248 CONTOPUS RICHAEDSONII, WESTERN WOOD PEWEE. 



any decided peculiarities, ia cixaraining the very large series submitted to me by 

 several kind friends. But even in dried skins certain slight difterences may be 

 observed to hold with considerable constancy. The colors are darker (they should be 

 lighter, pali;r, in a geographicil variety from the dry, western region); the olive- 

 brown of the upper parts is more fuscous, the olive-gray shading of the sides is 

 heavier, and reaches almost or entirely uninterrupted quite across the breast, leaving 

 only the upper part of the throat, and the belly, whitish. The wings average longer, 

 owing to elongation of the primaries, by which the tip is carried further from the ends 

 of the secondary quills. It is also a significant fact, that Audubon — one of the acutest 

 of observers, and certainly not one who can be accused of wanton species-making — 

 has left no hint that he even suspected its identity with riren8. If he be not mistaken 

 in his investigations in Labrador respecting this species, the mode of nidiflcation is 

 totally different from that of the eastern Wood Pewee. The note is harsher and more 

 abrupt — has little of the plaintive, drawling intonation so characteristic of C. rirens. 

 When I reached the Kio Grande, fresh from eastern woods, where I saw the Wood 

 Pewee almost every day in summer, and had been familiar with it for years, the 

 western Pewee's note was one of the first that saluted my ears from the heavy timber 

 bordering the river ; and I well remember how peculiar it sounded, making me sure 

 my old friend was not before me; and likewise through Arizona, it never occurred to 

 mc that the birds might be the same as C. vireiis. So we return to the question, and 

 it is an open one, whether snch field observations as those of Audubon's, Allen's, Trippe's, 

 and mine, should not be allowed to turn the scale in favor of specific distinctness, 

 although in this case they are not very satisfactorily borne ont by inspection of speci- 

 mens in the closet. We may have to acknowledge, in some cases, that species are bet- 

 ter determined in the field than in the closet. If this be true in any case, it holds with 

 the little Flycatchers. 



The Western Wood Pewee is exceediugly abundant in Arizona, from 

 the beginning of May until the latter part of September. I fonnd it in 

 all sorts of woodland, but more particularly in high, oi)en forest.s. On 

 entering a piece of woods the ear was sure to be saluted by the curious 

 notes of the bird, and one, or more likely several, would be seen, sen- 

 tinel-like, on the ends of dead branches, in wait for passing insects. At 

 least two broods are reared in this latitude. The bird appears to breed 

 indifferently throughout its range; in the northward migration, indi- 

 viduals drop off all along, only a small fraction reaching the extreme 

 limit of the species ; but in the fall they sweexi southward with one 

 accord, being delicate birds, unable to endure the cold of even our 

 southern districts. It would appear that a portion of them are resident 

 in Mexico and Central America; and to these, no doubt preNCuting 

 some slight peculiarities not shared by the migratory and northern-bred 

 birds, the names bogotensis, sordididus, and pleheius have been applied. 

 In most of its extent it appears to be separated a little from C. rirens; 

 but the two forms meet in their tropical winter quarters, and also, it 

 Audubon made no mistake, apain at their northern terminus, on the 

 cold and foggy shores of Labrador. 



Information received from Mr. Allen since the above was written in- 

 creases the suspicion that Audubon may not have been entirely correct 

 in his description of the nidification, even if the Labrador record be not 

 itself invalidated. My esteemed correspondent, remarking that the 

 bird is more or less common at the western edge of the plains wherever 

 there are trees, and also throughout the mountains of Colorado, up to 

 about 12,000 feet, continues : "Though generally distinguishable from 

 the Eastern Wood Pewee on comparison of dried skins, it is more easily 

 recognized by the difference in its notes and breeding habits. The nest 

 is budt in the forks of a small branch, instead of being "saddled"' on 

 a horizontal limb, like that of the eastern bird. It is neat and compact, 

 resembling, both in position and general form, that of the Least Fly- 

 catcher (Empidonax minimus) of the Atlantic States, and hence differs 

 widely from that described by Audubon as observed by him in Labra- 

 dor. Its notes are harsh and less varied than those o! its eastern rela- 

 tives, lacking almost eg^p^'g^igj^^^^jg/^aracter so distinctive of 



