362 



NORTH AMERICAN lilRDS. 



mingled with licni])-like fibres of ])liints, stems, and fine dry fn*fisses. The 

 rim is firndy wrought oi' strong' wiry stems, and a larije portion of the inner 

 nest is of tlie same material. Tlie wlioh' is warndy and tliorouj^ddy lined 

 with tlie soit line hair of small (iuadrujteds and with ve<;etable fil>res. 



AecordiiiLj to Mr. IJidi^way, this is the m(»st ahnndant and j^'cnerally diffvi.«ied 

 of all the TjiroHHuJi of the (Ireat IJasin, as well as of California. It inhab- 

 its every ^rove of the lowest valleys, as well as the highest aspen co])ses on 

 the monntains in the alpine reu:ion, and breeds al)unilantly in all these 

 jilaees. liesenddinu the eastern V. rircths in its «,'eneral habits, its a]>pearance, 

 and its every motion, it yet ditlers most widely from it in n(»tes, the com- 

 mon one bein;4 a disa^reeabh? weird squeak, very unlike the sad, wailinj^j, 

 but not unjdeasant one of the eastern AVood IVwee. Mr. Ridgway relates 

 that having shot a female bird, and taken her nest and eggs, he was surjnised, 

 a few days afterwards, to find the male with another mate, and a new nest 

 built in precisely the san^e spot from which the other had been taken. 

 Upon clind>ing to the nest, it was found to contain one v^^^^ ; and the parents 

 exhibited very unusual distress. AVhen visited two or three days after, it 

 was found to be deserted and the egg broken. 



The eggs, three in nund)er, measure .69 of an inch in length and .53 in 

 breadth. They have a ground of beautiful cream-color slightly tinged with 

 a roseate tint, surrounded at the larger end with a wreath of purple and 

 reddish-brown spots. A few smaller markings are sparingly distributed, but 

 nearly all ure about the larger end. 



Genus EMPIBONAX, Cabaxis. 



Empidonax, Carams, Journal fiir Ornithologie, III, Nov. 1855, 480. (Type, Tyrannula 

 pusilla.) Tt/ranuuhi of most authors. 



Gtx. CiiAR. Tarsus lengthened, considoraMy longer than the bill, and exceeding the 



middle toe, wiiich is decidedly longer than 

 tlio hind toe. Bill varialtle. Tail very 

 slightly forked, even, or rounded; a littler 

 sliorter only than the wings, whieh are 

 considerably rounded ; the first primary 

 niiich shorter than the fourth. Head 

 niodeiately crested. Color olivaceous 

 above, yellowish beneath; throat generally 

 crrav. 



The leniithened tarsi, the short 

 toes, the short and rounded wings, 

 and the plain didl olivaceous of the 

 plumage, readily distinguish the 

 species of this genus from any other Xorth American Flycatchers. The 

 u]iper plates of the tarsi in a good many species do not encircle the outside, 

 but meet there a row on the posterior face. 



Empidonax acadicus. 



