THE ARIZONA CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 265 



the shell being a dull, clayey buff, over which are numerous longitudinal lines 

 and dashes of purplish brown or lavender. These markings are pretty evenly 

 distributed, but are coarsest at the larger end of the egg"^ 



Mr. Stephens has kindly furnished me with some additional notes on this 

 subspecies, and says-: "The Arizona Crested Flycatcher seems to breed only in 

 the giant cactus, and is rather common in certain localities. A set of five eggs, 

 taken May 24, 1884, near Camp Lowell, was found in an old Woodpecker's hole 

 in an arm of a giant cactus, 20 feet from the ground. The female was on' the 

 nest, and was shot. Incubation had just commenced. The nest was lined with 

 hair of various kinds, mixed with bits of snake and lizard skin." 



Mr. W. E. D. Scott also met with this Flycatcher about Tucson, Florence, 

 Riverside, and in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, up to about 4,500 feet. 

 He states: "In the Catalinas, altitude 4,000 feet, this subspecies arrives about 

 April 20, and remains until late in August or early in September. I found a 

 nest at this point built in a deserted Woodpecker's hole in a dead sycamore stub. 

 It was entirely similar in construction to that of Miiscicapa crinitus, even to the 

 traditional snake skins, and contained five eggs nearly ready to be hatched, very 

 similar to those of Muscicapa crinitus, save that they are a little larger. But 

 one brood is reared in the Catalina region."^ 



From three to five eggs seem to constitute a set. Nidification commences 

 sometimes during the latter part of May, but more frequently in the beginning of 

 June. Judging from the only specimen in the United States National Museum, 

 the egg of the Arizona Crested Flycatcher resembles that of Myiarclms mexi- 

 canus closer than that of Myiarclms crinitus. It is not as heavily marked as the 

 average eggs of the latter; the ground color is more of a creamy buff; the mark- 

 ings are not qiiite so profuse, and resemble those of the first more. 



The onl}^ egg of this subspecies in the United States National Museum 

 collection is the figured type, No. 25195 (PI. 2, Fig. 12). This was taken by 

 Dr. A. K. Fisher, June 12, 1892, on Rillito Creek, near Tucson, Arizona, from 

 an old Woodpecker's hole in a giant cactus, about 8 feet from the ground. The 

 nest contained one young bird just out of the shell, three eggs on the point of 

 hatching, and an addled egg, the only one that could be saved; this measures 

 25.65 by 18.03 millimetres, or 1.01 by 0.71 inches, and is elliptical ovate in 

 shape. The shell is strong, feels smooth to the touch, and is somewhat glossy. 



1 Bulletin Nuttall Ornitbolojrical Club, Vol. VII, 1882, p. 203. 



2 The Auk, Vol. IV, 1887, pp. 17, 18. 



