LEAST PLTCATCHEfi. 379 



which the great number of these bunches afford. No bird is more wary 

 when its nest is approached, quitting it as soon as an intruder approaches 

 within a dozen yards. I have very seldom been able to discover the fe- 

 male on the nest, but when disturbed she retires to a safe distance and 

 utters a plaintive whit, expresaive of her anxiety. During the breed- 

 ing season the ordinary notes undergo some change, becoming a louder, 

 deeper, hoyt-te-ar. 



Empidonax minimus Baird. 



Ueast Flycatclier. 



lyrannm acadioua, (in part ?), Bead, Family Visitor, iii, 1853, 359 ; Proc. Phila. Acad., vi, 

 1853. 395. 



Empidonax minimus, Baird, P. R. E. Rep., ix, 1858, 196. — Eirkpatrick, Ohio Farmer, is, 

 1860, 35.— Wheatost, Ohio Agric, Rep. for 1860, 362, 373 ; Reprint, 1861, 4, 15 ; Food 

 of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric, Rep. for 1874, 568; Reprint, 1875, 8,— Langdon, Oat. 

 Birds of Gin., 1877, 10 ; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soo. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 177 ; Re- 

 print, 11 ; Snmmer Birds, ib., iii, 1880, 225. — Dury and Frbbman, Obs., ib., iii, 

 1880, — , Reprint, 4. 



Tyrannus acadicus, Nuttall, i, 1840, 320. 



Tyrannula minima, W. M. and S. F. Baird, Proc. PhUa. Acad., i, 1843, 284, 



Empidonoic minimus, Baird, Birds N. Am., 1853, 195. 



Colors almost exactly as in XrailU; nsoaUy, however, olive-gray rather than olive- 

 brown ; the wing- markings, eye-ring and loral feathers plain grayish- white ; the whole 

 anterior parts often with a slight ashy cast ; nnder mandible ordinarily dnsky ; feet 

 black. It is a smaller bird than Trailli, and not so stontly bnilt ; the wing-tip projects 

 only about i an inch beyond the secondaries ; the 5th qnill is but very little shorter 

 than the 4th, the Isfc apt to be nearer the 6th than 5th ; the feet are dififerently propor- 

 tioned, being much as in acadicus ; the bill is obviously under i inch long. Length, 5- 

 5.25 ; wing, 2^60 or less; tail about 2.25. 



Habitat, Eastern North America to the high central plains ; up the Missouri to Fort 

 Union. Winters in Central America. 



Common spring and fall migrant in May and September. Frequents 

 edges of woods and thickets, and is often seen in gardens. Its note while 

 with us is a short, low whit, repeated as the bird indu«triously pursues 

 his winged prey. 



The Least Flycatcher breeds from Southern New England northward. 

 Dr. Merriam has taken its nest in Northern New York, and it may breed 

 in Northern Ohio, as Mr. Langdon found the bird in Ottawa county about 

 the first of July. 



The nest is a neat structure of fibres of bark and grasses, lined with 

 plant-down and hair, and placed in an upright fork of a sapling within 

 a few feet of the ground. The eggs are pure white without spots. They 

 measure .65 by .50. 



