug. 



Nest.^ of coarse grasses, plant down, and plant fibers, lined with fine grasses, 

 in the crotch of a small bush or sapling near the ground. Eggs.^ three to 

 four, creamy white, witli cinnamon-brown markings about the larger end, 

 •73 X -54. 



While the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is distinctively a bird cf the 

 deep woods, this more abundant Flycatcher in its summer home re- 

 sorts to the alder patches of the open country and is seldom found far 

 from their protecting shade. It flits restlessly about, keeping well out 

 of sight below the waving tops of the bushes, and its presence is be- 

 trayed only by a single pep of alarm that in no way resembles the 

 mournful wail of the species just mentioned. It, too. is silent when 

 migrating, and on its breeding grounds sings but little, so that if it 

 did not take pains to call out to every one who passes it would not be 

 noticed among the rustling alders. The song most resembles that of 

 the Acadian Flycatcher, an ee-zee' -e-up, with stress on the rasping 

 zee, the latter part more musical. The performer jerks out the notes 

 rapidly, doubling himself up and fairly vibrating with the explosive 

 effort. J. DwiGHT, Je. 



Note.— In The Auk for April, 1895, Mr. William Brewster shows that the spe- 

 cific name pusiUus (Swains.), hitherto applied to the western form of this Fly- 



