428 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
of belly. Young: Similar but crown patch restricted, upperparts more brownish 
buffy, wing bars cinnamon-buff. 
Range. —Mountains of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico 
south to Panama; winters south of United States. 
State Records. —The Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher has not yet been captured 
within the limits of New Mexico, but it is a regular breeder in the mountains of 
southeastern Arizona and was taken July 3, 1892, on Cajon Bonito Creek just over 
the line in Mexico from the southwestern corner of New Mexico. It has been 
reported by Lieut. Col. E. P. Rock hill as seen on the upper reaches of the Gila 
River in April, 1915, and afterwards on the lower Mimbres above Deming, so that 
it will undoubtedly be taken within the State.—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —In a natural cavity of a sycamore (as far as reported) lined with walnut 
leaves. Eggs: 3, creamy buff, profusely blotched, chiefly around the larger end, 
with purple and reddish brown. 
General Habits. —The strikingly striped, rufous-tailed, Sulphur- 
bellied Flycatcher in the Huachuca Mountains, as Mr. Swarth found, is 
“ preeminently a bird of the heavily wooded canyons . . . seen only 
along the streams . . . between 5,000 and 7,500 feet altitude” (1904, 
p. 22). As it frequents the tops of the tallest trees, where a far brighter 
bird might easily escape observation, and its colors blend exceedingly 
well with the surrounding vegetation, it is by no means easy to see, 
especially as it often sits perfectly motionless long at a time. 
PHOEBE: Say6mis phoebe (Latham) 
Description .— Length: About 6.2-7 inches, wing 3.2-3.5, tail 3-3.4. Adults in 
spring (January to April inclusive): Head sooty brown in contrast to grayish olive back , 
rump, and upper tail coverts; tail and wings dusky, with lighter edgings, tail with 
outer feathers edged with whitish; chin grayish, underparts dull yellowish while, sides 
of breast grayish olive. Adults in fall and winter (September to December inclusive): 
Similar to spring adults but yellowish white of underparts replaced by primrose- 
yellow, back more decidedly olive, and wing-edgings more yellowish. Young: 
Similar to adults, but upperparts browner, wings crossed by two conspicuous cinna¬ 
mon-brown or buffy bands, and upper tail coverts tinged with cinnamon. 
Range. Breeds from southwestern Mackenzie, Alberta, southern Keewatin, 
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island south to highlands of 
Georgia, northern Mississippi, central Texas, and northeastern New Mexico; winters 
in United States south of latitude 37 3 and south to Vera Cruz and Oaxaca; casual to 
California, Colorado, and Wyoming. 
State Records. 1 he first and only record of the Phoebe for New Mexico is that 
of several pairs found nesting at Santa Rosa and its immediate neighborhood, May 
29 to June 2, 1903 (Bailey). On the earlier date, young were being fed in the nest. 
This is apparently an isolated breeding colony that had become localized here nearly 
300 miles west of the regular range.—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. Under bridges and culverts, about houses and other buildings, in quarries, 
open wells, and caves, or on cliffs, rocks or shelves. If attached to a vertical surface, 
semicircular; made of mud pellets, mixed with moss, and a little grass and feathers; if 
on a flat beam or rafter, circular; with little or no mud. Eggs: Usually 5, generally 
pure white. 
