yS THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



Our Flycatchers. 



BY BROTHER ALPHONSUS, C. S. C. 



Wood Pewee. 

 Myiochanes virens 



Our commonest flycatcher is the Wood Pewee". Although it is 

 found in greater abundance in woods and groves, yet the bird may 

 also be heard in the shade trees on the streets of our smaller cities. 

 No other flycatcher has so musical a note as the Pewee. All day 

 long through spring and summer its silvery song may be enjoyed 

 by the bird lover. This species arrives here after the middle of 

 Ma>' and remains until late in September. During this month 

 the song gradually ceases. The nest of the Pewee, which is saddled 

 on a limb of any kind of tree, may not be easily seen. The structure 

 is small and almost looks like a protuberance on the branch where 

 it is placed. But a keen and practised eye will note the nest, which 

 will soon be visited b> the mother bird. After the 3/oung are 

 fledged they make themselves conspicious by their querulous 

 disposition, often darting after one another with great pugnacity. 

 In fly catching the Pewee is fearless and graceful, sometimes passing 

 within a few feet of a pedestrian. The presence of this interesting 

 species is one of the notable features of our lawns and parks. 



Phoebe. 

 Sayornis phoehe 



This flycatcher is common in some localities, and very rare or 

 entirely absent in others. It is hard to explain this rarity or absence ; 

 for even when suitable nesting-places, like grottoes, are available, 

 still the bird may avoid a certain territory during most of the 

 spring and summer. In early spring, usually in the latter part of 

 March, the first Phoebes appear, and they may be seen for several 

 weeks afterward. The Phoebe is always the first of the fly catchers 

 to arrive in spring and the last to leave in autumn. As already 

 intimated this species builds its nest under some kind of shelter, 

 like an outhouse or a bridge. Tv^o broods are raised in the same 

 nest, which is always lined with moss. The note of the Phoebe is 

 less musical than the Pewee's; the bird is also less active and graceful 

 in flight. Another characteristic difference between these two 

 species is found in the fact that the Phoebe moves its tail while 

 the bird is perched on a wire or a branch, but the Pewee never 



