TYRAXXID.E — THE FLYCATCHERS. ;J61 



A larije series shows considerable variaticnis ; .autumnal specimens have a 

 more appreciable tinge of yellow on the lower parts, .viiile summer individ- 

 uals are more grayish. 



Habits. This sj>ecies was first obtained l)y Richardson in tlie Arctic 

 regions, and described by Swainson. It was found in the neigh borhcjod of 

 tlie C'umberland House, where it fre(iuented moist shady woods l>y the 

 banks of rivers and lakes. It was supjMjsed likely to travel in summer as 

 liir as the shores of tht Great Slave Like. 



Since its discovery by Itichardson, this Flycatcher has been found to have 

 a widely extended geograpliical range, as I'ar to the south as Guatemala, and 

 even Panama, and northward as far as the GUtli parallel of latitude, and from 

 the great plains to the Pacific. 



During the survey of the ^Mexican Boundary, specimens of this bird were 

 obtained by Mr. J. H. Clark in El I'aso, Texas, and in the month of May by 

 Lieutenant Couch in Monterey, Mexico. 



Mr. Dresser found that this bird was very common near Matamoras dur- 

 ing the summer, and that they were breeding there. He also shot one speci- 

 men near San Antonio in May. Its stomach contained small insects. Dr. 

 Coues thinks this Flycatcher an exceedingly abundant summer resident in the 

 Territory of Arizona. It arrives there in spring about the first of May, the 

 latest of the Flycatchers, ami is deemed l)y the Doctor a counterpart of the 

 eastern Contopus rirru.'i. It de])arts from that Territory a])out the third week 

 in September. It is found in all situations, but most especially in open forests. 



Tliis species arrives in California, according to Dr. ('ooper, at least a fort- 

 night earlier tlian tlie date of its earliest advent in Arizona as given by Dr. 

 Coues, or about the 15th of April, and spends its summers in the most 

 mountainous parts of the State. It is said to perch mainly on the lower 

 dead limbs, watching for the passing insects, uttering occasionally a plaintive 

 2K-ah. It is usually very silent, and seems to prefer the dark, solitary 

 recesses of the forests. 



Dr. Hoy informs me that this Flvcatcher is occasionallv found in the 

 neighborhood of Pacine, Init that it is rare. It keeps in the deep forest, 

 and never comes near dwellings in the manner of C. rircns. 



Tliis bird was found breeding at F()rt Tejon by Mr. Xantus, at Xapa 

 Valley by Mr. A. J. Grayson, and both in the Sacramento Valley and at 

 Parlev's Park, among the Wahsatch Mountains, bv Mr. llidiiwav. 



A nest of this bird in the Smithsonian Museum (10,076) from California, 

 collected by W. Vuille, had been apparently saddled on the limb of a tree, 

 in the manner of C. rireyi.^, having a broad flattened base, and a general 

 resemblance to the nests of that species. It diflers, however, somewhat in 

 regard to materials, and most esi)ecially in having no lichens attached to the 

 exterior. It has a diameter of three inches and a height of one and a half. 

 The cavity is about one inch deep and two wide at the rim. The base and 

 sides of this nest are largely composed of the exuviie of chrysalides, inter- 



VOL. H. 46 



