436 LAND BIRDS 
days, and the young remain in the nest two weeks 
longer, and in the same tree nearly a week after leaving — 
the nursery. They are faithfully fed by both parents 
and taught to seize their food in the air, as do all fly- 
catchers; and before the time comes when they must 
forage for themselves, they have learned the lessons 
necessary for their safety in the great forest. 
464. WESTERN FLYCATCHER. — Empidonax difficilis. 
Famity: The Flycatchers. 
Length : 5.50-6.00. 
Adults; Upper part grayish olive (more brownish in winter) ; wing-bars 
buffy ; under parts yellowish, becoming bright sulphur-yellow on 
belly and under tail-coverts, and shaded with grayish brown across 
the breast. 
Young: Similar, but upper parts browner, with wing-bars rusty buff, the 
sulphur-yellow of belly replaced by dull white. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States, north to Alaska ; 
south in winter to Mexico ; east to the east slope of the Rockies ; west 
to the Pacific. 
California Breeding Range: In Transition and upper Sonoran zones 
throughout the State. 
Breeding Season: May 1 to July 15. 
Nest: In trees, under banks, in natural cavities, or about buildings, usu- 
ally near water; made of rootlets, leaves, and moss ; lined with moss 
and feathers. 
Eggs: 3 or 4; white, marked with brown and pale salmon. Size 0.69 
< 051. 
THE breeding range of the Western Yellow-bellied 
Flycatcher — known also as the Baird Flycatcher, or 
simply Western Flycatcher — extends through a wide 
latitude, from Alaska to Lower California. Eastward, 
it is found through the interior and southwest to the 
Rockies, but it is most common west of the Sierra 
