LAND BIRDS. 397 
a somewhat lower key, and varied to ‘whuir, whuree,’ or ‘puree,’ accom- 
panied by various turns and twistings of the head. Its alarm note is a 
penetrating and far-reaching ‘wheek, wheek.’” Bicknell says the birds 
are nearly silent through most of July and August and use only low notes 
until they depart. 
The nest is built late in May or early in June; E. B. Schrage taking a set 
of five eggs at Pontiac June 4, 1896, and R. B. Westnedge a set of six at 
Kalamazoo June 10, 1891. Possibly a second brood is sometimes reared, 
since we have several records of eggs in July. Mr. W. Wilkowski states 
that at Kalamazoo, July 11, 1902, he found a nest containing ten eggs 
evidently laid by two different females, since five were heavily blotched 
and the other five thinly marked. The period of incubation is commonly 
given as fifteen days. The nest is always placed in a hollow of some kind, 
usually in the branch of an orchard tree, or the dead limb of some large tree 
in the forest. It is made of a great variety of fibrous materials, but usually 
has tufts of hairs, roots, grasses, feathers, and almost invariably pieces of 
cast snake-skin, sometimes entire skins. Various explanations have been 
suggested for this use of snake skins, the most common being that the skins 
are supposed to protect the nest from the intrusion of enemies, but this 
is extremely doubtful. The eggs are four to seven, rarely three or eight, 
while five or six is the usual number. They have a buffy ground color 
profusely marked with streaks, lines, and spots of darker color, commonly 
reddish brown, purple and lavender. ‘Pen markings” usually predominate 
and the eggs can hardly be confounded with those of any other Michigan 
bird. They average .88 by .66 inches. 
The food consists mainly of insects and if more abundant the bird could 
be counted as one of the farmers’ good friends, although it eats such a 
variety of insects that the problem is by no means simple. It also eats 
some small fruits, including blackberries, wild cherries, and the fruits of 
honeysuckle, sassafras and spice bush. 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Adult (sexes alike): Upper parts clear olive or grayish brown, the top of head darker 
and browner; most of the primaries edged externally with rusty (rufous), and the coverts 
and tertiaries with white or buffy; throat and chest clear ash-gray, shading into sulphur- 
yellow on the lower breast, belly, sides and under tail-coverts; edges and lining of wings 
also yellow; middle pair of tail-feathers entirely brown, the rest brown on the outer webs, 
rufous or chestnut on inner webs; bill brownish; feet black; iris brown. 
Immature: Scarcely different from adults, but colors not so pure, and feathers of back 
and wings, often with rusty edgings. : 
Length 8.50 to 9 inches; wing 3.90 to 4.40; tail 3.50 to 4.20; culmen about .75. 
179. Phoebe. Sayornis phoebe (Lath.). (456) 
Synonyms: Phoebe Bird, Pewee, Bridge Pewee, Water Pewee, Barn Pewee, Beam- 
bird, Pewit Flycatcher—Muscicapa pheebe, Latham, 1790.—Muscicapa fusca, Gmel. 
1788.—Tyrannus fuscus, Nutt.—Sayornis fuscus, Baird. 
May be recognized by its action and note, not by shape or color, at least 
not by amateurs. The lack of conspicuous wing-bars, the white edging 
of the outer tail-feathers, the nearly white (slightly yellowish) under parts, 
are helpful points with a specimen in hand. _ Probably the most character- 
istic action of the bird is the constant dropping and flirting of the tail. 
Distribution.—Eastern North America, west to eastern Colorado and 
western Texas, and from the British Provinces south to eastern Mexico 
