230 



USEFUL BIRDS. 



quick, emphatic note. At intervals it flits out after its fly- 

 ing victims, and, returning again to its perch on some old 

 apple tree, awaits, with quivering wings, another opportunity. 

 It prefers open woods and orchards, or shade trees growing 

 on dry land, rather than dense forests or swamps. It is 

 rather pugnacious, and, though it rarely molests other small 

 birds unless they encroach on its domain, it is very brave 

 in defence of its nest and young. The following, from Mr. 

 Mosher's notes, shows how it will defend its rights : — 



May 15, 1899.^ A pair of Least Flycatchers had just beyun their 

 nest in an apple tree l)y placing some bunches of cottony material and 

 a few strings and straws. A female Oriole, happening along, ajjpro- 

 priated tlie string for her own use, and carried it away. Tlie Fly- 

 catchers came soon after, and were very much disturbed on finding the 

 nest materials scattered, and had quite a talk over it. In a few moments 

 the Oriole came back for more string, when both Flycatchers flew at her 

 and snapped their bills savagely in her face. The Oriole did not seem 

 to mind them much, and kept on going toward the nest. When the 

 Flycatchers found they could not scare her in this way, they both attacked 

 her fiercely, and pulled out quite a number of feathers, keeping up a 

 steady scold. The Oriole attempted to retaliate, but when she attacked 

 one of tlie Flycatchers the other struck her from the other side, and 

 several times she was knocked comi)letely off the branch. Finally she 

 beat a precipitate retreat, one of the Flycatchers chasing her out of 

 siffht- 



The call note of the Chebec is a ivit, and the bird has a 

 more subdued note, a pen, or when, often several times re- 

 peated. In the mating season the male st)metimes utters a 



series of twittering notes Avhile 

 hovering over the tree in which 

 his mate is sitting. 



Like all Flycatchers, this spe- 

 cies catches flies, among them 

 the common house fly, and also 

 some useful parasitic flies. It 

 is by no means confined to 

 such food, hoAvever, but is par- 

 ticularly destructive to small beetles in flight, and in this 

 respect it is most useful. It captures many moths, i)artic- 

 ularly those species that fly by day, as the gipsy moth ; but 



Fig. 88. — Gipsy moth, male, natural 

 size. Often caught by the Least 

 Flycatcher. 



