370 BIRDS — TYEANNIDiB. 



Sayobnis fuscus (Gm.) Bd. 



Pe'wee: I*e-wit: Ftoabe. 



Mutdoapafaseui, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1638, 163. 



Tyrannuafuseus, Rbad, Fam. "ViBitor, iii, 1853, 359 ; Proo. Phila. Aoad. Nat Soi., 1853, 395. 



Sayontisfuscus, Kirkpatrick, Ohio Farmer, viii, 1859, 403.— Whbaton, Ohio Agric. Eep., 



for 1860, 362 ; Reprint, 1861, 4 ; Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1874, 568 ; Ee- 



print, 1875, 8.— Langdon, Cat. Birds of Gin,, 1877, 10;. Eevised List, Journ. Gin. 



Soo. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 177 ; Eeprint, 11 ; Summer Birds, ib, iii, 1880, 325 ; Johbs 



and Shulzb, lUnst. Nests and Eggs, Pt. 4, 1880, PI. X. 

 Pewee, Baixou, Field and Forest, iU, 1878, 136. 



Mmcioapafusous, Gmblin, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 93. 

 Tyrannus fntcm, Nuttall, Man., i, 1840, 312. 

 SayorniH fuscus, Baird, Birds N. Am,, 1858, 184. 



Dull olivaceous brown ; the head much darker fuscous-brown, almost blackish, usually 

 in marked contrast with the back ; below soiled whitish, or palest possible yellow, partic- 

 ularly on the belly ; the sides, and the breast nearly or quite across, shaded with grayish- 

 brown ; wings and tail dusky, the outer tail feather, inner secondaries, and usually the 

 wing coverts edged with whitish ; a whitish ring around the eye ; bill and feet black, 

 Varies greatly in shade. The foregoing is the average spring condition. As the summer 

 passes, the plumage becomes much duller and darker brown, from wearing of the 

 feathers, and then, after the moult, fall specimens are much brighter than in spring, 

 the under parts being frequently decidedly yellow, at least on the belly. Very young 

 birds have some feathers edged with rusty, particularly on the edges of the wing and 

 tail feathers. Length 64-7 ; wing and tail, 3-3J. 



Habitat, Eastern United States and British Provinces ; west to Vermillion River, or 

 further ; south to Mexico. 



Common summer resident. Breeds. Arrives very early, sometimes in 

 February, oftener in Marcli, and remains until late in November. 



This is, or was, one of our best known birds. Its early appearance 

 and characteristic note, a frequently repeated, emphatic pe-wit, pe-wee, 

 now rendered with a falling and now with a rising inflection, made it, 

 with the Robin and Bluebird, a " welcome harbinger of spring." This is 

 still the case in many, perhaps most, portions of the State ; but in the 

 immediate vicinity of this city the bird is comparatively rarely seen 

 except during its migrations. This decrease in numbers is probably 

 due to the removal of favorite breeding places. Stone culverts have 

 taken the place of old wooden bridges, and the " Bridge-bird," as it 

 is sometimes called, is seldom willing to consider the former an im- 

 provement; old log houses, under the roof and against the beams of 

 which they were accustomed to place their nests, are removed, and 

 more modern structures furnish neither convenient nor secure nesting 

 places. So the once familiar birds have become solitary and shy, seek- 

 ing the stone quarry, ravine, or cliff, against the perpendicular rocks of 

 which they place their nest. Sometimes a singular position is chosen 



