FLYCATCHERS 
291 
Nesting. A large structure of mud, moss, and grasses under bridges, or the overhangs 
of buildings or ledges of rock. 
Distribution. Eastern North America. In Canada, west through the Prairie Provinces, 
northward in the woodlands. 
No place suits the Phoebe so well for nesting as the flat timbers or 
projecting ledges of an old bridge over some little stream where the moist 
air abounds in insect food. In many parts of the country there is scarcely 
a bridge but has its pair of phoebes in the summer. However, the mud 
nests are not restricted to bridges but are plastered on the slightest projec- 
tion under the eaves of an outbuilding or even under the family porch. 
It is a friendly, familiar bird and comes close to man wherever it finds a 
welcome. Unfortunately its large, untidy looking nests are occasionally the 
dwelling place of innumerable parasites, in other words, bird-lice. The 
usual course when they appear is to knock the nest down with a stick and 
apply boiling water. The application of common insect powder to the 
nest is better, for this will kill the parasites and help to retain about the 
house a confiding and attractive bird. 
It is reassuring to know, however, that bird-lice will not remain on the 
human body, the temperature of which is not high enough for them. 
457. Say’s Phoebe, le moucherolle de say. Sayornis saya. L, 7-50. Plate 
XLIII B. A large, phoebe-like bird; grey-brown, rather than olive-brown above, with 
head scarcely darkening. Greyish breast, and underparts suffused with rusty ochre. 
Distinctions. An even grey-brown bird with abdomen washed with rusty ochre, fading 
away on dull grey throat. Can be mistaken for no other Canadian species. 
Field Marks. A flycatcher, haunting barns, outbuildings, and cliffs. Even ashy 
brown in colour, similar in contour and poise to the Arkansas Kingbird, but much smaller 
and darker head; dark brick colour below instead of yellow. 
Nesting. A large structure of moss, lined with vegetable fibre, fur, or feathers, on the 
sheltered beam of a building or in an horizontal cleft in a cliff. 
Distribution. Western North America, from central Alaska and Mackenzie south to 
New Mexico. In Canada, east to southwestern Manitoba, where it seems to be a compar- 
atively recent arrival. 
Around farm buildings in the west, Say’s Phoebe largely takes the place 
of the Eastern Phoebe in the east, but it also frequents the most arid and 
lonely spots. No coulee, bad lands, or mountain gorge is too dry or desolate 
to harbour a pair. About the tool-house of the farm, the freight sheds of a 
railway, or the heated exposures of rock-slide or cliff, it is equally at home. 
463. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, le moucherolle a ventre jaune. Empidonax 
flaviventris. L, 5-63. A small flycatcher, similar in pattern to the Wood Pewee (See Plate 
XLIY A), and the little green flycatchers, but the browns and olives of those species replaced 
by distinct olive-green and the whites by dull sulphur-yellow. 
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Figure 397 
Maximum and minimum wing lengths of flycatchers most likely to be 
confused; laid off natural size. 
