30 TYRANNIDiE : FLYCATCHERS. 



delayed, the average time being not before the middle of 

 June. The nest is very pretty — a flat, compact, circular 

 structure, with thick walls and well-turned brim, but very 

 thin flooring, closely saddled on a horizontal bough, or 

 set in a forked twig. It is neatly finished on the outside 

 with lichens, like that of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or 

 Humming-bird, so as to be effectually concealed from 

 casual search by its resemblance to a natural excrescence 

 of the limb. The principal materials are fine grasses, 

 slender bark-strips and rootlets, circularly disposed, and 

 often fastened with silky or cottony threads. The pre- 

 cise structure of its nest will vary, of course, according 

 to the site selected : the saddled nests being scarcely 

 more than walls of which the bough itself furnishes the 

 basement ; while nests in forks are furnished with more 

 substantial flooring. The elevation above the ground is 

 another variable elemicnt, being sometimes only ten or 

 twelve feet, while in other (and more usual) cases the 

 birds build high up in tall trees. Under any circum- 

 stances, however; the nest may be recognized by its 

 shallowness, with its thick, compact, lichen-stuccoed 

 walls, and its spotted, creamy eggs. The eggs, to the 

 usual number of four or three, measuring about 0.70X 

 0.55, are creamy white, blotched with the usual shades 

 of reddish and darker and more lilaceous brown, the 

 markings being often wreathed about the larger end. 

 Notwithstanding the procrastination of the bird in build- 

 ing, more than one brood may be reared under favorable 

 circumstances. 



