PARROTS, KINGFISHERS, AND FLYCATCHERS 



827 



The beardless flycatcher enters the 

 United States in southern Arizona and in 

 the lower Rio Grande \'alley, Texas. 

 Southward it is found to Guatemala and 

 Costa Rica. 



Vermilion Flycatcher 



{Pyrocephalns rubinus mexicanus) 



It was summer in southern Arizona, and 

 as I pondered plans for the day, waves of 

 heat from the first rays of the morning sun 

 came to me across mesquite-grown flats 

 leading toward distant brown mountains. 

 With a sudden flash of color a vermilion 

 flycatcher rose above the bushes with slowly 

 flapping wings that held it suspended in the 

 air as if on an invisible wire (Plate VIII). 



Its brilliant colors seemed to reflect the 

 coming heat of the day as it hung like a 

 giant moth fifty feet above the ground, a 

 burning spot of color in an otherwise bar- 

 ren landscape. Truly, this lovely creature 

 merits its Spanish name of brasita de juego, 

 "little coal of fire." 



The effect was the more singular, as on 

 this occasion the bird was entirely silent. 

 Often the display is accompanied by a thin, 

 steely note that carries only a short dis- 

 tance. 



This beautiful bird is found in arid 

 regions, often along dry watercourses, 

 where it has the general habits of ordi- 

 nary flycatchers. The nest is a frail cup 

 of twigs and plant fibers lined with feath- 

 ers, wool, and down, placed in trees. The 

 two or three eggs are bufl', boldly marked 

 with brown and lavender. 



Vermilion flycatchers are found from 

 southeastern California, southwestern 

 Utah, and southern Texas to Baja Califor- 

 nia and southern Mexico. 



Eastern Wood Pewee 



(Myiochanes virens) 



A bird of the woods, the wood pewee is 

 often a disembodied voice that comes from 

 a singer unseen. Its note is pleasing, if 

 plaintive, a soft pee-a-wee repeated gently 

 without particular emphasis, that often 

 passes our ears without attracting notice. 

 It rests quietly on a dead branch, usually 

 in shade, where its dull colors make it in- 

 conspicuous (Plate VIII). 



Passing insects provide it with food that 

 it takes expertly from the air, and at times 

 it comes out to rest in the sun on a fence 

 or other open perch. 



The nest is a felted cup so covered with 

 lichens that it seems a part of the limb, 

 being distinguished only when the bird flies 

 to it. The three or four eggs are creamy 

 white, with brown spots forming a wreath 

 around the large end. 



This bird is found from southern Mani- 

 toba and Nova Scotia to Texas and Florida. 

 It winters from Nicaragua to Peru. 



Western Wood Pewee 



(Myiochanes richardsoni) 



A counterpart of the eastern bird in size 

 and appearance, except for a slightly 

 darker breast and duller lower mandible, 

 the western wood pewee is chiefly distin- 

 guished by its voice. This is a low, double- 

 noted pec-er, a whistled call given more 

 quickly and without the cadence of the 

 longer song of its eastern kinsman (Color 

 Plate VIII). 



The western wood pewee is a bird of 

 groves along streams and hillsides, of 

 mountain canyons, and of open mountain 

 forests. It is widely distributed and at 

 times is common. In Rucker Canyon in 

 the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona the 

 songs of this species at the beginning of 

 July made up the greater part of the dawn 

 chorus of birds that awakened me. 



As its haunts in part are more arid, this 

 is less a bird of the shadows than the other 

 wood pewee. In late summer in the moun- 

 tain parks of Colorado I have found it 

 with little flocks of mountain bluebirds in 

 open stands of pine. 



The nest is located on a tree limb, and is 

 deeper and more strongly built than that of 

 the eastern bird. The eggs are simOar to 

 those of the related species. 



The western wood pewee (Myiochanes 

 richardsoni richardsoni) breeds from cen- 

 tral Alaska and Manitoba to northern Baja 

 California and Tamaulipas. A related race 

 is found in lower Baja California. 



Coues's Flycatcher 



(Myiochanes pertinax pallidiventris) 



Among the pines that cover the summit 

 of the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona, I 

 saw these flycatchers perched on dead 

 branches in the tops of the tallest trees, 

 from which they made sallies to capture 

 passing insects. In form and color they 

 suggest the western wood pewee but are 

 much larger (Color Plate VIII). 



The notes are simple, but have a cadence 

 suggestive of wilderness and mountains 



