190 EMPJDONAX ACAD1CUS. 



The Acadian Flycatchers are not shy birds and will permit one to come within ten or 

 fifteen yards without evincing any uneasiness; when a nearer approach is attempted, how- 

 ever, they will utter a low but abrupt pe-wit of alarm and flit to a more distant perch. In 

 addition to this note which is given by both sexes, though that of the females is much less 

 distinctly rendered, the males have a loud se-wink, emphatically emitted, followed by an 

 attempt at a song which consists of a series of chuckling notes like those of a Flicker when 

 heard in the distance. When thus performing, the birds flutter their wings after the man- 

 ner of the other Flycatchers, and occasionally they will make this motion without the ac- 

 companying notes. These are the only sounds that I ever heard them produce and, although 

 quite similar to those given by the other members of the genus, are characteristic enough 

 to render their authors recognizable at once. When I first entered the place of which I 

 speak, I was confident that the Flycatchers were breeding for I noticed that the females, 

 like many other birds when incubating, appeared sluggish, but to make certain of this I 

 shot one, when a look at the denuded abdomen confirmed my suspicions. I then set about 

 searching for the nests systematically; or perhaps I should have said, I let the birds do the 

 searching while I watched them. Whenever I saw a Flycatcher, usually a male as most of 

 the females were setting, I quietly sat down and observed his movements, taking care, 

 however, not to alarm him. After uttering a few se-winks and making the accompanying 

 musical attempts, he would snap up a passing insect or two, then fly leisurely along the 

 valley, occasionally pausing a moment, thus I could keep him in sight. In this way I 

 would follow, until he would finally stop near a witch-hazel and utter his notes quite rap- 

 idly. Then I would feel sure that the nest was in the immediate vicinity and cautiously 

 drawing near, would almost invariably detect the low, answering twitter of his mate as she 

 sat on the eggs. Generally their home would be concealed by the large leaves of the hazel 

 but sometimes I could see it for some distance. The nests which I found there were among 

 the most artistic specimens of bird architecture that I ever beheld, for they were partly con- 

 structed of living lichens the ends of which were allowed to trail downward, and the deli- 

 cate colors contrasted finely with the green of the foliage. The drawing which I give was 

 taken from a nest that I obtained at the time of which I am writing and is represented 

 as being on a branch of the witch-hazel. 



The witch-hazel appears to be a favorite with them for all but one of the fifteen nests 

 which I discovered were placed in this shrub, the exception to the rule being built on a 

 low limb of a hemlock. The flat domiciles were always placed near the extremity of the 

 limb, supported by a horizontal fork, and from five to ten feet from the ground. The ha- 

 zels usually grew from the valley bottom but occasionally one would be found a few yards 

 up the mountain side. The birds exhibited very little solicitude upon being disturbed, the 

 female often alighted on a branch only a few yards away and quietly arranged her feath- 

 ers while I was transferring her nest and eggs to my collecting basket. 



The Acadian Flycatchers, as have been shown, arrive late, the last week in May, 

 and soon after breed, nesting, as far as I could judge, about the fifth or sixth of June, for 

 on the fifteenth of the month the eggs fill contained embryos and some few were quite far 

 advanced. Their stay in the north is limited as they migrate early, probably shortly after 



