Plate XIX. 
Fig. 2. CONTOPUS VIRENS~Wood Pewee. 
The time of arrival and departure of this sj:>ecies is about the same as that of the preceding. In 
mild seasons the nest may be built the last of May, but June is the usual month in which the cares of 
housekeeping begin. It is probable that- two broods of young are often hatched. I have not, however, 
determined this with certainty. 
LOCALITY: 
The Wood Pewees are fond of quiet and solitude, but they do not habitually resort to the dense 
woods so dear to the Acadian Flycatchers. As a rule, the nest is built in a large tree, in the interior 
or about the border of a wood, on the bank of a stream, or by a l’oadside, but it may be placed in 
any suitable tree in almost any locality. Frequently they come into town and build in apple-trees, pear- 
trees, and shade-trees. In the country, oak and hickory-trees furnish the majority of nesting-sites. 
POSITION": 
Ordinarily the nest is situated either on the upper surface of a limb, or in a horizontal fork. Occa- 
sionally it is placed among a number of irregular branches. The limb in the first instance is, I believe, 
never quite as large in diameter as the nest, and is generally covered more or less with lichens. When 
the nest is in a fork, the supporting branches are rarely less than half an inch in diameter. If the 
angle formed is small, the nest is built as when upon a single limb, but if the angle is large, as is fre- 
quently the case, it is let down between the brandies so that the rim projects little if any above them. 
Dead as well as living limbs are chosen for the site. The distance from the ground varies from six to 
forty feet. 
MATERIALS : 
Slender or split grasses, weed-fibres, fine weed-stems, narrow strips of grapevine-bark, and pieces of 
moss-fibres, in various proportions, form the nest proper. Ordinarily, fine round grass and split blue- 
grass are the principal materials. Exteriorly the nest is covered with pieces of lichen, which are held 
in position by web, and the whole is secured to the limb by an entanglement of web and lichen with 
the bark. The diameter of the cavity varies from 1.80 to 2.25 inches, average about two inches ; 
depth of cavity averages about .75. The wall of the nest at the rim is from .25 to .75 of an inch. 
The limb upon which it rests frequently forms the bottom, with no covering, but if it is in a fork the 
wall through the bottom may be .75 of an inch. 
EGGS: 
The complement of eggs is generally four. They measure from .65 to .79 in long-diameter, and 
from .50 to .59 in short-diameter. The largest egg before me is .79 x .59; the smallest .65 x .54. The 
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