en "THE WESTERN WOOD PEWEE. 
THE prey of gentle melancholy and the heir to gloom is this Pewee of 
the West. The day, indeed, is garish. The leaves of the fragrant cotton- 
woods glance and shimmer under the ardent sun; while the wavelets of the 
lake, tired of their morning romp, are sighing sleepily in the root-laced cham- 
bers of the overhanging shore. The vision of the distant hills is blurred by 
heat pulsations; the song of birds 
has ceased and the very caddis- 
flies are taking refuge from the 
glare. The sun is dominant and 
all Nature yields drowsy allegi- 
ance to his sway. All but Pewee. 
He avoids the sun, indeed, but 
from a sheltered perch he lifts a 
voice of protest, “Dear Me!” 
it seems uncealled-for. The 
bird does not appear to be un- 
happy. Flyecatching is good, and 
the Pewee cocks his head quite 
cheerfully as he returns to his 
perch after a successful foray. 
But, true to some hidden impulse, 
as you gaze upon him, he swells 
with approaching effort, his man- 
dibles part, and he utters that 
doleful, appointed sound, dear 
me. His utterance has all the 
precision and finality of an as- 
signed part in an orchestra. It is 
as if we were watching a single 
player in a symphony of Nature 
whose other strains were too sub- 
tle for our ears. The player 
WESTERN WOOD PEWEE. seems inattentive to the music, he 
eyes the ceiling languidly, he notes 
a flashing diamond in the second box, he picks a flawed string absently, but at 
a moment he seizes the bow, gives the cello a vicious double scrape, dear me, 
and his task is done for that time. 
; Dy ooKé 
The Western Wood Pewee is a late migrant, reaching the middle of the 
State about the 15th of May, and the northern border from five to ten days 
later. It is found wherever there is timber, but is partial to half-open situa- 
tions, and is much more in evidence East than West. It is especially fond 
of pine groves and rough brushy hillsides near water. Cannon Hill, in 
