318 BIRDS—TYRANNIDA. 
four miles east of the city, I found both species together, Traill’s Fly- 
catcher, frequenting the swamp, and when disturbed flying to the forest 
trees, while the notes of the Acadian Flycatcher were heard at but a short 
distance beyond. Furtherobservation convinces me that in this vicinity 
the eggs of Trailli are of a darker ground color, and spotted with darker 
brown than those of acadicus. The spots on Trailli look as if made with 
thick paint; many spots are surrounded with a halo of lighter brown as 
if the paint had run. 
In the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, v, 1880, 20, Dr. 
Coues, with the object “to confirm and amplify his (Henshaw’s) obser- 
vations,” describes the nests and eggs of these two species, from specimens 
sent him by Mr. O. Widmann, from St. Louis, Missouri. In so doing he 
_ quotes extensively from Mr. Widmann’s letter of transmission, which 
shows this speeies with him to differ as much in its manners from Ohio 
birds as my description makes them differ from eastern examples. Dr. 
Coues’ description of the nest and eggs is, but more minutely and emphati- 
cally, that of Mr. Henshaw. He concludes that the eggs of Traills ‘are so 
similar to those of acadicus that no one should pretend to tell them apart 
with confidence,’ He further quotes a letter from Mr. Allen, relating to 
the same specimens, showing the difference between eastern and western 
nests of Taille as follows: 
‘“‘The New England nests (Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont specimens) are 
scarcely distinguishable from the ordinary nest of Cyanospiza cyanea, and consequently 
suggest no comparison with the nest of H. minimus, they being bulky structures of coarse 
materials, which no one would think could belong to the species building the small, 
compact nests of soft materials that come to us from Obio, through Dr. J. M. Wheaton, 
or from Missouri, through Mr. Widmann.” 
In this connection I may add that the description of the eggs by Dr. 
Brewer, referred to by Mr. Henshaw, is correct for eastern specimens, 
western eggs being much more buffy. I have surmised that our birds 
might be identical with the western variety, pusillus, but Mr. Brewster 
informs me that he can discover no difference between Ohio and New 
England birds. at 
Other localities frequented by these birds in the breeding season, are a 
willow-covered island in the Scioto River, a short distance below the city 
and the “starch-factory swamp,” a recently drained region below the city, 
lying between the canal and river. In the former of these localities I 
have found but few nests, search for them being an almost hopeless task, 
for the reason that as the island is frequently fleoded, nearly every willow 
fork is filled with a bunch of drift leaves. It is not impossible that such 
qualities may have been chosen for nesting places for the protection 
