150 



BIEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



snakes. The eggs,* usually five, are of a creamy brown ground color 

 with numerous dark brownish blotches or spots and lines, the latter 

 generally of a purplish tint appear as if traced with a pen. The nest 

 of this bird is constructed of various materials, such as feathers, hay, 

 leaves, etc. Mr. Gentry some few years ago found a nest of this 

 species, near Germantown, which was placed between the bifurcated 

 branch of an apple tree. " It was composed almost entirely of feathers 

 of our common Gallus, which were held together by long grasses." 

 The note of this bird is a harsh squeak or kind of whistle, exceedingly 

 unpleasant to the ear, and which can be heard to a considerable dis- 

 tance. The food of this species is mainly of an insectivorous nature ; 

 in the late summej and autumn different kinds of berries are often- 

 times fed upon. Some writers state that the Crested Flycatchers like 

 the Kingbirds, are equally fond of honey-bees. Mr. Gentry says : 

 " From the vast numbers of ground-beetles, which have been noticed 

 in the numerous stomachs which we have examined, it is obvious that 

 the species leads almost wholly a terrestrial existence for a week or 

 so after its arrival. As the season advances, and the higher types of 

 insects swarm into existence, it becomes more exclusively arboreal, 

 and aerial, so to speak. We have watched these birds for hours, while 

 perched upon a dead branch of a tree, in the active enjoyment of pro- 

 curing a full meal. Their movements are perfectly ludicrous. There 

 they sit, bobbing the head this way and then that way, now up and 

 then down, ever on the alert for caitiffs, which form their appropriate 

 diet. Hosts of lepidoptera, both larvae and imagoes, are greedily de- 

 voured." 



In the following table will be found the results of the few examina- 

 tions which I have made of the Crested Flycatcher : 



"The eggs measure about .86 long by .65 wide. 



