324 NoliTH AMKIIICAX lilRDS. 



(if tlie yoar, and it was especially seen al>out houses. For about a week, at 

 the end of April, isr»7, they were extremely numerous. On their return irom 

 their summer (piartcrs, tliey were first ohscrved Sejjtember G. ^Ir. Taylor 

 also nu'ntions tliem as eommon in Trinidad. Mr. JJidiiway found it a e<im- 

 mon species anionic the willow thickets of the river valleys, west as far as 

 tile (Jreat Salt Lake. 



This sj)ecies, in its s]>ring and autumnal miijirations, is almudant in Louisi- 

 ana and Texas, as well as in the (Julf States. Wilson speaks of meetin«; 

 with it in the then " ^lississipiu Territory." Audubon gives it as abundant 

 in Louisiana, and Xuttall as found throughout Louisiana and Arkansas into 

 ^Mexico. ^Ir. Dresser also mentions it as very common near Sau Antonio in 

 the s})rng and autunm, arriving on the Medina the 27th of A})riL 



Dr. I'oues says that the Kedstart near AVashington is chietly ;i spring and 

 autumnal visitant, and ])ut very few remain to breed. In tlie sining it is 

 very abundant from April 25 to May 20, and in the fall from the 1st to the 

 20th of Sei>tend)er, in all woody and swampy situations. He found it in 

 the habit of running along slender twigs, sideways, and having a note very 

 similar to that of D. cvbtica. 



Although placed among the (>^r///r.s-, where, as an excellent singer, it clearly 

 has a good right to be classed, it is yet als(» a true Flycatclier in habits and 

 manners. It is a lively, active bird, ever on the wing, and continually in 

 pursuit of insects. In this ]»ursuit it never awaits the ai)proacli of its }»rey, 

 but, espying them at a distance, darts with great veL)city in pursuit, and the 

 continued clicks of its bill attest the ra}>idity and frci^uency with which it 

 will overtake and catch insect after insect. Even when lamentimr the loss 

 of a part of its brood, and living around with cries of distress, the sight of 

 passing insects is Ji temptation not to be resisted, and the parent bird will 

 stop her lamentations to catch small flies. 



Its notes are a varied twitter, rather tlian a song, a repetition of two simple 

 notes, uttered every few seconds as it seeks its prey, flying among the thick 

 foliage usually in dense uroves. Its common habit is to <^lide alon^ a branch, 

 between its smaller twigs^ at times darting forth into more 0})en s[»aces in 

 quest of insects it has espied. 



Their nests are usually, though not always, built in a low branch, eight or 

 ten feet from the ground, in the midst of a thick grove. I have known it 

 to build in an ()i)en field and in ch)se ])roxiniity to a dwelling. It keeps to 

 groves and thickets, and freipients moist places rather than dry, evidently 

 because of the greater abundance of insects, and not because of timid or 

 retiring habits. It is indeed far from being timid, and will permit a near 

 a})proach without any exhibitions of uneasiness. When its nest is visited, 

 the male bird manifests «7rtat disturbance, and flies l)ack and forth around the 

 head of the intruder with cries of distress. The female is far less demon- 

 strative, and even M'hen her nest is despoiled before her eyes is (j^uite moder- 

 ate in the expression of her grief. 



