FLYCATCHERS 345 
this species is silent, and its several distinctive notes are not available 
for its identification, and the same thing may be said of our other 
small Flycatchers. Great similarity in plumage exists between 
them all, and without the bird in hand, identifications are at best 
questionable. 
The song is more suggestive of a sneeze on the bird’s part than of 
any other sound with which it may be compared. It is an abrupt 
psé-ék', almost in one explosive syllable, harsh like the deeper tones 
of a House Wren, and less musical than the similar but longer songs of 
the Alder or the Acadian Flycatcher. It is hardly surprising that the 
birds sing very little when we see with what a convulsive jerk of the 
head the notes are produced. Its plaintive call is far more melodious 
—a, soft, mournful whistle consisting of two notes, the second higher 
pitched and prolonged, with rising inflection, resembling in a measure 
chii-2-2'-p. J. Dwicst, Jr. 
465. Empidonax virescens (Vieill.). AcapIaAN FiycatcHEer. Ads. 
—Upperparts between olive-green and dark olive-green; wings and tail 
fuscous; greater and lesser wing-coverts yellowish white, forming two con- 
spicuous wing-bars; underparts white, washed with pale yellowish and 
slightly tinged with greenish on the breast; the throat, and frequently the 
middle of the belly, pure white; upper mandible black, lower mandible 
whitish or flesh-color; second to fourth primaries of about equal length, the 
first and fifth shorter and also of equal length. Im.—Upperparts greener; 
underparts more tinged with yellow; wing-bars and outer igre of the 
tips of the secondaries ochraceous-buff. L., 5°75; W., 2°85; T., 2°35; B. 
from N., ‘36. 
Remarks.—This species has the upperparts fully as olive-green as the 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but the underparts are never entirely yellow, and 
the throat is always white. 
Range.—E. N. Am. and n. 8. A. Breeds from upper limit of Carolinian 
fauna in ne. Nebr., cen. Iowa, Mich., s. Ont., N. Y., Conn. (casually), and 
Mass. (one instance) s. to s. Tex., the Gulf States, and n. Fla.; migrates 
through Yucatan and Cen. Am. and winters in Colombia and Ecuador; 
casual in Bahamas and Cuba in migration. 
Washington, common §. R., May 1-Sept. 15. Ossining, common § R., 
May 10—-Aug. 27. N. Ohio, common S. R., May 4-Sept. 15. Glen Ellyn, 
not common 8. R., May 6-Aug. 27, and probably later. 
Nest, shallow, of plant stems, grasses, and blossoms, generally on a fork 
of a beech about 8 feet lup. Eggs, 2-3, creamy white, with a few cinnamon- 
brown spots about the larger end, ‘74 x ‘56. Date, Gainesville, Fla., 
May 12; Chatham Co., Ga., May i3; Chester Co., Pa., May 31; Ossin- 
ing, N. Y., June 5. 
Look for the Acadian Flycatcher in woodlands watered by small 
streams. It selects a low rather than a high perch, and is rarely seen 
more than twenty feet from the ground. The frequently uttered calis 
of this bird are characteristic and will enable you to identify it with 
more ease in the field than in the study. The most common is a sin- 
gle spee or peet, repeated at short intervals and accompanied by a 
rapid twitching of the tail. A more peculiar note is a louder pee-e-yik. 
The bird seems to articulate this note with difficulty, with bill pointed 
upward and wings trembling like a fledgling begging for food. 
