TYEANNIJDj^ — TYBANNINuE : TYRANT FLYCATCHEBS. 



437 



in Contopus). Bill narrower than in the other little Flycatchers, with nearly straight lateral 

 outlines, its width at base about -J- the length of culmen. Wing pointed by 3d-5th quUls, 1st 

 shorter than 6th. Tail about as long as wing, emarginate, with broad feathers tending to 

 divaricate in the middle. One Eastern, two Western species. Nest affixed to rooks and 

 buildings, with mud ; eggs normally white, unmarked. 



Analysis qf Species. 



Ashy-brown, with cinnamon belly and black tail sayi 377 



Blackish, with white belly .... nigricans 378 



Olivaceous and yellowish fusca 379 



377. S. say'i. (To Thos. Say.) Say's Pewit Flycatcher. ,J 9 , adult : Grayish-brown, some- 

 times with faint olivaceous tinge, rather darker on head, where the feathers have dusky centres, 

 paler on throat and breast, then changing to cinnamon-brown on the rest of the under parts. 

 Wings dusky, lined with tawny-whitish, edged with whitish on the coverts and inner quills, 

 TaU perfectly black. Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. Length about 7.00 ; extent 11.00; 

 wing 3.75-4.35; tail 3.25-3.50; biU 0.50-0.60, narrow and slender for a flycatcher; tarsus 

 0.80; middle toe and claw 0.67. Young: More extensively fulvous or paler cinnamon than the 

 adults, this color extending far up the breast, skirting the feathers of the back and rump, form- 

 ing conspicuous cross-bars and edgings on the wings, and even tipping the tail. But no bird 

 pf our country resembles this one. Western U. S. and adjoining British Provinces, E. to 

 Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc., common in open or rocky country, where seen singly or in 

 pairs ; the principal flycatcher of wnwooded regions, in weedy, brushy places, displaying the 

 usual activity of its tribe, and uttering a melancholy note of one syllable, or a tremulous twitter. 

 Nests naturally on rocks, but soon adapts itself to buildings like the Eastern Pewee. Nest of 

 mud, straw, moss, feathers; eggs 4-5, 0.80 X 0.63, white. 



378. S. nig'ricans. (Lat. nigricaMS, blackening.) Black Pewit Flycatcher. Sooty-brown or 

 blackish, deepest on head and breast; belly and other under parts pure white, abruptly defined; 

 lining of wings, outer web of outer tail-feathers, and edges of inner secondaries, whitish ; bill and 

 feet black; iris red. The coloration is curiously like that of Junco hiemalis. Length about 

 7.00 ; wing 3.50-3.75 ; tail 8.25-3.50 ; biU 0.50 or less, 

 very weak ; tarsus 0.67 ; middle toe and claw 0.60. South- 

 western U. S. and southward, but on the Pacific to Oregon; 



chiefly in unwooded country, and especially along rocky ^^Sf^ti' 



streams, and in canons — I have seen it at the bottom of .^^^KCf 



the Grand Canon of the Colorado, some 6,000 feet below ^^^ jKWl^BV^ 1 1 



the surface of the earth ! Nest of mud, etc., on rocks and 

 walls ; eggs 0.75 X 0.56, white. MtPS^SMT P <d 



379. S. fus'ca. (Lat. fusca, brown. Fig. 286.) Pewit Fly- 

 catcher. Water Pewee. Pewit. Phcebe. Dull oli- 

 vaceous-brown, the head much darker fusoous-browh, t^W' 

 almost blackish, usually in marked contrast with the back ; ^ ^ 

 below, soiled whitish, or palest possible yellow, particularly ^^B^ n— '"L JIL-. I 

 on the belly ; the sides, and the breast nearly or quite across, 

 shaded with grayish-brown ; wings and tail dusky, the outer 

 tail-feather, inner secondaries, and usually the wing-coverts, 

 edged with whitish ; a whitish ring round the eye ; bill and 

 feet black. Varies greatly in shade ; the foregoing is the fio. 286.— Pewit Flycatcher, reduced, 

 average spring condition. As summer passes, the plumage (Sheppard del. Nichols so.) 



becomes much duller and darker brown, from wearing of the feathers ; then, after the moult, 

 fall specimens are much brighter than in spring, the under parts being decidedly yellow, at 

 least on the l?elly. Very young birds have some feathers skirted with rusty, particularly on 



