PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 425 



its bill. About a week later I found a young bird which could scarcely 

 fly, and which, on being caught, proved very pugnacious. Its song is a 

 loud prolonged " three deer y " the last syllable being much shorter than 

 the first. Both are occasionally prefaced with a short note in a lower 

 key. Its other very common, not unmusical notes, I once copied with 

 the syllables " chu-chu-chu"; again, u pu-pu~pu v \ again, "pip-pip", the 

 notes apparently varying with the individual. These notes follow each 

 other rapidly, sometimes consisting of groups of two, usually of three, 

 Occasionally of four, a call almost invariably ending with groups of the 

 same number as that with which it began. It is usually uttered from 

 the top of a dead tree, often two hundred feet from the ground. It 

 appears to prefer the tops of the tallest dead trees as a foraging centre. 

 They utter notes while chasing one another, which I once described as 

 resembling those of Flickers, but I am not now satisfied with that de- 

 scription. 



73993 

 75316 

 75317 



— ad. *Big Trees ! May 25, 1877 



? ad do July 7, 1878 



ad. | do July 16, 1878 



"105. Contopus richardsoni, (Swains.)- — Western Wood Pewee. 



This species was first noticed at Stockton during the spring of 1878, 

 on May 9, soon after which it became common in all suitable localities. 

 It is common in the pine forests in summer. It was rare at Murphy's 

 August 27, and was not seen at •Stockton in September or later. 



73547 

 73994 

 73995 

 74454 

 76602 



Murphy's — , 1877 



'Big Trees | May 25,1877 



do i SpriiiGT. 1877 



■Stockton • May 15,1878 



Murphy's i Sept. — , 1878 



*106. Empidonax difficilis, BaircL* — Westorn Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 



Only two of these birds were recognized at Stockton in the spring of 

 1878, the first being noticed on May 1. Two or three were seen at Big 

 Trees in July and August. These were in willows at the head of ravines, 

 near springs. Those seen at Stockton were in opent oak groves. 



75318 



cT ad. | Big Trees. July 27, 1878 



*107. Empidonax pusillus, (Swains.). — Lottie Flycatcher. 



This is a common summer resident at Stockton and Marysville. It 

 seems invariably confined to willow thickets, and to occur wherever they 

 do, whether in valleys or mountains. 



•In my report on the Ornithology of the U. S. Geological. Exploration of the 40th 

 Parallel (Clarence King), p. 544, I considered this bird as specifically distinct from E. 

 flaviventris, chiefly on account of supposed great differences in the location'and charac- 

 er of the nest and eggs. Facts subsequently brought to light, however, by Messrs. 

 H. A. PurdieandS. D. Osborne (see Bull. Nutt. Or*. Club, Oct, 1878, pp. 100. 187), show 

 that the two do not differin these particulars. Notwithstanding this, the difference be- 

 tween the two forms in coloration and proportions is so marked that there should 

 never be any difficulty in easily distinguishing them. — R. R. 



t That is, not darkly shaded, the trees scattering, and with no undergrowth. 



