FLYCATCHERS 345 



this species is silent, and its several distinctive notes are not available 

 for its identification, and the same thing may be said of our other 

 small Flycatchers. Great similarity in plumage exists between 

 them all, and without the bird in hand, identifications are at best 

 questionable. 



The song is more suggestive of a sneeze on the bird's part than of 

 any other sound with which it may be compared. It is an abrupt 

 pse-ek f , almost in one explosive syllable, harsh like the deeper tones 

 of a House Wren, and less musical than the similar but longer song? of 

 the Alder or the Acadian Flycatcher. It is hardly surprising that the 

 birds sing very little when we see with what a convulsive jerk of the 

 head the notes are produced. Its plaintive call is far more melodious 

 a soft, mournful whistle consisting of two notes, the second higher 

 pitched and prolonged, with rising inflection, resembling in a measure 

 chu-e-e'-v. J. D WIGHT, JR. 



465. Empidonax virescens (VieilL). ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. Ads. 

 Upperparts between olive-green and dark olive-green; v/ings and tail 

 fuscous; greater and lesser wing-coverts yellowish white, forming two con- 

 spicuous wing-bars; underparts white, washed with pale yellowish and 

 slightly tinged with greenish on the breast; the throat, and frequently the 

 middle of the belly, pure white; upper mandible black, lower mandible 

 whitish or flesh-color; second to fourth primaries of about equal length, the 

 first and fifth shorter and also of equal length. Im. Upperparts greener; 

 underparts more tinged with yellow; wing-bars and outer edges of the 

 tips of the secondaries ochraceous-buff. L., 575; W., 2'85; T., 2'35; B. 

 from N., "36. 



Remarks. This species has the upperparts fully as olive-green as the 

 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but the underparts are never entirely yellow, and 

 the throat is always white. 



Range. E. N. Am. and n. S. A. Breeds from upper limit of Carolinian 

 fauna in ne. Nebr., cen. Iowa, Mich., s. Ont., N. Y., Conn, (casually), and 

 Mass, (one instance) s. to s. Tex., the Gulf States, and n. Fla.; migrate? 

 through Yucatan and Cen. Am. and winters in Colombia and Ecuador; 

 casual in Bahamas and Cuba in migration. 



Washington, common S. R., May 1-Sept. 15. Ossining, common S R., 

 May 10-Aug. 27. N. Ohio, common S. R., May 4-Sept. 15. Glen Ellyn, 

 not common S. R., May 6 Aug. 27, and probably later. 



Nest, shallow, of plant stems, grasses, and blossoms, generally on a fork 

 of a beech about 8 feet up. Eggs, 2-3, creamy white, with a few cinnamon- 

 brown spots about the larger end, *74 x '56. Date, Gainesville, Fla., 

 May 12; Chatham Co., Ga., May 13; Chester Co., Pa., May 31; Ossin- 

 ing, N. Y., June 5. 



Look for the Acadian Flycatcher in woodlands watered by small 

 streams. It selects a low rather than a high perch, and is rarely seen 

 more than twenty feet from the ground. The frequently uttered calls 

 of this bird are characteristic and will enable you to identify it with 

 more ease in the field than in the study. The most common is a sin- 

 gle spee or peet, repeated at short intervals and accompanied by a 

 rapid twitching of the tail. A more peculiar note is a louder pee-e-yuk. 

 The bird seems to articulate this note with difficulty, with bill pointed 

 upward and wings trembling like a fledgling begging for food. 



