310 NESTS AND BGCfS OF 



in Bast^r^ Kansas, where it arrives the first of May and begins laying early in June. 

 Messrs, Keyes, and Williams record it as a summer resident of Iowa, but not common; 

 several neMs-haye been taken near Des Moines during the past few years.* In New 

 England th^ Acadian Flycatcher, which is its other name, is of rare occurrence. 



. In Ohio and the bordering States it. is an abundant species. Regions timbered with 

 large trees, and overgrown with bushes, low trees, vines and weeijs are its favorite 



, resorts. The birds love to penetrate the shadowy depths of the forest, and delight to 

 rear their young in the most quiet and gloomy spots. Rarely, if ever,, is the nest built 

 in isolated trees, but frequently in those along lonely wagon roads or at the border 

 of woods. In these quiet retreats the observer is often startled by the bird's loud, 

 quick and emphatic note, irTiat-d'-see, ichat-d'-ye-see, coming from an unseen per- 

 former, who is perched in the lower branches. The distance of the nest from the 

 ground varies from three to twenty feet, and it is usually suspended in a horizontal 

 fork at the extremity of a low limb. In manner of attachment it resembles the 

 nests of the Vireos, being fastened by the brim, while the bottom is unsupported. 

 Sometimes, as when in vines or bushes, it is suspended between two parallel stems. 

 On the whole, it is a loose, rustic fabric, made of grasses, catkins, weed-fibres and 

 shreds of bark, and when just finished considerable quantities of grass hangs from 

 the periphery of the nest, giving it a slovenly appearance. Two or three j^gs are 

 the number deposited by this species. In only two instances, out of the large number 

 which I have collected, have I found nests with four eggs, and in both cases one egg 

 was badly addled. Their color is a slight yellowish-buff of varying intensity, with 

 a decided flesh-color tint when fresh. The markings are of a light reddish, or bay 

 or rusty-brown color, and are found either in specks or spots grouped chiefly about 

 the larger end. Ten specimens offer the following sizes: .70x.53, .70x.56, .70x.53, .72 

 X.54, .75X.54, .77X.58, .77x.56,. .78x.57, .77x.56, ,.78x.57. An average egg measures 

 .74X.54. The eggs are not distinguishable from those of traiUH, except that the 

 ground-color and markings in those of virescens are generally darker. 



466. TRAIIiL'S FLYCATCHER. Empidonax traillii Aud. Geog. Dlst.— West- 

 ern North America, from the Mississippi Valley (Ohio, Illinois and Michigan) to the 

 Pacific, and from the Fur Countries south into Mexico. 



Common in Western woodlands, where it is generally distributed. A nest con- 

 taining a set of three eggs, collected by S. C. Evans, near San Jose, California, May 

 26, is in my cabinet. The nest was placed in the forks of a small bush, three feet 

 from the ground. Its composition is chiefly vegetable fibres, loosely put together; 

 the lining is of the same material, but of finer shreds, and horse hair. The eggs 

 have a pale yellowish-buff ground-color, spotted and speckled at the gTeater end 

 with light reddish and madder-brown; sizes, .73x.53, .74x.51, .74x.53. 



4660. ALDER FLYCATCHER. Empidonax traillii alnorum Brewst. Geog." 

 Dist.— Eastern North America, from the Maritime Provinces and New England west- 

 ward at least to Northern Michigan, etc., breeding from the southern edge of the 

 Canadian Fauna northward; in winter south to Central America. 



The Alder Flycatcher breeds from the Northern United States northward, and as 

 far south as Southern Illinois and Missouri. The locality usually selected as a nest- 

 ing site by this bird is in a thick growth of alders bordering a stream, or in the 

 deep solitude ot a lonely wood, where it is associated with the Green-crested Fly- 



»A Preliminary Annotated Catalogue of the Birds of Iowa: By Charles R. Keyes 

 anu ri, B. Williams. M. D. Extracted from Proceedings of Davenport Academy Natural 

 ac.ences, 'Vol. V Davenport. Iowa: 3888, p. 23. 



