THE ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. 327 
Into the frail saucer three eggs are commonly put. They are of a rich 
creamy or buffy hue, flesh-tinted as well, when fresh, and boldly but sparingly 
spotted about the larger end with light brown or umber ;—never “white,” and 
seldom unmarked. Many eggs must be lost each season, for any considerable 
wind would upset them. In fear and trembling I once hooked down a nest at 
the end of a horizontal oak branch full twenty feet high. The single youngster 
which it contained appeared, however, to enjoy the ride immensely. If there 
had been eggs, they could have been counted from below, as in most cases. 
The Acadian Flycatcher lays its first eggs before the end of May, and 
is ready for a second family early in July. It is believed that some thrifty 
birds raise three broods in a season, but this must be rare. 
Considerable fault has been found with the name Acadian. It is a mis- 
nomer in so far as it is under- 
stood to refer to a certain local- 
ity in Nova Scotia. The 
“Green-c rested Fly- 
catcher” of the A. O. U. 
committee is worse yet. 
It is a revival of the 
“Small Green-crested 
Flycatcher” of Audu- 
bon and others, but it is 
inapt. It reminds one 
strongly of Cuvier and 
the French Academy. 
Cuvier once asked the 
French savants to define 
a crab. “A crab”, said 
these wiseacres, 1S a 
small, red fish which 
crawls backward 
CONT é Ea AY a 3 
\ ery good, mente Photo by J. B. Parker. 
men,’ replied Cuvier, CLEANING THE NEST. 
“very good ; only a THE PARENT BIRDS ATTEND TO THIS NECESSARY DUTY AT THE 
O * (~ D 2 CLOSE OF EACH VISIT TO THE NEST. 
crab is not a fish; it is 
not red; and it does not crawl backward.” If the discontent with “Acadian” 
cannot be subdued, I would propose a revival of the term Sy/van, once em- 
ployed for several Flycatchers indiscriminately but now fallen into disuse. 
Sylvan Flycatcher would accurately and appropriately distinguish Empi- 
donax virescens in Ohio. 
