FLYCATCHERS 263 



tails of the wood pewee, phoebe, and Traill's flycatcher indi- 

 cate a rather pensive and demure disposition, in striking 

 contrast to the demeanor of the nervous insectivorous 

 warblers that move from branch to branch, impulsively 

 jerking their tails from side to side. 



Traill's flycatcher is one of the last birds to join us in 

 the spring. Like the humming-bird and scarlet tanager, it 

 moves northward leisurely, not arriving in the Great Lakes 

 region until well along in May. 



The birds feed entirely on insects, which they capture on 

 the wing, usually by darting from their perch at every pass- 

 ing fly or bug, many of which are too small to be distin- 

 guished by the naked eye, so they are highly beneficial. 



While fairly common in Ohio and the New England 

 States, their presence is seldom suspected, as this bird of 

 dull plumage appears to avoid publicity by feeding in 

 shaded places where the verdure is dense and mosquitoes 

 abound. 



The beautiful little nest, usually placed in a fork of an 

 upright branch not more than five to ten feet above the 

 ground, is made of vegetable fiber, stems, Indian hemp, and 

 grass, lined with fine, round grass stems. Three and four 

 cream-colored eggs, daintily speckled around the larger half 

 with light red, are laid about the second week in June. 



THE VERMILION FLYCATCHER* 



Thickets along water-courses are favorite resorts of this 

 beautiful flycatcher, which may be seen only on the south- 

 ern border of the United States, south through ^Mexico to 



