122 PROCEEDINGS MANCHESTER INSTITUTE 



valleys of the upper part of the state but less common in the 

 southern quarters. It is confined almost exclusively to the al- 

 der swales along meadow brooks or about swamps and ponds. 

 Mr. Ned Dearborn ('98) has recorded it from Belknap and 

 Merrimack counties; Mr. R. Hoffmann tells me that it is rare 

 about Alstead ; and Mr. G. H. Thayer finds it inhabiting the al- 

 der swamps at Dublin ; I have found it rare at Bridgewater. In 

 the White Mountain valleys it is locally common, and follows 

 the alder growth up to about 1,500 feet. Farther north, it occurs 

 at Umbagog, and along the alder-bordered streams in the open 

 country. Mr. Bradford Torrey ( : oo, p. 634) notes it at Fraii- 

 conia on the 23d of May, and it was " abundant" by the 26th 

 of that month. On the Saco meadows at Intervale, I found a 

 freshly built nest on June 21, 1899. Four eggs were subsequent- 

 ly laid, one egg being deposited each day. In fourteen days the 

 eggs had hatched. This nest was only about a foot from 

 the ground and the date seems slightly late. The birds re- 

 main in the alder swamps until the last of August, and I have 

 not certainly identified them after that month. 

 Dates : May 23 to August 31. 



148. Empidonax minimus Baird. LEAST FLYCATCHER. 

 A common summer resident, usually found during the breed- 

 ing season in the vicinity of dwellings, and nesting in the or- 

 chard trees. It seems to follow civilization almost as closely as 

 the Alder Flycatcher does the alder swamps, and extends its 

 range up the valleys with the settlements, going as high at least 

 as 1,500 feet. It is evident that the general introduction of ap- 

 ple trees throughout the eastern states must have had an effect 

 on the habits of this species, as it is rarely found far from or- 

 chards, and show* everywhere a decided preference for the ap- 

 ple trees. After the young are off, the birds become more retir- 

 ing, and often withdraw into the edge of nearby woods, desert- 

 ing in part the vicinity of houses. 



Dates : May 4 to September 21. 



149. Otocoris alpestris (Linn.). HORNED LARK. 



A common spring and fall migrant and less common winter 

 resident along the coast, but uncommon, if not rare, inland. 



