A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
641 
reduce the number of insects near a garden or field, as the 
ir S °* ten > if n °t always, raise two broods a year, and each 
brood numbers from four to six young. 
. ve §‘ eta f ) ie portion of the food is unimportant, and con- 
sists mainly of a few seeds, with small fruits, such as wild 
cherries and elder berries. 
There is hardly a more useful species than the Phoebe about 
e farm ’ and !t should receive every encouragement. To 
furnish nesting-boxes is unnecessary, as it usually prefers a 
more open situation, like a shed or nook under the eaves ; but it 
should be protected from cats and other marauders. 
Wood Pewee: Contopus virens. S. R. 
Length: 6-6.50 inches. 
Male and Female: Dusky olive-brown above, darkest on head, throat 
paler, middle of belly yellowish, growing lighter below. White 
bhck 11 ^ End tW ° Whitish wing bars - Feet and bil1 dusky or 
Note: “ Pewee-a, - peweea, peer!”- as much a song as that of 
many birds classified as Song-birds. 
Season : May to October. 
Breeds. Throughout its range. 
Nest: Flat; its evenly rounded edge stuccoed with lichens like that 
of the Hummingbird ; hardly to be distinguished from the bough 
on which it is saddled. ^ 
' Creamy-white, with a wreath of brown and lilac spots on the 
larger end. 
Eggs. 
In early May the Wood Pewee comes to the garden lane 
and whispers of his presence with his plaintive little ditty 
and in the autumn the same lonely call is virtually the only 
wood note left. In spite of his name, he is not exclusively a 
wood-bird, but comes through the garden, following shvlv in 
the Phoebe’s wake. But he only trusts his precious nest to 
some mossy woodland limb, a trifle softened by decay, where 
he blends his house with its foundations by the skillful use of 
moss and lichens. 
Family Caprimulgidae: Goatsuckers 
Whip-poor-will: Antrostomus vociferus. S. R 
Plate VIII Fig. 1 
Length: 9-10 inches. 
Mate and Female: A long-winged bird of the twilight and night 
Large mouth, fringed with bristles. Plumage dusky and Owl- 
hke much spotted with black and gray. Wings beautifully 
mottled with shades of brown; lower half of the outer tail quills 
white in the male, but rusty in female. 
