A FAIR-WEATHER BIRD 123 



the half -inch spruce branch under it, but on 

 a dense mass of dead twigs spreading in 

 close network in every direction, which hold 

 it at least an inch above the branch, making 

 a charming airy foundation for the struc- 

 ture. 



The books say the alder flycatcher stays 

 in the alders. In the first of the season the 

 one I watched did so, and I think the nest 

 was there, but later he sang most often from 

 the top of the firs. He was a fair-weather bird, 

 this individual, I mean, for he, no more 

 than others, is a facsimile of his tribe. This 

 individual flycatcher, then, never sang in 

 rain or high wind, nor even in an ocean fog. 

 Sometimes I would not hear or see him for 

 two days. 



The other flycatcher of the old grove 

 the olive-sided was more shy. He would 

 utter his " quick ! see-here ! " from the top 

 spire of the tallest " pointed fir " in the 

 group, an hour at a time, and care not how 

 many saw and heard him, but before he 

 indulged in his many lower, quaint, and con- 

 versational notes he must be sure no one 

 was in sight. I heard him from my sheltered 



