128 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 7-No. IG 
mei*s. Their happy, chirjiy notes, tpiick 
flights, sporting wath each other, their 
moniing bath and winsome ways, were as 
a golden ray of sunshine that brightened 
the ever}' day cares of life ; and here let 
me add the more one will encourage them¬ 
selves in gleaning a little here and gather- 
iim there, in a few months they would be 
aromished at the amount of information 
gained from Nature’s never ceasing won¬ 
ders which lie all around us or near our 
reach if we will but seek and gather.— Mrs. 
C. M. Croioell, JIat/ioards, Cal. 
Traill’s Flycatcher. 
ITS NESTING H.\BITS IN OHIO. 
Traill’s Flycatcher, {Empulonaxpmillus 
trailli), arrives in Ohio the last of April or 
the first of May, passing northward along 
the margin of the streams. So far as I 
have obsen'ed, it seems to be more shy and 
restless than others of the genus. Its 
jiresence is made kno^\’n by its short and 
pevish notes, uttered at interv'als as it flits 
from bush to bush or across a stream. 
About the latter part of ]May they re¬ 
tire to their favorite breeding resorts, 
which are always in low grounds, and are 
especially fond of thick willows and alders 
along the banks of miming streams. These 
localities seem to be characteristic of this 
species; at least I have never found them 
elsewhere during the breeding season. In 
the vicinity of Columbus they are. appar¬ 
ently, a common Summer resident, breed¬ 
ing almndantly. The bird was not known 
to Vireed in Ohio until its nest was discov¬ 
ered by Dr. •!. Wheaton, in June, 1874, 
in this vicinity. In 1879 I obtained four 
nests with eggs; in 1880, six nests with 
eggs; in 1881, between May 28 and June 
17, I obtained eighteen nests containmg 
eggs. The locality was in a thick growth 
of alders bordering a canal, three miles 
north of the city. None of these nests 
were jilaced higher than eight feet from 
the ground, and in most cases from two to 
four. In nearly all instances they were 
built in an uiiright fork, the small twigs 
that surrounded them were made available 
to secure them finnly in their place by 
being encircled with stringy fibres. 
Ten nests before me have a strong re¬ 
semblance to the usual structure of the 
Yellow Warbler, {Dendroeca vestiva,) but 
probably lack in comjiactness and neatness. 
The external or greater portion of the nest ! 
is composed of hempen fibres, internally 1 
lined in true Flycatcher style with fine 
grasses. In some, however, there is a 
slight lining of horse hair, and of the \ 
dowTi from the milk-weed or thistles. A i 
typical nest measures as follows: Height, I 
two and a half inches; diameter, three in- i 
ches. The carity is an inch and a half in 
diameter, and two inches in depth. In 
nearly all cases these nests contained but I 
three eggs ; rarely four, and a great many ■{ 
in varying stages of incubation. A. nest j 
was often found with one fresh egg and 
two others partly incubated, showing that | 
the eggs were, in some cases, laid on alter- i 
nate days, and sometimes as late as a week . 
after the first was deposited, as is often 
the case with our Cuckoos. The ground 
color of these eggs is extremely variable, i 
Ill some it is of a cream color, in others . 
ajiproachiiig buff. In four sets before me ( 
there is a striking variation in the distribu- | 
tion of the markings. They are usually I 
marked chiefly at the larger end with large 
blotches of red and reddish-brown. This, 
however, is only characteristic in one of 
these sets, while in the others the markings 
are siiiijily veiy small dots, sparingly 
sprinkled over the surface, and in some 
these dottings are scarcely visible, giving 
them tlie appearance of an almost unspot¬ 
ted surface. Six eggs measure respective¬ 
ly 72xJo, 7()X>'5J, lOxfi’i. ()4x53, G9xo2. 
lOxfiJ. There is scarcely any perceptible 
difference between the eggs of Trailli iunl 
those of Acadicas. The western eggs of 
Trailli jirobably have a darker ground, 
and the spots are more vivid, but I <lo not I 
believe any one can tell them ajiart with J 
certaintv . — Oliver Davie, Columbus. Ohio. ^ 
