Nests Saddled on Branches 



Breeding Range From Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and 

 Massachusetts northward. 



The nest is of twigs, thin strips of bark, weed stalk, and 

 lined with grass and moss. It is rather shallow, and is placed 

 usually on a branch of an evergreen tree at some distance from 

 the trunk, at a considerable height from the ground. The eggs, 

 numbering from 3 to 4, and rarely 5, are creamy white, spotted, 

 chiefly at the larger end, with reddish brown and dull lilac. 

 Size .82 x .62. 



The breeding season commences late in May or early in June, 

 according to locality. 



461. Wood Pewee: Contopus virens (Linn.) 



Adult Upper parts dark olive brown, more or less tinged with 

 dull green ; wings dull brown with two white bars ; under 

 parts pale gray, slightly tinged with yellow. Length 6.50. 



Breeding Range Throughout the Eastern States. 



The nest is a compact structure, with a thin floor and fairly 

 thick low sides. It is composed of fine grass, moss, and strips 

 of bark, with a coating of lichen fastened on the outside with fine 

 webs, and is saddled on a branch or sometimes placed in a fork 

 at from ten to fifty feet from the ground. Usually a large tree is 

 chosen, and the nest is often placed near the extremity of a 

 branch. 3 to 4 eggs are laid ; they are white or pale buff, with 

 spots of various shades of brown and lilac forming a wreath 

 about the larger end. Size .70 x .54. See Fig. i, Plate D. 



These little flycatchers, who hide their nests so carefully on 

 the branch of a tree, are found chiefly in the woods. Their pe- 

 culiarly plaintive note sounds as though they were always 

 brooding over some great sorrow, and yet there is no reason for 

 supposing them less happy than others of the feathered tribes. 

 Next to the phoebe, they are probably the tamest of the fly- 

 catchers. I have known one to build her nest within three feet 

 of a window near which people frequently sat during many 

 hours of the day, but she never seemed to object to the close 

 scrutiny to which she was frequently subjected. 



The breeding season begins from the latter part of May to 

 the middle of June, according to locality. 



i73 



