332 THE LEAST FLYCATCHER. 



around. Altho nests of this species have been frequently found of late, com- 

 paratively little systematic work has been done upon its life history. The bird 

 reaches Ohio about the second week in May (Columbus, May 5th, is an early 

 record, possibly of E. t. alnorum), raises one brood and disappears early in 

 September. Authorities differ, as usual, in the interpretation of the notes: 

 "Whit-te-ar", and later in the season "Hoyt-te-ar" were what Dr. Wheaton 

 heard. An energetic swee-chee or swee-chu suits most. An early migrant at 

 Columbus once startled me with a most emphatic enunciation, Zwee-bew and 

 once again swee-bezv, sweet. This bird was evidently not E. hammondi, but 

 he had acquired the precise accent of the western species. 



No. 144. 



LEAST FLYCATCHER. 



A. O. U. No. 467. Empidonax minimus Baird. 



Synonym. CHEBEC. 



Description. Adult: Above, olive, olive-green, or rarely, olive-brown; a 

 little darker on the head ; wings and tail fuscous ; tip of wing formed by third 

 and fourth primaries ; second equal to the fifth ; first shorter than the sixth ; wing- 

 bars ashy white or brownish gray; pattern of secondaries about as in viresccns, 

 but edging ashy white instead of yellowish ; below, dull white, shaded on sides 

 by brownish gray, and behind faintly with sulphur yellow ; eye-ring whitish ; 

 bill dark above, horn-color below, not so light as in the other species. Imma- 

 ture: Similar, but rather more yellow below. Length 5.00-5.50 (I27.-I39-7) ; 

 wing 2.46 (62.5); tail 2.03 (51.6); bill from nostril .31 (7.9); width at base 

 .29 (7.4). 



Recognition Marks. Least, Warbler size; chebec or seivick note, smartly 

 rendered. Size and note distinctive. 



Nest, a neat structure of interwoven grasses, bark-strips, and felted vege- 

 table-down, lined with hair, or occasionally, feathers ; placed in upright or hori- 

 zontal fork of sapling five to fifteen feet up. Eggs, 3-5, white, unmarked, or 

 rarely, speckled. Av. size, .63 x .50 (16. x 12.7). 



General Range. Chiefly eastern North America, west to eastern Colorado 

 and central Montana; south in winter to Central America. Breeds from the 

 northern States northward. 



Range in Ohio. Common spring and late summer migrant. Locally and 

 sparingly resident in summer. 



IN comparison with other Empidonaces a good many superlatives are 

 applicable to this bird in addition to that of least. In the first place he is the 

 earliest of the spring migrants, reaching central Ohio some time during the 

 last week of April or even earlier. Then he is the most prominent, for he 



