THE BLUE-GREY FLYCATCHER. 245 
greater number proceed far eastward, and spread over the United States, 
although they are not common in any part. 
The Blue-grey Flycatcher arrives in the neighbourhood of New Orleans 
about the middle of March, when it is observed along the water-courses, 
flitting about and searching diligently, amidst the branches of the golden 
willow, for the smaller kinds of winged insects, devouring amongst others 
great numbers of moschettoes. Its flight resembles that of the Long tailed 
Titmouse of Europe. It moves to short distances, vibrating its tail while on 
wing, and, on alighting, is frequently seen hanging to the buds and bunches 
of leaves, at the extremities of the branches 1 of trees. It seldom visits the 
interior of the forests, in any portion of our country, but prefers the skirts of 
woods along damp or swampy places, and the borders of creeks, pools, or 
rivers. It seizes insects on wing with great agility, snapping its bill like a 
true Flycatcher, now and then making little sallies after a group of those 
diminutive flies that seem as if dancing in the air, and cross each other in 
their lines of flight, in a thousand various ways. 
When it has alighted, its tail is constantly erected, its wings droop, and it 
utters at intervals its low and uninteresting notes, which resemble the sounds 
tsee, tsee. It seldom if ever alights on the ground, and when thirsty prefers 
procuring water from the extremities of branches, or sips the rain or 
dew-drops from the ends of the leaves. 
Its nest is composed of the frailest materials, and is light and small in 
proportion to the size of the bird. It is formed of portions of dried leaves, 
the husks of buds, the silky fibres of various plants and flowers, and light grey 
lichens, and is lined with fibres of Spanish moss or horsehair. I have found 
these nests always attached to two slender twigs of willow. The eggs are 
four or five, pure white, with a few reddish dots at the larger end. Two 
broods are reared in a season. The young and old hunt and migrate 
together, passing amongst the tops of the highest trees, from one to another. 
They leave the State of Louisiana in the beginning of October, the Middle 
States about the middle of September. I have seen some of these birds on 
the border line of Upper Canada, along the shores of Lake Erie. I have 
also observed them in Kentucky, Indiana, and along the Arkansas river. 
In the plate is represented, along with a pair of these delicate birds, a twig 
of one of our most valuable trees, with its pendulous blossoms. This tree, 
the black walnut , grows in almost every part of the United States, in the 
richest soils, and attains a great height and diameter. The wood is used for 
furniture of all sorts, receives a fine polish, and is extremely durable. The 
stocks of muskets are generally made of it. The black walnut is plentiful in 
all the alluvial grounds in the vicinity of our rivers. The fruit is contained 
in a very hard shell, and is thought good by many people. 
Yol. I. 8T 
