YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. 265 



GENUS EMPIDONAX CABANIS. 



EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS BAIRD. 



i 



190. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. (463) 



Above, olive-green, clear continuous and uniform as in acadicus, or even 

 brighter ; below, not merely yellowish, as in the succeeding, but emphatically 

 yellow, bright and pure on the belly, shaded on the sides and anteriorly with 

 a paler tint of the color of the back ; eye-rings and wing-markings, yellow ; 

 under mandible, yellow ; feet, black. In respect of color, this species differs 

 materially from all the rest ; none of them, even in their autumnal yellowest, 

 quite match it. Size of traillii or rather less ; feet, proportioned as in 

 acadicus ; bill, nearly as in minimus, but rather larger ; first quill, usually equal 

 to sixth. 



HAB. Eastern North America to the Plains, and from Southern Labrador 

 south through Eastern Mexico to Panama, breeding from the Northern States 

 northward. 



Nest, in a mossy bank, composed mostly of moss, with a few twigs and 

 withered leaves, and lined with black wiry rootlets and dry grass. 



Eggs, four, creamy-white, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown and a 

 few black markings chiefly near the larger end. 



Several of the small Flycatchers resemble each other so closely 

 that it is often difficult for the general observer to identify them 

 correctly. The clear yellow of the under parts of the present species 

 serves to distinguish it from the others, but it is everywhere scarce 

 and little known except to collectors. 



Near Hamilton, I have noticed one or two every spring, and some- 

 times the same number in the fall. During the summer it has not 

 been observed. 



It is only within the past five years that correct information has 

 been obtained regarding the nest and eggs of this species, one of the 

 first and best descriptions being given by Mr. Purdie in the Nuttall 

 Bulletin for October, 1878. The nest in this case was placed among 

 the roots of an upturned tree. 



All the nests I have seen described have been found in Maine, 

 but the species will no doubt yet be found breeding in Ontario and 

 elsewhere in the interior. 



In the " Birds of Manitoba," Mr. Thompson has the following : 

 "Duck Mountain, June llth, 1884. Shot a Flycatcher, which was 

 uttering continually a note like ' chee blic' It was all over of a 

 greenish color, but yellow on the belly. It answers fairly well the 



