SVIAICOLIDJ: — THE WAUIM.KKS. 321 



];ir clinnt. A few pairs inav ocoasionallv l»e iouiitl in the same luM'^liboilnMul. 

 At otlii'i' tiniL's only a siiiL^K' jiair can 1»»' loiuul in ([uite a \\'u\v extent nf ter- 

 ritory (if similar cliaraeter. They bniM lluir nests, as well as I can Juili;e, 

 al>nnt the tirst of June, as the younu are lialclu'd out antl on the w'nv^ ahoiit 

 the last of that month, or tlie lirst of July. I have ne\er found a nest, but 

 I think they are built on the ^rouml. They are silent after tlu' first of July, 

 and are rarelv to be seen after tluit veriod." The soult of tliis bird is a verv 

 pleasing' one, though heard lait seldom, and only in a few localities in Mas- 

 sachusetts. 



Xear Washington Dr. Cones found the Canada Flycatcher only a spring 

 and autunmal visitant, at which si'asons they were abundant. They fre- 

 (piented liigli open woods, and kept mostly in the lower Itranches of the trees, 

 and also in the more open undergrowth of marshy jilaces. They arrive the 

 last week in A]>ril and remain about two weeks, arriving in fall the tirst 

 week in Si>ptend>er, and nunaining until the last «»f tiiat niontli. 



The hrst well-iilentitied nest of this liird that came to my knowli'dge was 

 obtained in Lynn, Mas.s., l»y Mr. (leorge O. Welch, in June, 1S.".(). It was 

 built in a tussock of grass, in swampy woods, concealed by the surrounding 

 rank vegetation, in the midst (»f which it was placed. It was constructed 

 entirely of i)ine-nee(lles and a lew fragments of decayed leaves, graj»evine 

 bark, tine stems, and rootlets. These were; so loosely interwoven that the 

 nest could not l)e removed without great care to keep its several ])ortions 

 together. Its diameter v»as three and a lialf inches, and it was very nearly 

 flat. Its greatest de})th, at tlie centre of its depression, was hardly half an 

 inch. It c(mtained four voumj;, and an unliatched eu:«>-. 



Anotlier nest found in June, 1 Slid, by tlu' same observing naturalist, was also 

 obtaineil in the neighborhood. This was l)uilt in a tussock of meadow-grass, 

 in the midst of a small boggy piece of swam]>, in which were a few scattered 

 trees and bushes. The ground was so marshy that it eouhl be crossed only 

 with ditlicultv, and bv stepi>ing from one tussock of reedv herbage to another. 

 In the centre of one of these bunches tlie nest was concealed. It measures 

 six inches in its larger tliameter, and has a height of two and a ([uarter 

 inches. The cavity of this nest is two and three ipiarters inches wide, 

 and one and three ([uarters deep. It is vt-ry strongly constructed of ]iine- 

 needles, interwoven with line stri]>s of b.ark.dry deciduous leaves, stems of dry 

 grasses, sedges, etc. The whole is tirndy and compactly interwoven with and 

 strengthened around the rim of the cavity by strong, wiry, and tilirous roots. 

 The nest is very carefully and elaborately lined with the black fibrous roots 

 of some plant. The eggs, wliich were live in nund)er, measure .72 of an inch 

 in length by ..">(> in bri'adth. Their ground-color is a clear and brilliant 

 white, and this is beautifully marked with dots and small blotches of blended 

 l)ro\\ii, purple, and violet, varying in shades and tints, and grouped iu a 

 wreath around the larger end. 



41 



