THE PHOEBE AND THE PEWEE. 
3 
sive, hiswigorous and alert movements being in strong contrast 
to his song. The Phoebe and Wood Pewee have very similar 
coloring, fuscous, (that is a slaty olive color) above, and yellowish 
white beneath. The former has an all black bill, while the lat¬ 
ter has upper mandible black, and lower mandible yellowish ; 
the Phoebe without wing-bars, and Pewee with. The latter al¬ 
so has wings longer than tail. She builds in a tree from twenty 
to forty feet up, a nest similar to her cousin but without mud, 
using lichens for outside covering. She is much smaller than 
Phoebe. Both belong to the “ Fly catcher ” family, all of 
which migrate to the tropics except the Phoebe which is often 
heard in winter in Florida swamps. 
The Phoebe flitting in and out of my pear tree catches 
which kind of insects? Does he catch the same kind in Flori¬ 
da? Are there so many, of his favorite kinds, in Florida that 
there is no temptation to seek the tropics ? Why do the smal¬ 
ler fly catchers, the Least fly catcher, and the Wood Pewee go 
further south than Florida ? Is it because their insectivorous 
feast is of a different kind from that of the Phoebe? Patient 
observation will determine much for us. We all see about the 
same; to one it means much, to another little. 
As Burroughs has said, iC How much patient observation it 
takes to settle many of the facts in the lives of the birds, ani¬ 
mals, and insects. Study of nature deepens the mystery and 
charm because it removes the horizon farther off. We cease to 
fear, perhaps, but how can one cease to marvel and to love ? ” 
Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Batchelder sailed from New York, for 
the Mediterranean tour, on Saturday, May 19, bearing with 
them the sincere good wishes of many friends. It was hoped 
that something from the genial professor's pen might appear in 
the first number of Nature Study, and he did make an earnest 
effort, writing an article while on the train, and mailing it just 
before sailing. It will appear in the July number. 
