134 Land Birds of New England 



FAMILY TYRANNID^E. 



75. LEAST FLYCATCHER; CHEBEC 

 (Empidonax minimus^) 



Upper parts olive-gray ; wing with two white bars and white edges 

 to many of the quills ; under parts impure white except the fore- 

 breast, which is grayish. Beak broad, flat, upper mandible dark, 

 lower one light ; feet black. Bird rather less than two thirds the 

 size of a sparrow, but with head and shoulders so large as to 

 make it look like a dwarf. Sexes similar. 



THIS droll little bird comes to us in early May, 

 and leaves again about the middle of September. 

 He frequents orchards and also the edges of wood- 

 land, especially that composed of birches, maples, 

 or beeches. When he has selected his home for 

 the summer, he often confines himself with some 

 closeness to a single group of trees. He has all the 

 ordinary fly-catcher habits, such as flirting the tail, 

 scolding in a harsh, unmusical voice, and dashing 

 into the air to catch a flying insect ; and it is as irre- 

 sistibly ludicrous to see this pygmy thus engaged, 

 as to see small children mimicking their papas and 

 mammas. 



The nest is placed in an orchard or woodland 

 tree, at a moderate height above the ground. Eggs 

 are laid early in June, and there are two sets. 



The song-note is a loud, emphatic, but unmusical 



