FLYCATCHERS 
259 
at nostril. Young : with huffy or brownish wing 1 bars. Length : 6.20-6.75, 
wing 3.15-3.55 , tail 2.50-2.95, exposed culmen .44-51, width of bill at base 
.27-.32, tarsus .49-.56. 
Remarks. — In richardsonii the wings and tail are slightly longer than 
in C. virens. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones from the 
Plains to the Pacific, and from the interior of British America to Lower 
California; migrates to South America. 
Nest. —Saddled on horizontal limb of orchard or forest tree, 6 to 40 
feet from the ground ; made of wood, plant fibers, down, inner bark, sage, 
and grass tops, rarely lined with a few feathers, and sometimes covered 
with spider’s web. Eggs : 2 to 4, white, irregularly wreathed around the 
larger end with blotches and minute specks of brown and purple. 
Food. — Flies and other insects, with a few wild berries. 
In the lower Canadian zone forests the western wood pewee is 
frequently met with, and in the Murray pine meadows of the Sierra 
is one of the commonest birds seen. It sits with its long thin body 
erect, and as it watches for insects gives its quiet call, well rendered 
by Dr. Merrill as tweer or deer. In Arizona its setting is altogether 
different, mesquite and yucca stalks being its principal perches. 
GENUS EMPIDONAX. 
i 
General Characters. —Wing less than 3.25, not more than 
five times as long as tarsus. 
Fig. 335. 
KEY TO ADULT MALES. 
1. Under parts huffy. Arizona and New Mexico . . pygmaeus, p. 263. 
1'. Under parts whitish or sulphur yellow. 
2. Width of bill at nostrils decidedly greater than half the 
exposed culmen. 
3. Under parts wholly yellowish or brownish. Fig ’ 336 ‘ 
4. Under parts darker, washed with brown . . difficilis, p. 260. 
4'. Under parts lighter, with little or no brown wash. Santa Bar¬ 
bara Islands. insulicola, p. 260. 
3'. Under parts partly white. 
4. Wing 2.30-2.60; tail distinctly emarginate. Rocky Mountains 
to Atlantic. minimus, p. 261. 
4'. Wing 2.60-3.00 ; tail even or slightly rounded. 
5. Colors weaker; bill longer and narrower . . traillii, p. 260. 
5'. Colors stronger; bill shorter and broader. Eastern. 
alnorum, p. 261. 
2'. Width of bill at nostrils not greater than half the exposed culmen. 
3. Bill narrower. hammondi, p. 262. 
3'. Bill broader. F *g- 337. 
4. Under mandible blackish . . wrightii, p. 262. 
4'. Under mandible flesh-colored, tipped with black. 338. 
Mountains of southern Arizona. griseus, p. 263. 
