ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. 189 



the place and the shores are bordered by fertile meadows that on the west side slope 

 gradually upward into more elevated lands which are occupied by houses that are sur- 

 rounded by cultivated fields and orchards. The Allcghany mountains rise just io the 

 eastward of the settlement and their steep sides are covered with a thick growth of timber 

 which, on the lower acclivities, is composed of quite lofty trees, but higher they become 

 smaller and on the Hat wind-swept hill-tops they are considerably dwarfed. But it is 

 along the base of the foot-hills that the forests are the thickest. Here the ground is 

 swampy, being plentifully watered by numerous rills which trickle down from the decliv- 

 ities above. The moist soil is deep and, as it is extremely rich', produces an abundance 

 of undergrowth which is mainly composed of the large laurel or rhododendron. These 

 shrubs are some ten or fifteen feet in height and, as they are not only dense but also sup- 

 port numerous trailing vines, the whole forms a luxurious thicket which fairly swarmed 

 with birds, being, in fact, a collector's paradise. 



There was scarcely a day during my stay in this section that I did not visit these 

 swamps and on the twenty-third of May, I heard a peculiar note which was new to me 

 and was certain, even before I saw the bird, that the sound was produced by the Acadian 

 Flycatcher. This was not strange, however, partly because I was expecting to find this 

 species but more particularly as I was perfectly familiar with the notes of all the other 

 small Flycatchers and knew instantly that the sound which I heard was not made by any 

 one of them. I secured several Acadians there but was obliged to leave just before they 

 commenced breeding. Later, however, during the first and second weeks in June, I found 

 them very abundant in White Deer Valley, a point some twenty miles down the river, and 

 obtained several nests. 



This valley is narrow and lies between the timber-covered mountains which rise so 

 abruptly on either side that, for a greater part of the day, the sun cannot reach even the 

 top of the. lofty forest which springs from the rich soil that occupies the limited area along 

 the bottom. As the trees which make up the woodland are either evergreen and conse- 

 quently dense, or deciduous and well clothed with leaves, but a small portion of sunshine 

 ever penetrates to the ground below; thus a murmuring brook which flows among the moss- 

 covered rocks and beneath the nodding ferns is nearly always in shadow. This spot which 

 at some seasons might appear gloomy, was most delightfully cool during the warm days 

 of summer, especially as I was obliged to traverse a hot and dusty road in order to reach 

 the place. 



There were but few species of birds inhabiting this valley and the Acadian Flycatch- 

 ers were by far the most abundant and I had an excellent opportunity of carefully studying 

 their habits. The Lr-asf Flycatchers, as related, prefer the open orchards and revel in the 

 brightest li^ht of the long summer days, but I have found that the Acadian Flycatchers 

 live the darkest portions of the woods. Not that they are especially fond of thickets, 

 for, although I found them in dense swamps at Williamsport, they kept well above the 

 more tangled portions, living among the comparatively open, although shaded, tops of the 

 laurels, and in this valley I found that they frequented the rather sparse growth of small 

 trees and tall shrubs. 



