GREAT CRESTFD FLYCATCHER. 
171 
that all the notes which they utter are given in about the same tone, yet their cries are 
loud, consisting of a series of somewhat shrill whistles often followed by a harsh chatter. 
There is considerable individual variation in the notes of these birds, yet there is a similar¬ 
ity of intonation by which they can at once be recognized. Besides the regular lay, I 
have heard them give a peculiar note which so nearly resembles the call of the Quail that 
it is impossible to decide which of the species is producing the sound. The first place 
that I ever heard this cry was in a thick hummock at Miami, when I was so completely de¬ 
ceived that I advanced carefully through some yards of tangled thicket, expecting every 
moment to start a Quail, and did not discover my mistake until I had approached so near 
a Great Crested Flycatcher which was perched on a low bush, as to be enabled to perceive 
the motion of its throat as it gave utterance to the imitative strain. The locality in 
which I found this particular bird was exceptional for these Flycatchers do not often occur 
in the hummocks of Florida but prefer the more open country, being usually found in the 
piny woods. . These latter named sections are usually vast plains with slight depressions 
which are filled with water and grown up to cypress trees. These swamps, generally cir¬ 
cular in form and which vary from fifty to several hundred yards in diameter, are the chos¬ 
en resort of the Great Crested Flycatchers. Indeed, it is difficult to find a swamp which 
is surrounded by pine woods, after the first of April that is not guarded by one or more of 
these birds. I say guarded, for like nearly all members of this section they seem to con¬ 
sider the land in their immediate vicinity as their special property and will instantly 
eject any avian intruder which ventures upon their domains. 
The Great Crested Flycatchers spend the entire winter on the Keys but do not make 
their appearance on the southern portions of the main-land of Florida until March. They 
reach the vicinity of Jacksonville in early April, arrive in Pennsylvania about the first of 
May, and I have taken them in Massachusetts during the second week of the month. In 
Pennsylvania I found them frequenting old apple orchards and they build in holes after 
the manner of the Blue Bird, depositing their eggs about the middle of June. It is a 
well known fact that the sloughs of snakes are very frequently found in their nests, they do 
not always occur, yet their presence is so general as to leave no doubt but that it is a 
decided habit of the Flycatchers to use them. Why these singular objects are employed 
is of course a matter of pure conjecture, yet, as the skins are placed in a conspicuous posi¬ 
tion and as the birds must take considerable pains to secure them, it is probable that they 
are intended as something more than mere building material. Dried snakes’ skins are hard¬ 
ly attractive enough to be considered as ornamental, even to birds, so we are forced to the 
conclusion that they must be regarded as useful by the Flycatchers. It is noticeable that 
many birds exhibit great fear of snakes, and Ptobins or other species may be kept from 
eating berries by simply hanging the slough of a snake on the bushes. 
Therefore it is quite possible that the Flycatchers taught by a long experience, use 
the skins of these reptiles to frighten away such predatory species as Cuckoos and Crow 
Blackbirds. The Great Crested Flycatchers become attached to certain localities and will 
build their nests for several successive years in the same hole if not disturbed. Individu- 
