SAY'S PHCEBE. 277 



the Arctic Circle. Mr. Lucien M. Turner obtained several specimens near Fort 

 Yukon, in about latitude 67° north, in the latter part of May, 1876, and Mr. 

 B. R. Ross, of the Hudson Bay Company, took it at Fort Simpson, on the Mac- 

 kenzie River, in Jul}^, 1861, where oiu- common Phoebe was also found by him. 

 Skins from both places, where both of these species are known to breed, are 

 now in the United States National Museum collection. It will undoubtedly 

 be found in the vast intervening- territory north of our border and east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, in Athabasca and Alberta, as it is recorded from western 

 Saskatchewan and from British Columbia. In the United States it has been 

 taken at various points on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, but there 

 it appears to be considerably rarer than farther west. Its breeding range in the 

 United States is coextensive, with its geographical range, excepting- the south- 

 western parts of Texas. 



Say's Phoebe seems to be more at home in rather open country, and is 

 rarely found in heavily timbered regions; still it occurs in such localities 

 at times, as I took a male near Fort Klamath, Oregon, on March 28, 1883, and 

 saw a few others subsequently. During- my various wanderings in our Western 

 States and Territories I generally found Say's Phoebe rather uncommon, except- 

 ing at Fort Lapwai, Idaho, where several pairs were breeding within the limits 

 of the garrison, as well as at the adjoining Nez Perce Indian Agency, and I 

 met with it also at Fort Custer, Montana; Camp Harney, Oregon; Forts 

 Colville and Walla Walla, Washington; Camp Independence, California; and 

 near Tucson, Arizona. 



Its general habits and actions resemble those of the eastern Phoebe; like 

 it, it is one of the earliest spring migrants to return from its winter haunts, and 

 it is equally attached to its old home, to which it regularly returns from year to 

 year. It appears to be much more tolerant in its disposition toward other 

 members of its kind than the Phoebe, as I have found sevei-al pairs breeding 

 within 100 yards of each other, apparently in perfect harmony. Its manner 

 of flight is also similar, but its ordinary call note differs somewhat, and sounds 

 really pathetic; a plaintive "phee-eur," frequently repeated, expresses it tol- 

 erably well, always accompanied with a twitch of the tail and a raising- and 

 lowering of the crest. Besides this note, during- the mating- season it gives vent 

 occasionally to a short, plaintive, twittering warble. I consider it a more rest- 

 less bird than the Phoebe, if that is possible; for it is never idle, but constantly 

 darting back and forth from its perch after passing insects, which form the 

 bulk of its food and of which it never seems to get enough. I have repeatedly 

 seen it catching good-sized grasshoppers on the wing, as well as different species 

 of beetles, flies, moths, and butterflies. It has a habit similar to the Owls of 

 ejecting- the indigestible portions of its food in the shape of pellets. My atten- 

 tion was drawn to this fact by observing several such lying on the porch of my 

 quarters at Fort Lapwai, Idaho, where a pair of these birds nested over the 

 door. It is not nearly as partial to localities near water as is our Phoebe, and it 

 is not unusual to find it nesting- fully a mile from such places. At this Post they 



