BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 195 



GENUS EMPIDONAX OABANIS. 

 Empidonax flaviventris BAIBD. 



Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Bill short and very broad; length about 5| ; extent about 8 ; tail about 2.60; 

 wing about 2.40 ; above olive-green, in fact decidedly greenish ; lining of wings and 

 lower parts sulphur-yellow, very decided, except on breast which is similar to back, 

 but paler ; wing bars yellowish-white ; well marked yellow ring around eye ; upper 

 mandible blackish, the lower yellow. 



Habitat. Eastern North America to the plains, and from southern Labrador 

 south through eastern Mexico to Panama, breeding from the northern states north- 

 ward. 



The Yellow-beDied Flycatcher is reported by numerous observers to 

 be a regular summer resident in various parts of the state, especially in 

 the mountainous districts. Prof. August Kock, writing- of this bird in 

 Lycoming county, says it *' breeds in tangled thickets ; in almost every 

 such thicket, interwoven with thorns and near a stream, a pair may be 

 observed through the summer." I have never found the nest or eggs of 

 this flycatcher. Dr. Coues states that it nests "in swamps, close to 

 ground, in a stump, log, or roots of an upturned tree, thick and bulky, 

 of mosses, etc., deeply cupped." The eggs are said to be usually four, 

 measuring about .70 X .50, bufFy or creamy-white, spotted chiefly about 

 larger end with reddish-brown. 



The note as described by Dr. Coues is a low soft pe-a, uttered slowly. 

 The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is usually seen perched on the low limbs 

 of trees or bushes, along the borders of streams or ponds in the woods. 

 I have never observed it on the high branches of trees. According to 

 Mr. Gentry it is occasionally observed on the ground, in active pursuit 

 of insects, which contribute to its bill of fare. In the few examinations 

 which I have made of this species the following insects were found : 



Empidonax acadicus (GMEL.). 



Acadian Flycatcher; "Hick-up." 



DESCRIPTION {Plate 91). 



Length about 6| inches ; extent about 9 ; above grayish-green ; below whitish ; 

 throat and middle of belly white. 



Habitat Eastern United States, chiefly southward, west to the plains, south to 

 Cuba and Costa Rica. 



