BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
195 
Genus EMPIDONAX Cabanis. 
Empidonax flaviventris Baird. 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 
Description. 
Bill short and very broad ; length about 5^ ; extent about 8 § ; tail about 2.60 ; 
wing about 2.40 ; above olive-green, in fact decidedly greenish ; lining of wings and 
lower parts sulphur-yellow, very decided, except on breast which is similar to back, 
but paler ; wing bars yellowish-white ; well marked yellow ring around eye ; upper 
mandible blackish, the lower yellow. 
Habitat. —Eastern North America to the plains, and from southern Labrador 
south through eastern Mexico to Panama, breeding from the northern states north¬ 
ward. 
The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is reported by numerous observers to 
be a regular summer resident in various parts of the state, especially in 
the mountainous districts. Prof. August Kock, wTiting of this bird in 
Lycoming county, says it “ breeds in tangled thickets; in almost every 
I such thicket, interwoven with thorns and near a stream, a pair may be 
observed through the summer.” I have never found the nest or eggs of 
this flycatcher. Dr. Coues states that it nests “ in swamps, close to 
ground, in a stump, log, or roots of an upturned tree, thick and bulky, 
of mosses, etc., deeply cupped.” The eggs are said to be usually four, 
measuring about .70 X .50, buffy or creamy-white, spotted chiefly about 
larger end wdth reddish-brown. 
The note as described by Dr. Coues is a low soft pe-a, uttered slowly. 
The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is usually seen perched on the low limbs 
of trees or bushes, along the borders of streams or ponds in the woods. 
I have never observed it on the high branches of trees. According to 
Mr. Gentry it is occasionally observed on the ground, in active pursuit 
of insects, which contribute to its bill of fare. In the few examinations 
which I have made of this species the following insects were found: 
No. 
Date. 
Locality. 
Food-Materials. 
1 
September 22, 1880. 
Chester county, Pa. 
Beetles. 
2 
September 24, 1880,. 
Chester county, Pa. 
Small flies. 
3 
September 25. 1880. 
Chester county, \Pa. 
Beetles and flies. 
4 
September 30, 1880. 
Chester county, Pa.,. 
Grasshopper. 
Empidonax acadicus (Gmel.). 
Acadian Flycatcher; “Hick-up.” 
Description (P/ate 91). 
Length about 6| inches ; extent about 9* ; above grayish-green ; below whitish ; 
throat and middle of belly white. 
Habitat .—Eastern United States, chiefly southward, west to the plains, south to 
Cuba and Costa Rica. 
