346 
FLYCATCHERS 
Sometimes you may hear only the first call, sometimes only the 
second, while on other occasions the two may be uttered alternately. 
A rarer note may be heard when the bird makes a short, fluttering flight. 
It resembles the soft murmuring of whistling wings. 
466. Empidonax trailli trailli (Aud.). Traill’s Flycatcher. Simi- 
lar to E. t. alnorum but still browner; the upperparts with little if any 
greenish tinge; the bill averaging narrower. Specimens from the eastern 
border of the range of this race are often difficult to distinguish from alnorum. 
Range. — W. N. Am. Breeds from s. B. C., and Idaho to s. Calif., Ariz., 
N. M., and Tamaulipas* e. to Mo., Ills., and Ohio, winters in Cen. Am., s. 
to Colombia. 
N. Ohio, common S. R., May 7-Sept. 10. Glen Ellyn, quite common 
S. R., May 14-Sept. 19. SE. Minn., common S. R., May 6-Aug. 10. 
Nesting date , Monroe Co., Mich., June 20. 
466a. E. t. alnorum Brewst. Alder Flycatcher. Upperparts between 
olive-green and olive or olive-brown; wings and tail fuscous ; greater and lesser 
wing-coverts tipped with brownish ashy; underparts whitish, washed with 
dusky grayish on the breast and sides and pale yellowish on the belly; 
throat pure white; upper mandible black, lower mandible whitish or flesh- 
color. Im. — Similar, but wing-bars ochraceous-buff and underparts slightly 
yellower. L., 6*09; W., 2'87; T., 2'33; B. from N., ’35. 
Remarks. — This is the brownest of our small Flycatchers. The upper- 
parts have an evident tinge of brown or olive-brown, a color entirely want- 
ing in the Acadian and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. In this respect it resem- 
bles the much smaller Least Flycatcher, from which, indeed, some speci- 
mens can be distinguished only by size. 
Range. — Breeds mainly in Hudsonian and Canadian zones from cen. 
Alaska, nw. Mackenzie, s. Keewatin, cen. Que., and N. F., s. to e. cen. B. C., 
e. Mont., s. Minn., s. Ont., N. Y., n. N. J., and mts., of W. Va. ; winters 
in Cen. Am. s. to Panama; casual in migration in s. Atlantic States. 
Washington, irregularly common T. V., May 8-May 28; Aug. 16- 
Sept. 17. Ossining, rare T. V., May 19-May 31; Aug. 29. Cambridge, rare 
T. V., May 28-June 6; Aug.; occasional in summer. 
Nest, of coarse grasses, plant down, and plant fibers, lined with fine 
grasses, in the crotch of a small bush or sapling near the ground. Eggs , 3-4, 
creamy white, with cinnamon-brown markings about the larger end, '73 x 
’54. Date, Cambridge, June 15; Columbus, O., June 12. 
While the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is distinctively a bird of the 
deep woods, this more abundant Flycatcher in its summer home resorts 
to the alder patches of the open country and is seldom found far from 
their protecting shade. It flits restlessly about, keeping well out of 
sight below the waving tops of the bushes, and its presence is betrayed 
only by a single pep of alarm that in no way resembles the mournful 
wail of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. It, too, is silent when migrating, 
and on its breeding- grounds sings but little, so that if it did not take 
pains to call out to every one who passes it would not be noticed among 
the rustling alders. The song most resembles that of the Acadian Fly- 
catcher, an ee-zee-e-up, with stress on the rasping zee, the latter part more 
musical. The performer jerks out the notes rapidly, doubling himself up 
and fairly vibrating with the explosive effort. J. Dwight, Jr. 
1901. Farley, J. A., Auk, XVIII, 347-355 (in Mass.).— 1902. Allen, 
F. H., Ibid. XIX, 84 (song). — 1910. Stanwood, C. J., Journ. Me, Orn. 
Soc., XII, 3-5 (nesting in Maine). 
