426 FLYCATCHERS. 
Connecticut valley. It is abundant in Ohio and Illinois, but has 
not been observed in Ontario. 
I have not met with this species in the field, but those who have 
been so fortunate describe it as a shy bird, seeking the low, moist 
thicket and shaded groves rather than the open pastures. Dr. 
Coues thinks the nest “may be compared to a light hammock 
swung between forks.” It is shallow and saucer-shaped, and so 
loosely made that the eggs may be seen from below. Dr. Wheaton 
states that so much loose grass is left on the outside of the nest 
“that it looks like a tuft of hay caught by the limb from a load 
driven under it.” 
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. 
EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS. 
CHAR. Upper parts dull olive, darker on the crown; under parts 
bright yellow, shaded with olive on the breast; wing-bars pale yellow; a 
yellow ring around the eye. Length 5% to 6 inches. 
Vest. Amid moss-covered roots of upturned tree or mossy log; of 
twigs, or vegetable fibre, or moss, lined with roots, or fine grass, or 
moss. 
figgs. 4; pale buff, sparingly spotted, mostly about larger end, with 
reddish brown; 0.70 X 0.50. 
This species was discovered about 1843, and for many years — as 
late as 1880—was considered a rare bird. Even now compar- 
atively few persons are familiar with it, though it occurs through- 
out this Eastern Province. It is common in New England, 
breeding in the northern portion, and occurs on the higher hills 
elsewhere. I found it abundant in New Brunswick, and it has 
been traced northward to the lower Hudson Bay region. Macoun 
reports it common at Lake Mistissini. 
Dr. Wheaton considered it a common migrant through Ohio, but 
observers in Ontario have met with it so seldom as to think it rare. 
It is common in Illinois and in portions of Manitoba. 
The notes of this species have caused much discussion, — some 
writers claiming for it an individuality, and others insisting that it 
utters nothing different from the notes of ¢vadl/dZ or minimus. The 
hil-lic of flaviventris seems, to my ear, quite different from the 
ke-wink of Traill’s,-—which is rather sibilant, and is delivered 
with a rising inflection, —as also from the che-bec of the Least 
Flycatcher. While the latter delivers his two notes in rapid stac- 
