GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, AND OLIVE 433 



semble one closely. In fact, unless the bird be seen to fly 

 ofl" the nest or to it, the discovery of one of these dainty 

 homes is almost impossible. One nest, now in the col- 

 lection of Mr. William Brewster, at Cambridge, Mass., 

 is composed of fine moss and willow down, decorated 

 with tiny shreds of bark, flakes of wood, and flakes of 

 whitewash fastened securely with cobwebs ; it was placed 

 on a knot in a rope hanging from the roof of a wood- 

 shed. The construction and materials mimicked the 

 rope and knot on which it was placed. Mr. Bryant 

 records another, built on a projecting splinter of a wood- 

 pile at a height of two feet. Here, as seemingly under 

 all circumstances, the bird had tried to imitate the sur- 

 roundings, and to so place its home that it would be 

 more or less protected by an overhanging branch, leaf, 

 or some other object. 



459. OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. — Contopus borealis. 



Family : The Flycatchers. 



Length: 7.10-7.90. 



Adults : Tipper parts dark-brownish slate, with darker shaft streaks on 



some of the feathers ; conspicuous tuft of white cottony feathers 



on each side of rump (generally concealed by wings) ; under parts 



white through the middle from chin to crissum ; the sides dark and 



somewhat streaked. 

 Young : Like adults, but wing-coverts tipped with brownish instead of 



white. 

 Geographical Distribution ; Through the mountainous regions of North 



America west of Rooky Movintains to Pacific Coast ; north to Hudsoq 



Bay; south in winter as far as Peru. 

 California Breeding Range: In Transition and lower Boreal zones 



throughout the State. 

 Breeding Season : June 1 to August 1. 



28 



