THE WESTERN FLYCATCHEE. 299 



Personally I have never met witli tins species in eastern Washing'ton or 

 Idaho ; and only once near Fort Klamath, Oregon, where I found a nest, con- 

 taining four half-grown young, among the roots of a spruce tree growing close 

 to the banks of Anna Creek, a small mountain stream some 4 miles north of the 

 fort, on July 6, 1882. 



Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, California, has kindly furnished me the 

 following notes on the Western Flycatcher: "I tind it a very widely distributed 

 species throughout this part of the State, both among the forests on the highest 

 hills, where there is not a drop of water for long distances, and along the banks 

 of brooks and streams in the lowlands; in fact, anywhere where it can find 

 shelter and shade, of which it is very fond. I have found its nests in all sorts of 

 situations; sometimes in a small tree, placed in the upright forks of the main 

 stem; again on the side of the stem, where a small stub of a limb or some 

 sprouts grew out; or in a slight cavity in a tree trunk; against an old stump or 

 a root which had been washed down during a flood in the middle of a stream; 

 among curled-up roots near the water, etc. I have found a number of nests, 

 when fishing for trout, by flushing the bird from under a bank; and on stooping 

 down and looking I found the nest nicely concealed by the deep-green moss, 

 such as covered the surrounding stones. They always use this particular kind 

 of moss, no matter where the nest is placed. Occasionally they nest in deserted 

 woodcutters' huts, in outbuildings near cover, and a friend of mine has some 

 large water tanlis in the woods back of his house, where for nineteen consecu- 

 tive years these birds have built under the covered roofs of these tanks. I 

 know of no place in this locality whei'e they do not breed, excej)ting in very 

 open country. 



"Its song consists of a soft, low note. It shows much distress when its 

 nest is taken, uttering then a low, wailing note, like 'pee-eu, pee-eu,' and fre- 

 quently flutters about the person taking it and snapping its mandibles together. 

 Its food consists of insects, which are caught by darting after them from its 

 perch on some dead twig or limb, and it seldom fails to capture its victim." 



Mr. H. P. Lawrence writes me: "I occasionally met with this species on the 

 coast. In my diary I find this description of their call notes or song: June 14, 

 1891, at Quinnault Lake, Washington, 'pe-wit, pe-wit,' uttered energetically, or 

 'we-twee-eet,' with vigor. On June 26, 1891, at Humptulips, same State, they 

 are put down as sounding like 'per-tee-t-weet,' or 'thweet'-put'-tweet',' uttered 

 in jerky, spiteful accents." 



In Belt Canyon, Montana, on July 6, 1889, Mr. E. S. WilHams found the 

 Western Flycatcher nesting in a narrow fissure of limestone, about 7 feet above 

 the base of the wall. A nest observed by Mr. A. W. Anthony, near Howards- 

 ville, San Juan County, Colorado, on June 25, was placed on a ledge of rock, 

 about 10 feet above a wagon road, and looked like a large ball of green moss, 

 with a neat little cup in the center, lined with cow and horse hair. It contained 

 a single egg when first found, and a set of four on July 3. Nests of this species 

 have also been taken by Mr. Denis Gale on different occasions near Gold Hill, 



