THE HOODED FLYCATCHING-WARBLER. 13 



May has laid its eggs, or sometimes even hatched them. It arrives in South 

 Carolina in April, immediately constructs its nest, and has young quite as 

 soon as in Louisiana. 



The Hooded Flycatcher is one of the liveliest of its tribe, and is almost 

 continually in motion. Fond of secluded places, it is equally to be met with 

 in the thick cane brakes of the high or low lands, or amid the rank weeds 

 and tangled bushes of the lowest and most impenetrable swamps. You re- 

 cognise it instantly on seeing it, for the peculiar graceful opening and closing 

 of its broad tail distinguishes it at once, as it goes on gambolling from bush 

 to bush, now in sight, now hid from your eye, but constantly within hearing. 

 Its common call-note so resembles that of the Painted Finch or Nonpareil, 

 that it requires a practised ear to distinguish them. Its song, however, is 

 very different. It is rather loud, lively, yet mellow, and consists of three 

 notes, resembling the syllables weet, weet, weetee, a marked emphasis being 

 laid on the last. Although extremely loquacious during the early part of 

 spring, it becomes almost silent the moment it has a brood; after which its 

 notes are heard only while the female is sitting on her eggs; for they raise 

 two, sometimes three, broods in a season. 



Full of activity and spirit, it flies swiftly after its insect prey, securing the 

 greater part of it on wing. Its flight is low, gliding, and now and then pro- 

 tracted to a considerable distance, as it seldom abandons the pursuit of an 

 insect until it has obtained it. 



The nest of this gay bird is always placed low, and is generally attached 

 to the forks of small twigs. It is neatly and compactly formed of mosses, 

 dried grasses, and fibrous roots, and is carefully lined with hair, and not un- 

 frequently a few large feathers. The eggs are from four to six, of a dull 

 white, spotted with reddish-brown towards the larger end. The male and 

 female sit by turns, and show extreme anxiety for the safety of their eggs or 

 young. 



My worthy friend John Bachman, gave me the following account of the 

 courageous disposition and strength of attachment of the Hooded Flycatcher. 

 "I found a nest of these birds in a low piece of ground, so entangled with 

 smilax and briars that it was difficult for me to pass through it. The nest 

 was not placed more than two feet from the ground. This was in the month 

 of May, and the parents were engaged in feeding the young it contained. 

 Not far from that spot, whilst on a stand, waiting for a deer to pass, I saw 

 another pair of the Hooded Flycatcher collecting materials to build a nest. 

 The female was the most active, and yet the male was constantly near to her. 

 A sharp-shinned Hawk suddenly pounced upon them, seized the female, and 

 flew off with her. The male, to my surprise, followed close after the Hawk, 

 flying within a few inches of him, and darting at him in all directions, as if 

 Vol. II. 3 



