SUNGLEHH BIRDS OF <)I!('IIAIll> AND WOODLAND. 231 



it also picks up many whicli are stirring only very early in 

 the morning or at evening. The bird watches for cater- 

 pillars, and when it sees one stir, flies from its perch and 

 snaps up the luckless creature. This bird, in common with 

 other Flycatchers, picks up many caterpillars 

 that, to escape Warblers and other enemies, 

 si:)in down on their webs or drop from the ^. „^ , 



1 1 ^ Fig. 89. — ( aii- 



trees. The greatest service our little Fly- kerwomi, imt- 

 catcher renders to man consists of the destruc- 

 tion of such f)rcliard pests as boring beetles, bark beetles, 

 the fly of the railroad worm, codling moths, gipsy moths, 

 canker worms, and other caterpillars. 



Nuttall says that when the young are out of the nest they 

 move about in company with the old birds, eating whortle- 

 berries and cornel berries. 



Wood Pewee. 



Contopus rirens. 



Length. — Six to about six and one-half inches. 



Adult. — Tail notched ; bill black above, light below ; vipper parts dark brownish- 

 gray ; two whitish wing bars; under parts whitish, the sides washed with 

 dark gray, showing a light line down the centre of the breast. 



Nest. — Rather flat, and usually saddled on a nearly horizontal limb, from ten to 

 forty feet up, beautifully decorated externally with lichens. 



Eggs. — Creamy white ; handsomely marked, with a ring of dark spots around the 

 larger end. 



Season. — May to September. 



The AYood Pewee is, as its name implies, a bird of either 

 coniferous or deciduous woodland ; but it seems to prefer 

 the more open, deciduous woods, particularly the oaks, on 

 which its nest is often placed. It usually perches on dead 

 branches at some height from the ground, and flies out to 

 some distance, taking one or many insects at each sally. 



The note of this bird is one of the characteristic sounds of 

 the forest shades, and is heard throughout the day in those 

 cool retreats where the heat of the summer sun is softened 

 by the interposition of umbrageous foliage. Here, Avhere 

 sunshine and shadow fleck the leafy ground, the Pewee's call 

 sounds ever pensive, sweet, and clear. The bird is thought 

 by some to be of a sad disposition ; but the sadness of its 

 call, which harmonizes so well with its forest environment. 



