232 



USEFUL BIRDS. 



is deeeptiv^e, for the Pewee is evidently happy, and delights 

 in its plaintive tones. Its common call is iiee'-a-u'ee' , fol- 

 lowed frequently by pe'e'-er' , uttered in a drawling manner, 



and with considerable intervals 



between the phrases. Bendire 



says that the male has a low, 



twittering warble in the mating: 



season. The bird also fwitft and 



twitters from time to time. 



The nest merits more than the usual 



brief description. It is usually saddled 



on a dead liml>, the outside adorned, 



like that of the Hummingbird's nest, 



\\ ith criistaceous lichens, so that when 



seen from below it looks like a knot on 



the branch. It is largely made of fine 



grasses and fil)ers, and often lined with 



them. As the nest is not deep, and 



Fig. 90. -Wood Pewee, rcsts ou the top of the branch, the 



one-half natural size. bottom is usually SO thin that it would 



fall out were it not supported by the bark. 



The food of the Pewee consists very largely of flying 

 insects, but it often flutters about the 

 foliage, picking off^ caterpillars and plant 

 lice. Daily in the early morning and 

 in the dusk of evening, even in the un- 

 certain gloom of the deep woods, this 

 bird pursues its prey unerringly. Fly- 

 ing beetles and ants, butterflies and 



moths, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, — all are 

 taken. The Pewee is useful in the de- 

 struction of small nu)ths and their larvjv. 

 The male canker worm moths, tussock 

 moths, Tortricid moths, and gipsy moths 

 are commonly eaten, while the young birds 

 are fed largely at times on cankerworms. 

 This bird takes some parasitic flies, and 

 Bendire records an instance where it pil- 

 fered }'oung trout from a hatchery. 



Fig. 91. — Tortricid or 

 li-al'-rolliug motli, natu- 

 ral size. 



Fig. 92. — Tussock 

 or vaporer motli, 

 natural size. 



