276 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



who was fat and in excellent condition, .in spite of the cold 

 season. The Great Crested Flycatchers for the most part fre- 

 quent woods, though sometimes seen in orchards or in small 

 groups of trees. They rarely enter the evergreens, but prefer 

 some collection of hard-wood trees, where there are clearings 

 and tracts of dead timber. In such a place they select their 

 summer-home, over which they assume a despotic right, and 

 from which they drive any other birds whom they may con- 

 sider as intruders. They usually remain at a greater height 

 than the King-birds, frequently perching near the tops of tall 

 trees. Moreover, they often fly more rapidly and freely than 

 those birds, though often with a striking similarity. They 

 catch insects in the same manner, and feed upon them during 

 spring and the early summer ; but, in autumn, unlike our other 

 flycatchers, they seem to be almost wholly dependent upon 

 various berries, among which may be mentioned huckleberries. 

 In the latter season, they may occasionally be seen in family 

 parties, but, in spring, I have never observed more than two 

 together. 



(d). In regard to their notes, my experience obliges me to 

 differ from other writers. Wilson and Audubon both speak of 

 their note as a loud, harsh, disagreeable squeak, and subse- 

 quent writers have repeated this statement. I have watched 

 the Great Crested Flycatchers many times at all seasons, ex- 

 cept in winter, for the express purpose of hearing this cr} r , but 

 I have never heard them utter any sound to which the above 

 description is applicable. On the contrary, I have at all times 

 heard them utter a single loud, brusque note (not unlike the 

 ordinary call of the Quail), which it is difficult to imitate well, 

 though one may do so by whistling and suddenly drawing in 

 the breath. These flycatchers have also a few low notes, which 

 are likewise whistled. I do not wish to deny the accuracy of 

 my predecessors, but merely to state that there is certainly 

 one sound familiar to me, which seems to have escaped their 

 attention, and that what they describe is very probably a 

 querulous cry. 



