TYSAXXII)^ — TYILiyXIX^l:: : TYEAXT FL YCA TCUEES. 



437 



in Coniopus). Bill iiarroicer thau iu the other little Flycatcherf, with nearly straight lateral 

 outlines, its -^vidlh at base about i the length of culmen. Wing pointed by -id-Dth quills, 1st 

 shorter thau 6th. TaU about as long as -n-iug, emargiuate, with broad leathers tending to 

 ilivarioate in tlie middle. One Eastern, two AVesteru species. Nest affixed x<< rucks and 

 buildings, with mud : eggs normally white, unmarked. 



Analysis c/ Species. 



Ashy-brown, with cinnamon belly and tkick tail saiji 377 



Blackish, with white belly nif/ricaus 3'H 



Olivaceous and yellowish fusca 379 



377. S. say'i. (To Thos. .Say.) Say'.s Pewit Flyc.\tchee. (J ?. adult: Grayish-brown, s<iiiie- 

 ti'.nes witli faint olivaceous tinge, rather darker on head, where the featliei> have dusky centres, 

 paler on throat and breast, then changing to cinnamon-brown on the rest id' the under jiarts. 

 Wings dusky, lined with tawuy-whitish, edged with whitish on the cuvirts and inner ipiills. 

 Tail perfectly black. Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. Length ab.iut 7.iHj ; extent ll.Md ; 

 wing 0.75-1.35: tail 3.25-3.50; bill 0.50-0. GO, narrow and slender fm- a flycatdier : tarsus 

 O.SO; middle toe and claw 0.67. Young: More extensively fulvous or paler ciniiauiuu than the 

 adults, this Cdlor extending far up the breast, skirtiuff the feathers of the bade and rnni]i. form- 

 ing conspicuous crc^ss-bars and edgings on the wings, and even tipping the tail. But im bird 

 of liur country resembles this one. AVestern U. S. and adjoining British Troviuces. E. to 

 Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc., common in open or rocky country, where seen singly or in 

 piiirs ; the pirincipal flycatcher of inucooded regicnis, iu weedy, brushy places, displaying the 

 usual activity of its tribe, and uttering .i melancholy note of one syllable, or a tremulous twitter. 

 Xests naturally on rocks, lint soon adapts itself to buildings like the Eastern Pewee. Xest of 

 iiiud. straw, moss, feathers; eggs 4-5, O.SO X 0.62, white. 



378. S. nig'ricans. iLat. lugricatis, blackening.) Black Pewit Flycatchei!. Sooty-brown or 

 blackish, deepest on head and lireast; belly and other under parts pure white, abruptly defined : 

 lining of wings, outer wel) of outer tail-feathers, and edges of inner secondaries, whitish : bill and 

 feet black: iris red. The coloration is curiously like that of /ioico hien(a!is. Length aliout 

 7.00; wing 3.50-3.75 : tail 3.25-3.50; biQ 0.50 or less, ^ 

 very weak ; tarsus 0.67 ; middle toe and claw 0.60. South- 

 ^vestern U. S. and southward, but on the Pacific to Oregon; 



cMefly in unwooded ctiuntry, and especially along rocky .^BB^- J 



streams, and in canons — I have seen it at the bottom of Jt!^^^T "^' 



the Grand Caiion of the Colorado, s<)me 6,000 feet below 



the surface of the earth ! Xest of mud, etc., on rocks and /^^^^^^ S 



walls : eggs 0.75 X 0.56, white. /^yirC^^. _ 



379. S. fus'ca. (Lat. /M«fa, brown. Fig, 2S6,) Pewit Fly- 

 CATCHEK, Watee Pewee. Pewit. Phcebe. Dull oU- 

 vaceons-brown, the head much darker fuscous-brown, 

 almost blackish, usually in marked contrast \vith the back ; 

 below, soiled whitish, or palest possible yellow, particularly 

 on the belly : the sides, and the breast nearly or quite across, 



shaded with gTayisli-brown ; wings and tail dusky, the outer /i^i ^^ 



tail-feather, inner secondaries, and usually the wing-coverts, 



edged with whitish : a whitish ring round the eye ; bill and - u<i} 



feet black. Varies greatly in shade ; the foregoing is the ftg. 2S6.- Pewit Flycatcher, reduced, 

 average spring condition. As summer passes, the plumatre (^^eiTard del Nichols so 

 becomes much diiUer and darker brown, from wearing of the feathers: theu, after the moult, 

 fall specimens are much brighter than in spring, the under parts being decidedly yellow, at 

 least on the belly. Very young birds have some feathers skirted with "rusty, particularly on 



