324 THE KING-BIRD. 



season, are scarcely distinguishable in plumage from the 

 male. 



The Warbling Flycatcher is a sweet little warbler. In its 

 general appearance it resembles the Red-eyed Flycatcher j 

 but on a close comparison differs from that bird in many 

 particulars. It arrives about the middle of April, and inhabits 

 the thick foliage of orchards and high trees ; its voice is soft, 

 tender and soothing, and its notes flow in an easy continued 

 strain that is extremely pleasing. It is often heard among 

 the weeping willows and Lombardy poplars ; is rarely ob- 

 served in the woods j but seems particularly attached to the 

 society of man. It gleans among the leaves, occasionally 

 darting after winged insects, and searching for caterpillars ; 

 and seems by its manners to partake considerably of the na- 

 ture of the genus Sylvia. It is late in departing, and I have 

 frequently heard its notes among the fading leaves of the 

 poplar in October. 



This little bird may be distinguished from all the rest of 

 our songsters by the soft tender easy flow of its notes, while 

 hid among the foliage. In these there is nothing harsh, 

 sudden or emphatical; they glide along in a kind of mean- 

 dering strain that is peculiarly its own. In May and June it 

 may be generally heard in the orchards, the borders of the 

 city, and around the farm house. 



