What Bird is That? Part 13

The reddish brown tail-feathers may sometimes be seen and the crest is usually evident. L. 9.

_Range._ Eastern North America; nests from Florida to Canada; winters in the tropics, reaching Florida on its northward journey in March.

Was.h.i.+ngton, very common S.R., Apl. 20-Sept. 29.

Ossining, common S.R., May 7-Sept. 12. Cambridge, rare S.R., May 15-Sept. 11. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 25-Sept. 15. Glen Ellyn, not common S.R., May 1-Sept. 18. SE. Minn., common S.R., Apl. 25.

A character of the woods distinguished alike by appearance, voice and habits. His crested head seems too big for his body; his exclamatory whistle, which sounds like a shout above a monotone of conversation, his habit of always lining his nest with a cast-off snake skin, all mark him as an odd genius. Even his wife's eggs, with their long chocolate streaks, are quite unlike any other birds' eggs. They are laid in a hole in a tree in May or June.

PHBE

_Soyornis phbe. Case 4, Fig. 52; Case 5, Fig. 15_

Head slightly crested, somewhat darker than body.

In the fall the underparts are tinged with yellow.

L. 7.

_Range._ Eastern North America; nests from northern Mississippi and northwestern Georgia to Canada; winters from South Carolina to Mexico. The only Flycatcher to winter in the eastern United States and hence the first to reach us in the spring.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common S.R., Feb. 25-Oct.; occasionally winters. Ossining, common S.R., Mch.

14-Oct. 29. Cambridge, common T.V., and not uncommon S.R., Mch. 25-Oct. 10. N. Ohio, common S.R., Mch. 14-Oct. 15. Glen Ellyn, S.R., Mch.

13-Oct. 6. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 22-Oct.

11.

The Phbe is the best known member of a group of small Flycatchers which the beginner, and not infrequently the advanced student, names with more or less uncertainty. Fortunately for the field student, and as if to compensate for their close resemblance in plumage, they all possess distinctive, quite unlike, and easily recognizable calls, and consequently can readily be identified by their voices if not by their colors.

The Phbe shows so marked a fondness for our society, nesting under our piazzas, in barns or outbuildings, and calls his _pewit-phbe_ so plainly, wagging his tail the while in a friendly, sociable kind of a way, that there is never any doubt about his ident.i.ty; but we will not make the acquaintance of his less common, less confiding relatives so readily.

The Phbe's 4-6 white eggs (rarely with a few brown spots) are laid the latter half of April.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER

_Nuttalornis borealis. Case 8, Fig. 59_

With the general appearance of a large Phbe, but with the breast and sides the color of the back, and a tuft of white feathers on each flank. L. 7.

_Range._ North America; nests from northern New England northward (southward in the Alleghanies to North Carolina); winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, casual T.V. Ossining, tolerably common T.V., May 20; Aug. 15-Sept. 16. Cambridge, rare T.V., May 20-June 6; formerly not uncommon S.R., one Sept. record. Glen Ellyn, not common T.V., May 13-June 11; Aug. 11-Sept. 15. SE. Minn., common T.V., May 10-Sept. 9.

To most of us the Olive-sided is known as a rare migrant pa.s.sing northward in May, among the later transients, and southward in September. When traveling the bird retains the fondness of its kind for perching on tall tree-tops, but its loud, unmistakable, whistled "come right _here_, come right _here_" is usually heard only on the nesting ground.

The nest is placed in coniferous trees about 25 feet up, and 3-5 white, brown-spotted eggs are laid in June.

WOOD PEWEE

_Myiochanes virens. Case 8, Fig. 63_

Resembles the Phbe but is smaller with relatively longer wings and more evident wing-bars. L. 6.

_Range._ Eastern North America; nesting from Florida to Canada; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common S.R., Apl. 20-Oct. 12.

Ossining, common S.R., May 10-Oct. 2. Cambridge, common T.V., not uncommon S.R., May 18-Sept. 15.

N. Ohio, abundant S.R., May 2-Sept. 27. Glen Ellyn, fairly common S.R., May 9-Sept. 29. SE.

Minn., common S.R., May 10-Sept. 23.

In color Phbe and Pewee are much alike and both are Flycatchers, but the resemblance ends there. Pewee loves the solitude of the forest rather than the sociability of the barnyard, and his pensive _pee-a-wee_ does not even suggest the business-like _pewit-phbe_ of his better-known cousin. Nor does his dainty lichen-covered nest saddled so skillfully on the limb of a forest tree, recall the Phbe's bulky moss and mud dwelling. Finally, the Pewee's eggs, laid in May, are wreathed with brown.

YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER

_Empidonax flaviventris. Case 8. Fig. 61_

The entire underparts, including the throat, are unquestionably sulphur-yellow. L. 5

_Range._ Eastern North America; nests from northern New York and northern New England northward into Canada; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, rather common T.V., May; July 28-Oct.

6. Ossining, common T.V., May 17-June 4; Aug.

8-Sept. 20. Cambridge, T.V., sometimes rather common, May 25-June 3; Aug. 28-Sept. 8. N. Ohio, rare T.V., May 10. Glen Ellyn, rather rare T.V., May 20-June 5; Sept. 3. SE. Minn., common T.V., May 19.

Known chiefly as a not common migrant who visits our woods on his journey to and from his northern home. He is a silent traveler and gives no clue to his ident.i.ty by calling or singing, but his underparts are so much yellower than those of any other of our small Flycatchers that they make a definite field character. Nests in coniferous forests on the ground, laying 4 white, lightly spotted eggs in June.

ACADIAN FLYCATCHER

_Empidonax virescens. Case 8, Fig. 60_

Throat white, upperparts bright, light olive-green, without tinge of brown as in the Alder Flycatcher.

_Range._ Eastern North America; rather southern, nesting from Florida north to Connecticut and Michigan; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common S.R., May 1-Sept. 15. Ossining, common S.R., May 10-Aug. 27. N. Ohio, common S.R., May 4-Sept. 15. Glen Ellyn, not common S.R., May 6-Aug. 27, and probably later.

On the low-sweeping limb of a beech over a stream is an ideal site for the frail nest of the Acadian. The bird is never found far from it and its low-ranging habits permit us to see its characteristic markings and hear its peculiar sudden, explosive little _pee-e-yuk_ and more commonly uttered _spee_ or _peet_.

The creamy white, brown-spotted eggs are laid the latter part of May.

ALDER FLYCATCHER

_Empidonax trailli alnorum. Case 8, Fig. 62_

Larger than the Least Flycatcher, but resembling it in having the back olive-brown instead of olive-green as in the Acadian and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. L. 6.

_Range._ Eastern North America; nests from northern New Jersey (locally) and mountains of West Virginia to Canada; winters in the tropics.