438 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
phase: Upperparts olive-gray, brownish on head; tail and primaries deep grayish 
brown, the outer web of outside feather lighter; wing coverts dusky with two light 
bands; orbital ring dull whitish; chest and, sides of breast gray , almost like back; rest 
of underparts dull white, or very pale yellow; bill brownish or blackish below. 
Yellou'-bellied phase: More olivaceous or brownish olive above, chest olive or buffy 
olive; belly primrose or sulphur-yellow. Young: Like white-bellied adults, but 
upperparts grayish brown instead of olive, and wing bands light buffy. 
Comparisons. —The small narrow bill in conjunction with the dark chest band 
usually distinguish hammondi from all others in the genus Empidonax. The outside 
primary is longer than the fifth instead of shorter as in dijficilis and wrighti . 
Range. —Breeds in Canadian and Transition Zones from southeastern Alaska, 
southern Yukon, central Alberta, and western Montana south to Colorado; winters 
from northern New Mexico to Guatemala. 
State Records. —The Hammond Flycatcher occurs in New Mexico during 
spring and fall migration only. In the spring, it was taken May 4, 1892, on the 
southern boundary of the State, 100 miles west of the Rio Grande (Mearns). The 
earliest records in the fall are July 30, 1883, near Willis (Henshaw), and August 
25, 1906, in Santa Clara Canyon (Bailey), for northern New Mexico; and August 
31, 1886, at Apache (Anthony), for the southern part of the State. Migration 
continues for about a month and the latest dates are those of a specimen taken 
September 27, 1908, at Redrock (Goldman) [and one noted September 30, 1916, near 
Gallup (Skinner)]. The species apparently is not common in New Mexico, but in 
addition to the above records it has been noted September 7, 1908, in the Florida 
Mountains (Goldman); September 19, 1873, at Fort Bayard (Henshaw); and Sep¬ 
tember 19, 1908, in the Burro Mountains (Goldman).—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —In willows, cottonwoods, aspens, or coniferous trees, 2 to 50 feet from 
the ground; made of plant stems and fibers, bark, and down, sometimes lined with 
grass tops, hair, feathers, bud scales, and hypnum moss. Eggs: Usually 3 or 4, 
creamy white, generally unspotted but sometimes with small brown dots around 
the larger end. 
General Habits. —The small-billed, dark-chested Hammond Fly¬ 
catcher leaves the low country entirely in the summer, Mr. Henshaw 
says, “finding in the glens and recesses of the pine woods of the moun¬ 
tains or the alpine streams, with their fringes of alders, its chosen 
retreats” (1875, p. 362). According to his observation, it lacks most of 
the dash and spirit characteristic of the family, its notes being a soft 
pit , and in the breeding season, a low lisping whistle. 
A specimen taken August 25, 1906, in the Jernez Mountains was well 
along with its molt. 
WRIGHT FLYCATCHER: Empidonax wrighti Baird 
Description. — Male: Wing 2.7-2.9 inches, tail 2.5-2.8, bill .6-7, width at base 
.2-3. Female: Length about 5.2, wing 2.4-2.7, tail 2.1-2.4. Adults: Like ham¬ 
mondi, but bill longer; and outside primary shorter instead of longer than fifth; 
anterior underparts paler and less uniform; outer web of outer tail feather abruptly 
white . 
Range. —Breeds in Canadian and Transition Zones from British Columbia, 
east of Cascades and coast ranges, southwestern Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (?) 
