near the tree they had occupied the year before, in which, at the
height of fifteen feet, they placed their nest. It contained four eggs
which, except in their superior size, were precisely similar to those
of the Wood Pewee, yellowish cream-color, with dark brown and
lavender-purple spots, thinly dispersed. After removing two of these
eggs, the others were accidentally rolled out of the nest. The pair
constructed another nest, again in a cedar-tree, at a short distance.
The next year they did not return to that locality. Mr. Nuttall
afterwards met with individuals of this species in the fir woods on
the Columbia.
On the 8th of August, 1832, Mr. Audubon, in company with Mr. Nuttall,
obtained the specimen of this species in Brookline, Mass., from which
his drawing was made. In the course of his journey farther east,
Audubon found it in Maine, on the Magdeleine Islands, and on the coast
of Labrador. He afterwards met with it in Texas.
Mr. Boardman reports the Olive-sided Flycatcher as having of late
years been very abundant during the summer in the dead woods about the
lakes west of Calais, where formerly they were quite uncommon. Mr.
Verrill mentions it as a summer visitant in Oxford County, in the
western part of the State, but not very common, and as undoubtedly
breeding there. It was never observed there before the 20th of May. It
is said to be more abundant at Lake Umbagog.
In Western Massachusetts Mr. Allen regards this bird as a not very
rare summer visitant. It arrives about May 12, breeds in high open
woods, and is seldom seen at any distance from them. It leaves about
the middle of September.
Mr. William Brewster, who resides in Cambridge, in the neighborhood in
which this species was first observed by Mr. Nuttall, informs me that
these birds still continue to be found in that locality. He has
himself met with five or six of their nests, all of which were placed
near the extremity of some long horizontal branch, usually that of a
pitch-pine, but on one occasion in that of an apple-tree. The eggs
were laid about the 15th of June, in only one instance earlier. The
females were very restless, and left their nest long before he had
reached it, and, sitting on some dead branch continually uttered, in a
complaining tone, notes resembling the syllables _pill-pill-pill_,
occasionally varying to _pu-pu-pu_. The males were fierce and
quarrelsome, and attacked indiscriminately everything that came near
their domain, sometimes seeming even to fall out with their mates,
fighting savagely with them for several seconds. When incubation was
at all far advanced, the birds evinced considerable courage, darting
down to within a few inches of his head, if he approached their nest,
at the same time loudly snapping their bills.
A nest of this Flycatcher was found in Lynn, Mass., by Mr. George O.
Welch, in June, 1858. It was built on the top of a dead cedar, and
contained three eggs. It was a flat, shallow structure, five inches in
its external diameter, and with a very imperfectly defined cavity. The
greatest depth was less than half an inch. It was coarsely and loosely
built of strips of the bark and fine twigs of the red cedar, roots,
mosses, dry grasses, etc. The nest was so shallow, that, in climbing
to it, two of the eggs were rolled out and broken.
Mr. Charles S. Paine has found this bird breeding in Randolph, Vt. On
one occasion he found its nest on the top of a tall hemlock-tree, but
was not able to get to it.
In Philadelphia, Mr. Trumbull found this species very rare. It passed
north early in May, and south in September. Near Hamilton, Canada, it
is very rare, none having been seen; and two specimens obtained near
Toronto are all that Mr. McIlwraith is aware of having been taken in
Canada West.
Dr. Hoy informs me that this species used to be quite common near
Racine, frequenting the edges of thick woods, where they nested. They
have now become quite scarce. Some years since, he found one of their
nests, just abandoned by the young birds, which their parents were
engaged in feeding. It was on the horizontal branch of a maple, and
was composed wholly of _usneæ_.
In Washington Territory this bird appears to be somewhat more common
than in other portions of the United States. Dr. Suckley obtained a
specimen at Fort Steilacoom, July 10, 1856. It was not very abundant
about Puget Sound, and showed a preference for shady thickets and
dense foliage, where it was not easily shot. Dr. Cooper speaks of it
as very common, arriving early in May and frequenting the borders of
woods, where, stationed on the tops of tall dead trees, it repeats a
loud and melancholy cry throughout the day, during the whole of
summer. It frequents small pine groves along the coast, and also in
the interior, and remains until late in September.
In California Dr. Cooper found this species rather common in the Coast
Range towards Santa Cruz, where they had nests in May; but as these
were built in high inaccessible branches, he was not able to examine
them. He also found it at Lake Tahoe in September.
This species was only met with by Mr. Ridgway in the pine woods high
up on the East Humboldt, Wahsatch, and Uintah Mountains. There it was
breeding, but was nowhere abundant, not more than two pairs being
observed within an area of several miles. They preferred the rather
open pine woods, and were shot from the highest branches. Their common
note was a mellow _puer_, much like one of the whistling notes of the
Cardinal Grosbeak (_Cardinalis virginianus_).
Mr. Dresser states it to be not uncommon near San Antonio in the
winter season. Dr. Heermann mentions that two specimens of this
species were obtained, to his knowledge, on the Cosumnes River, in
California. It has been taken in winter, in the State of Oaxaca,
Mexico, by Mr. Boucard, and has been met with at Jalapa, and even as
far south as Guatemala.
A single specimen of this bird was taken, August 29, 1840, at
Nenortalik, Greenland, and sent to Copenhagen.
The eggs of this species measure .86 of an inch in length by .62 in
breadth, and are rounded at one end and sharply tapering at the other.
The ground-color is a rich cream-color with a roseate tint. They are
beautifully marked around the larger end with a ring of confluent
spots of lilac, purple, and red-brown. These vary in number and in the
size of this crown, but the markings are invariably about the larger
end, as in _Contopus virens_.
Contopus pertinax, CABANIS & HEINE.
MEXICAN OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER.
_Contopus pertinax_, CAB. et HEIN. Mus. Hein. II, p. 72.—SCLATER,
Catal. Am. B. 1862, 231.—COUES, Pr. Ac. Phil. 1866,
60.—ELLIOT, Illust. B. Am. I, pl. viii.—COOPER, Geol. Surv.
Calif. Orn. I, 324.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 324. _Contopus
borealis_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 301; 1859, 43; Ibis, 1859,
122, 440.
SP. CHAR. Nearly uniformly olive-gray, lighter on the throat and
abdominal region, where is a strong tinge of ochraceous-yellow;
feathers of the wings with faintly lighter edges. Length about 8.00;
wing, 4.45; tail, 3.90; depth of its fork, .35; culmen, .92; tarsus,
.70. Rictal bristles long, about half the bill; lower mandible
whitish. _Young._ Similar, but with a stronger ochraceous tinge on the
abdomen and lining of the wings, and two distinct ochraceous bands
across the wing.
HAB. Mexico generally, into southern borders of United States (Fort
Whipple, Arizona; DR. COUES).
HABITS. Dr. Coues found this species a rare summer resident at Fort
Whipple, where a single specimen was taken August 20, in good plumage.
This was its first introduction into the fauna of the United States.
It is one of several Mexican and peninsular birds found in Upper
Arizona, probably following the course of the valley of the Great
Colorado River. No observations were made in reference to its habits.
This species is abundant in the Department of Vera Cruz, according to
Mr. Sumichrast, who gives it as confined to the alpine region. He
found both it and _C. virens_ common in the mountains of Orizaba,
between the height of 3,600 and 7,500 feet.
Contopus virens, CABANIS.
WOOD PEWEE.
_Muscicapa virens_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 327.—GMELIN, Syst.
Nat. I, 1788, 936.—LATHAM, Index Orn.—LICHT. Verz. 1823,
563.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 285.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834,
93; V, 1839, 425, pl. cxv.—Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 42.—IB. Birds
Am. I, 1840, 231, pl. lxiv.—GIRAUD, Birds L. Island, 1844, 43.
_Muscicapa querula_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 68, pl.
xxxix (not of WILSON). _Muscicapa rapax_, WILSON, Am. Orn. II,
1810, 81, pl. xiii, f. 5. _Tyrannula virens_, RICH. App. Back’s
Voyage.—BONAP. List, 1838. _Myiobius virens_, GRAY. _Tyrannus
virens_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 316. _Contopus
virens_, CABANIS, Journal für Ornithologie, III, Nov. 1855,
479.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 190.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862,
231.—SAMUELS, 137.
SP. CHAR. The second quill longest; the third a little shorter; the
first shorter than the fourth; the latter nearly .40 longer than the
fifth. The primaries more than an inch longer than the secondaries.
The upper parts, sides of the head, neck, and breast, dark
olivaceous-brown, the latter rather paler, the head darker. A narrow
white ring round the eye. The lower parts pale yellowish, deepest on
the abdomen; across the breast tinged with ash. This pale ash
sometimes occupies the whole of the breast, and even occasionally
extends up to the chin. It is also sometimes glossed with olivaceous.
The wings and tail dark brown; generally deeper than in _S. fuscus_.
Two narrow bands across the wing, the outer edge of first primary and
of the secondaries and tertials, dull white. The edges of the
tail-feathers like the back; the outer one scarcely lighter. Upper
mandible black; the lower yellow, but brown at the tip. Length, 6.15;
wing, 3.50; tail, 3.05.
HAB. Eastern North America to the borders of the high Central Plains.
Localities: ? Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 122); Mexico (SCL. Ibis, I,
441); Cuba? (CAB. J. III, 479; GUNDL. Rep. 1865, 239); Costa Rica
(CAB. J. 1861, 248; LAWR. IX, 115); Coban (SCL. List); Vera Cruz,
alpine region, breeds (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I, 557); San Antonio, Texas
and Eastern Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 474, breeds).
Young birds are duller in plumage; the whitish markings of wing tinged
with ferruginous; the lower mandible more dusky.
HABITS. The common Wood Pewee of eastern North America occurs in
abundance from the Atlantic to the great plains, and from Texas to New
Brunswick. It breeds from South Carolina and Texas north. It is found
in Central and Southern Maine, but is not so abundant as it is farther
south. It is found near St. Stephens, N. B., and breeds in that
vicinity, but is not common. It is a summer visitant at Norway, Me.,
but Professor Verrill states that it is much less common than in
Massachusetts, where it arrives the last of May. At Hamilton, in
Canada, Mr. McIlwraith records this species as abundant in the summer,
arriving there the middle of May. I am not aware of its having been
taken north of the 45th parallel of latitude, with the exception of
one at Red River, Minnesota, and another at Fort William by Mr.
Kennicott. It is said by Dr. Coues to be a summer resident of South
Carolina from the middle of April to the middle of October, and Mr.
Dresser states that he found it very common in the wooded
river-bottoms near San Antonio during the summer, not arriving there
until late in April or early in May. Their call-note, he states, is a
low prolonged whistle. Their stomachs were found to contain minute
coleopterous insects. Dr. Woodhouse also speaks of it as common in
Texas and in the Indian Territory. In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mr.
Sumichrast found this species, as well as the _Contopus pertinax_,
common in the mountains of Orizaba, between the height of 3,600 and
7,500 feet.
In Pennsylvania, Wilson states that the Wood Pewee is the latest of
the summer birds in arriving, seldom coming before the 12th or 15th of
May. He found it frequenting the shady high-timbered woods, where
there is little underwood and an abundance of dead twigs and branches.
It was generally found in low situations. He adds that it builds its
nest on the upper side of a limb or branch, formed outwardly of moss
and lined with various soft materials, and states that the female lays
five white eggs, and that the brood leave the nest about the middle of
June. Probably the last statement is correct as applied to
Pennsylvania, but the intimation as to the color of the egg and some
of the characteristics of the nest is so inaccurate as to make it
doubtful whether Wilson could have ever seen the nest for himself.
This species, like all its family, is a very expert catcher of
insects, even the most minute, and has a wonderfully quick perception
of their near presence, even when the light of day has nearly gone and
in the deep gloom of thick woods. It takes its station on the end of a
low dead limb, from which it darts out in quest of insects, sometimes
for a single individual, which it seizes with a peculiar snap of its
bill; and, frequently meeting insect after insect, it keeps up a
constant snapping sound as it passes on, and finally returns to its
post to resume its watch. During this watch it occasionally is heard
to utter a low twitter, with a quivering movement of the wings and
tail, and more rarely to enunciate a louder but still feeble
call-note, sounding like _pēē-ē_. These notes are continued until
dark, and are also uttered throughout the season.
Mr. Nuttall states that this species at times displays a tyrannical
disposition, and that it has been observed to chase a harmless Sparrow
to the ground, because it happened to approach his station for
collecting insects.
According to Mr. Audubon, some of these birds spend the winter months
in the extreme Southern States, Louisiana and Florida, where they feed
upon berries as well as insects.
In Massachusetts the Wood Pewee is a very abundant species, and may
usually be found in any open woods, or in an orchard of large
spreading trees. In the latter situation it frequently breeds. It
usually selects a lower dead limb of a tree, from ten to thirty feet
from the ground, and occasionally, but more seldom, a living
moss-grown branch. It always chooses one that is covered with small
lichens, and saddles its nest upon its upper surface, so closely
assimilated by its own external coating of lichens as not to be
distinguishable from a natural protuberance on the limb. This
structure is extremely beautiful, rivalling even the artistic nests of
the Humming-Bird. It is cup-shaped, and a perfect segment of a sphere
in shape. The periphery of the nest is made of fine root fibres, small
lichens, and bits of cobwebs and other similar materials. The outer
sides are entirely covered with a beautiful coating of mosses and
lichens, glued to the materials with the saliva of the builder. The
eggs are usually four in number, measure .78 of an inch in length and
.55 in breadth. They are obtuse at one end and tapering at the other,
have a ground of a rich cream-color, and are marked about the larger
end with a wreath of blended purple, lilac, and red-brown in large and
confluent spots. They hatch about the middle of June, leave the nest
in July, and have but a single brood.
A nest of this species, taken in Lynn by Mr. Welch, and built on the
dead branch of a forest tree, has a diameter of three and a height of
one and a half inches. The cavity has a depth of one inch, and a
diameter, at the rim, of two and a half inches. The base is flattened
by its position. Its walls are strongly woven of fine dry stems,
intermingled with vegetable down, covered externally with lichens,
cemented to the exterior, apparently by the secretions of the bird.
The base is thinner, and made of softer materials.
During the winter months this species is present as a migrant in
various parts of Mexico, south to Guatemala.
Contopus virens, var. richardsoni, BAIRD.
SHORT-LEGGED PEWEE; WESTERN WOOD PEWEE.
_Tyrannula richardsoni_, SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 146, plate.
_Muscicapa richardsoni_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 299, pl.
ccccxxxiv. _Tyrannula phœbe_, BON. List, 1838, 24. _Muscicapa
phœbe_, AUDUBON, Synopsis, 1839, 42.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840,
219, pl. lxi (not of LATHAM). _Tyrannus phœbe_, NUTTALL, Man.
I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 319. _Tyrannus atriceps_, D’ORBIGNY (fide G.
R. GRAY). _Contopus richardsoni_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
189.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 231.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
325. _Contopus sordidulus_, SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 231.
_Contopus plebeius_, (CABAN.) SCLATER, Cat. 1862, 231.
_Contopus bogotensis_, (BONAP.) SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 459.
(_Tyrannula b._ BONAP. Comp. Rend. p. 196.)
SP. CHAR. General appearance of _C. virens_. Bill broad. Wings very
long and much pointed, considerably exceeding the tail; second quill
longest; third a little shorter; first shorter than fourth, and about
midway between distance from second to fifth (.60 of an inch).
Primaries 1.20 inches longer than secondaries. Tail moderately forked.
Above dark olive-brown (the head darker); the entire breast and sides
of head, neck, and body of a paler shade of the same, tingeing
strongly also the dull whitish throat and chin. Abdomen and under
tail-coverts dirty pale-yellowish. Quills and tail dark
blackish-brown; the secondaries narrowly, the tertials more broadly
edged with whitish. Two quite indistinct bands of brownish-white
across the wings. Lower mandible yellow; the tip brown. Length, 6.20;
wing, 3.65; tail, 3.10.
HAB. High central dry plains to the Pacific; Rio Grande Valley,
southward to Mexico; Labrador (AUDUBON). Localities: Orizaba,
Guatemala, Coban (SCL. Catal. 1862, 231); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 115);
Matamoras, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 474, breeds); San Antonio,
Texas (DRESSER, one spec.); W. Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 61).
This species has a very close relationship to _C. virens_, agreeing
with it in general shape of wings and in color. The wings are,
however, still longer and more pointed; the primaries exceeding the
secondaries by nearly 1.25 inches. The proportions of the quills are
nearly the same in both; the primaries, too, are similarly a little
emarginated or attenuated towards the end. The tail is rather more
deeply forked, the feathers broader. The bills are similar; the feet
are larger and stouter.
The general colors are almost precisely the same. The outer primary,
however, lacks the decidedly white margin. The under parts are much
darker anteriorly, the entire breast being nearly a uniform
olive-brown, but little paler than the back; the throat, too, in some
specimens, being scarcely paler. There is little or none of the pale
sulphur-yellow of _C. virens_ on the abdomen, and the under
wing-coverts and axillaries are much darker olivaceous. In _C. virens_
the middle line of the breast is always paler than the sides, or at
least the connecting space is short.
The lower mandible is generally yellow; in a few specimens, however,
it is quite dusky, especially on its terminal half.
The young bird has the darker head and broader light edgings, with the
ferruginous tinge on the wing-markings, usually seen in young of the
_Tyrannulas_.
A large series shows considerable variations; autumnal specimens have
a more appreciable tinge of yellow on the lower parts, while summer
individuals are more grayish.
HABITS. This species was first obtained by Richardson in the Arctic
regions, and described by Swainson. It was found in the neighborhood
of the Cumberland House, where it frequented moist shady woods by the
banks of rivers and lakes. It was supposed likely to travel in summer
as far as the shores of the Great Slave Lake.
Since its discovery by Richardson, this Flycatcher has been found to
have a widely extended geographical range, as far to the south as
Guatemala, and even Panama, and northward as far as the 60th parallel
of latitude, and from the great plains to the Pacific.
During the survey of the Mexican Boundary, specimens of this bird were
obtained by Mr. J. H. Clark in El Paso, Texas, and in the month of May
by Lieutenant Couch in Monterey, Mexico.
Mr. Dresser found that this bird was very common near Matamoras during
the summer, and that they were breeding there. He also shot one
specimen near San Antonio in May. Its stomach contained small insects.
Dr. Coues thinks this Flycatcher an exceedingly abundant summer
resident in the Territory of Arizona. It arrives there in spring about
the first of May, the latest of the Flycatchers, and is deemed by the
Doctor a counterpart of the eastern _Contopus virens_. It departs from
that Territory about the third week in September. It is found in all
situations, but most especially in open forests.
This species arrives in California, according to Dr. Cooper, at least
a fortnight earlier than the date of its earliest advent in Arizona as
given by Dr. Coues, or about the 15th of April, and spends its summers
in the most mountainous parts of the State. It is said to perch mainly
on the lower dead limbs, watching for the passing insects, uttering
occasionally a plaintive _pe-ah_. It is usually very silent, and seems
to prefer the dark, solitary recesses of the forests.
Dr. Hoy informs me that this Flycatcher is occasionally found in the
neighborhood of Racine, but that it is rare. It keeps in the deep
forest, and never comes near dwellings in the manner of _C. virens_.
This bird was found breeding at Fort Tejon by Mr. Xantus, at Napa
Valley by Mr. A. J. Grayson, and both in the Sacramento Valley and at
Parley’s Park, among the Wahsatch Mountains, by Mr. Ridgway.
A nest of this bird in the Smithsonian Museum (10,076) from
California, collected by W. Vuille, had been apparently saddled on the
limb of a tree, in the manner of _C. virens_, having a broad flattened
base, and a general resemblance to the nests of that species. It
differs, however, somewhat in regard to materials, and most especially
in having no lichens attached to the exterior. It has a diameter of
three inches and a height of one and a half. The cavity is about one
inch deep and two wide at the rim. The base and sides of this nest are
largely composed of the exuviæ of chrysalides, intermingled with
hemp-like fibres of plants, stems, and fine dry grasses. The rim is
firmly wrought of strong wiry stems, and a large portion of the inner
nest is of the same material. The whole is warmly and thoroughly lined
with the soft fine hair of small quadrupeds and with vegetable fibres.
According to Mr. Ridgway, this is the most abundant and generally
diffused of all the _Tyrannuli_ of the Great Basin, as well as of
California. It inhabits every grove of the lowest valleys, as well as
the highest aspen copses on the mountains in the alpine region, and
breeds abundantly in all these places. Resembling the eastern _C.
virens_ in its general habits, its appearance, and its every motion,
it yet differs most widely from it in notes, the common one being a
disagreeable weird squeak, very unlike the sad, wailing, but not
unpleasant one of the eastern Wood Pewee. Mr. Ridgway relates that
having shot a female bird, and taken her nest and eggs, he was
surprised, a few days afterwards, to find the male with another mate,
and a new nest built in precisely the same spot from which the other
had been taken. Upon climbing to the nest, it was found to contain one
egg; and the parents exhibited very unusual distress. When visited two
or three days after, it was found to be deserted and the egg broken.
The eggs, three in number, measure .69 of an inch in length and .53 in
breadth. They have a ground of beautiful cream-color slightly tinged
with a roseate tint, surrounded at the larger end with a wreath of
purple and reddish-brown spots. A few smaller markings are sparingly
distributed, but nearly all are about the larger end.
GENUS EMPIDONAX, CABANIS.
_Empidonax_, CABANIS, Journal für Ornithologie, III, Nov. 1855, 480.
(Type, _Tyrannula pusilla_.) _Tyrannula_ of most authors.
[Line drawing: _Empidonax acadicus._
1225]
GEN. CHAR. Tarsus lengthened, considerably longer than the bill, and
exceeding the middle toe, which is decidedly longer than the hind toe.
Bill variable. Tail very slightly forked, even, or rounded; a little
shorter only than the wings, which are considerably rounded; the first
primary much shorter than the fourth. Head moderately crested. Color
olivaceous above, yellowish beneath; throat generally gray.
The lengthened tarsi, the short toes, the short and rounded wings, and
the plain dull olivaceous of the plumage, readily distinguish the
species of this genus from any other North American Flycatchers. The
upper plates of the tarsi in a good many species do not encircle the
outside, but meet there a row on the posterior face.
There are few species of North American birds more difficult to
distinguish than the small Flycatchers, the characters, though
constant, being very slight and almost inappreciable, except to a very
acute observer.
The following synopsis may aid in distinguishing the species:—
Species and Varieties.
A. Inner webs of secondaries edged with pinkish-buff.
_a._ Olive-brown above, whitish beneath; tibiæ
ochraceous.
E. brunneus.[89] Third quill longest, first equal to
seventh; tail slightly rounded. Russet-olive above,
the crown, wings, and tail with a reddish-brown tinge;
a yellowish-gray shade across the breast, and a faint
sulphur-yellow tinge to posterior lower parts.
Wing-bands broad, sharply defined, deep ochraceous;
lining of wing and tibiæ slightly tinged with the
same. Wing, 2.35; tail, 2.30; bill, .57 and .27;
tarsus, .56; middle toe, .33. _Hab._ Parana.
E. axillaris.[90] Third quill longest, first equal to
seventh; tail? Dark grayish-brown above, nearly
uniform, breast ochraceous-olive; a just appreciable
tinge of sulphur-yellow on abdomen. Wing-bands narrow,
badly defined, in color nearly like the back; lining
of the wing and tibiæ very deep ochraceous. Wing,
2.40; tail, 2.50; bill, .60 and .30; tarsus, .60;
middle toe, .43. _Hab._ Orizaba.
_b._ Olive-green above, yellow beneath; tibiæ greenish.
E. flavescens.[91] Third, or third and fourth quills
longest; first equal to eighth. Tail decidedly
emarginated. Intense greenish-olive above, the crown
with a decided russet tinge; beneath bright
lemon-yellow, with a shade of fulvous-brown across the
breast. Wing, 2.35 to 2.70; tail, 2.20 to 2.40; bill,
.59 and .30; tarsus, .66; middle toe, .35. _Hab._
Costa Rica.
E. bairdi.[92] Fourth quill longest, first shorter
than eighth. Tail slightly emarginated. Dull
greenish-olive above, nearly uniform; beneath clear
sulphur-yellow, with a greenish-olive shade across the
breast. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.50; bill, .62 and .29;
tarsus, .65; middle toe, .35. _Hab._ Eastern Mexico
(MIRADOR).
B. Inner webs of secondaries edged with yellowish or
grayish white.
_a._ Olive-green above, yellowish beneath.
§. _Young not mottled above._
E. flaviventris. Bill broad, twice as wide as deep,
and the culmen less than twice the breadth. Outer web
of lateral tail-feather dusky, like the inner.
Wing-bands narrow, whitish. Tail square.
Clear olive-green above, sulphur-yellow beneath;
wing-bands sulphur-yellowish; lining of wing clear
sulphury-yellow. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.35, or less;
bill, .57 and .27; tarsus, .66; middle toe, .37.
_Hab._ Eastern Province North America, south through
Eastern Mexico to Guatemala var. _flaviventris_.
Dull olive-gray above, pale, somewhat ochraceous,
yellow beneath; wing-bands grayish-white; lining of
wing strongly tinged with fulvous. Wing, 2.75; tail,
2.60 to 2.75. _Hab._ Western Province of North
America, south, through Western Mexico, to Colima
var. _difficilis_.
E. fulvipectus.[93] Bill narrow, the width but little
more than the depth, and the culmen considerably more
than twice the breadth at base. Outer web of lateral
tail-feather distinctly whitish, very different from
the dusky of the inner web. Tail deeply emarginated.
Colors of _flaviventris_ var. _difficilis_, but
wing-bands broad and buffy olive, and a deep shade of
fulvous-olive across the breast. Wing, 3.00; tail,
2.90; bill, .61 and .22; tarsus, .60; middle toe, .37.
_Hab._ City of Mexico.
_b._ Grayish or greenish olive above, whitish beneath.
¶. _Tail deeply emarginated._
E. obscurus. Exact form and proportions of
_fulvipectus_, but tarsus much longer proportionally.
Ashy above, with a slight olive tinge; white beneath
with no yellow tinge, and without distinct ashy shade
across breast; sides of breast like the back. Orbital
ring, wing-markings, and outer web of lateral
tail-feather pale clear ashy. Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.80;
bill, .64 and .24; tarsus, .77; middle toe, .42.
E. hammondi. Very similar, but bill much smaller and
less elongated. Color of upper parts the same as in
_obscurus_; but anterior lower parts nearly uniform
ashy, the throat only indistinctly paler, and the
posterior portions distinctly uniform pale
sulphur-yellow. Outer web of lateral tail-feather less
distinctly whitish. Wing, 2.85; tail, 2.55; bill, .50
and .20; tarsus, .64; middle toe, .34.
E. minimus. Very similar to _hammondi_, but bill much
larger, broader, and the lateral outlines less
straight. Outer web of lateral tail-feather not
appreciably paler than the inner; whole throat
distinctly whitish; wing-bands only about half as wide
as in _hammondi_.
Wing, 2.70; tail, 2.60; bill, .57 and .27; tarsus,
.66; middle toe, .35. _Hab._ Eastern Province of
North America, and Eastern Mexico var. _minimus_.
¶. _Tail doubly rounded._
Wing, 2.35; tail, 2.20; bill, .54 and .25; tarsus,
.62; middle toe, .33. Colors of _minimus_, but
wing-markings whiter. _Hab._ Panama (var. ?) _pectoralis_.[94]
E. griseipectus.[95] Colors of _hammondi_, but
wing-bands whiter and narrower, very sharply defined;
sides tinged with clear greenish; jugulum and sides of
throat clear ashy. Wing, 2.40; tail, 2.40; bill, .56
and .27; tarsus, .60; middle toe, .35. _Hab._
Guayaquil, Ecuador.
¶. _Tail square, or slightly rounded; feathers acute at
tips._
E. pusillus. Brownish-olive or olive-gray above,
wing-bands olive or gray; beneath whitish, with a
grayish shade across the breast, and a sulphur-yellow
tinge posteriorly.
Olive-grayish above, wing-bands much lighter, or
whitish-gray. Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.70; bill, .69 and
.26; tarsus, .67; middle toe, .40. _Hab._ Western
Province of North America, and Middle and Western
Mexico var. _pusillus_.
Brownish-olive above, wing-bands but little lighter.
Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.50; bill, .64 and .27; tarsus,
.66; middle toe, .38. _Hab._ Eastern Province of
North America, and Eastern Mexico var. _trailli_.
§. _Young with upper plumage transversely mottled.
Wing-bands with a pale buff tinge; upper mandible
brown._
E. acadicus. Grayish-green above, greenish-white
beneath; throat purer white. Wing, 3.10; tail, 2.80;
bill, .67 and .30; tarsus, .60; middle toe, .34.
_Hab._ Eastern Province of United States, and Eastern
Mexico var. _acadicus_.
Wing, 2.65; tail, 2.50; bill, .66 and .30; tarsus,
.62; middle toe, .33. Wing-bands whiter. _Hab._
Panama var. _griseigularis_.[96]
In _Empidonax_, as well as _Contopus_, autumnal birds have the plumage
softer and the colors brighter than in spring; the brilliancy of the
yellow shades is especially enhanced. The young of the year resemble
the parents, but there is a greater tendency to light bands on the
wings, which with the other markings of this region show an ochraceous
tinge. The lower mandible is also usually tinged with dusky. In the
young of _E. acadica_, alone, there are light transverse bars over
upper surface, as in the young of some species of _Contopus_ (_C.
bahamensis_ and _C. punensis_).
[89] _Empidonax brunneus_, RIDGWAY. A very distinct species,
not needing comparison with any other.
[90] _Empidonax axillaris_, RIDGWAY.
[91] _Empidonax flavescens_, LAWR. May be the southern form
of _bairdi_, but differ in some apparently essential
features.
[92] _Empidonax bairdi_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 301; Ibis,
1859, 442; Catal. Am. B. 1862, 230.—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis,
1860, 36. (_Hab._ Cordova, Coban, Mazatlan, Mirador, etc.)
[93] _Empidonax fulvipectus_, LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. Feb.
1871, 11. (Type examined.) A very distinct species, most
nearly related to _obscurus_, from which it differs totally
in color and in much shorter tarsus.
[94] _Empidonax minimus_, var. _pectoralis_. _Empidonax
pectoralis_, LAWR. It seems but reasonable to consider this
bird as the southern race of _minimus_, as the
differences—i. e. smaller size and whiter wing-bands—are
just what we find in several other species of the same
region, compared with allied and probably co-specific
northern types,—as _griseigularis_ and _acadicus_, southern
specimens of _trailli_ var. _pusillus_ in which the
wing-bands are much whiter than in northern specimens of the
same bird.
[95] _Empidonax griseipectus_, LAWR. May possibly be another
seasonal plumage of the same species as _pectoralis_, but
differs in some seemingly important respects.
[96] _Empidonax acadicus_, var. _griseigularis_. _Empidonax
griseigularis_, LAWR. Differing from _acadicus_ only in
smaller size and whiter wing-bands.
The remaining described American species of _Empidonax_,
which we have not seen, are the following:—
_Empidonax magnirostris_, GOULD, Voy. Beagle, pl. 8.—GRAY,
Hand List.
_Empidonax albigularis_, SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, p.
122 (Orizaba).—SCLATER, Catal. Am. B. 1862, 229. This may
possibly be the species described above as _E. axillaris_.
Empidonax pusillus, CABANIS.
LITTLE FLYCATCHER.
_? Platyrhynchus pusillus_, SWAINSON, Phil. Mag. I, May, 1827, 366.
_Tyrannula pusilla_, SW. F. B. Am. II, 1831, 144, pl.—RICH.
App. Back’s Voyage, 1834-36, 144.—GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. III,
1847, 156. _Muscicapa pusilla_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 288;
pl. ccccxxxiv.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 236, pl. lxvi. _Tyrannus
pusilla_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840. _Empidonax
pusillus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 194. COOPER & SUCKLEY,
176.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 229. _Empidonax trailli_, COOPER,
Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 327 (Colorado River).
[Illustration: _Empidonax pusillus._]
SP. CHAR. Second, third, and fourth quills longest; first shorter than
the sixth. Bill rather broad; yellow beneath. Tail even. Tarsi rather
long. Above dirty olive-brown, paler and more tinged with brown
towards the tail. Throat and breast white, tinged with grayish-olive
on the sides, shading across the breast; belly and under tail-coverts
very pale sulphur-yellow. Wings with two dirty narrow brownish-white
bands slightly tinged with olive; the secondaries and tertials
narrowly and inconspicuously margined with the same. First primary
faintly edged with whitish; the outer web of first tail-feather paler
than the inner, but not white. Under wing-coverts reddish
ochraceous-yellow. A whitish ring round the eye. Length, 5.50; wing.
2.80; tail, 2.75. _Young._ Wing-bands ochraceous instead of grayish.
HAB. High Central Plains to the Pacific. Fur countries. Southward into
Mexico. Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 61); Vera
Cruz, temp. reg. resident (SUM. Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 557).
This race represents the var. _trailli_ in the region west of the
Rocky Mountains. The present bird is paler colored than _trailli_, the
olivaceous above much more grayish anteriorly, and more brownish
posteriorly, the olive being thus less greenish and less uniform in
tint; the brownish shade across the breast is lighter and more ashy,
and the yellow tinge posteriorly beneath more faint; the wing-bands
lighter and more grayish. In color, _pusillus_ thus approximates
somewhat to _E. minimus_, which, however, is a very distinct species,
and more closely related to _E. hammondi_; _minimus_ may be
distinguished by much smaller size (the bill especially), the
wing-bands grayish-white instead of olive-gray, and the tail
emarginated instead of appreciably rounded; _minimus_ lays a white egg
like _E. obscurus_, while _pusillus_ and _trailli_ lay distinctly
spotted ones, and build a very different nest.
HABITS. Professor Baird, in his Birds of North America, assigns to
this species an area of distribution extending from the Great Plains
to the Pacific, southward into Mexico, and north to the fur country.
Dr. Hoy cites it as of Wisconsin in his List of the birds of that
State, but without positive data for this claim; it has, however,
since been actually taken, a summer resident breeding in Jefferson
County, in that State. This is its most eastern known occurrence. In
the Smithsonian Museum are skins from Fort Steilacoom, Fort Tejon, and
Mexico. This species is probably identical with the Little Tyrant
Flycatcher, described by Swainson in the Fauna Boreali as both from
Mexico and from the Arctic regions. Dr. Richardson was not able to
supply anything in regard to its habits. They were first seen by him
at the Carlton House on the 19th of May. For a few days they were
found flitting about among low bushes on the banks of the river, after
which they retired to moist shady woods lying farther north.
Mr. Ridgway mentions the _E. pusillus_ as the most common of the
_Empidonaces_ in the Great Basin, as well as in California and the
Rocky Mountains. It is chiefly, if not entirely, confined to the
willows along streams, but it is as common in the river valleys as in
the mountain “parks.” In all respects it is a counterpart of the _E.
trailli_; its notes, as well as its manners, being the same. In
Parley’s Park, in the Wahsatch Mountains, at an elevation of over
7,000 feet, they were breeding abundantly; about nightfall they became
particularly active, chasing each other, with a merry twitter, through
the willow thickets, or, as they perched upon a dry twig, uttered
frequently, with swelling throats and raised crest, their odd but
agreeable enunciation of _pretty dear_, as their notes were translated
by the people of the locality.
In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mexico, Mr. Sumichrast gives this
species as a summer resident within the temperate region. He found it
quite common around Orizaba in the months of June and July.
It was also met with on the Mexican Boundary Survey in summer, having
been taken in June at Los Nogales by Dr. Kennerly, and at Rio Nazas,
in Durango, by Lieutenant Couch, the same month.
Dr. Coues mentions it as moderately plentiful as a summer resident in
Arizona. None of this genus were very common at Fort Whipple, but this
one was by far the most characteristic species. It arrives there about
the middle of April, and remains through September.
Dr. Suckley found this species quite abundant in the vicinity of Fort
Steilacoom, where it arrives early in May. It seems to prefer the
vicinity of bushes and low trees at the edges of dense forests. This
species, he adds, is rather less pugnacious than others of the group,
and in habits generally more resembles the Vireo family. Its notes are
said to be short but sweet, and just after sundown on warm summer
evenings particularly low, plaintive, and soothing.
Dr. Cooper speaks of it as found by him frequenting the dark and
gloomy spruce forests, which it seems to prefer to more open places.
He found it most numerous near the coast, but also saw a few at Puget
Sound, where it arrived about the 25th of April. He speaks of its song
as lively but monotonous. He found it very difficult to get a sight of
this bird among the upper branches of the tall spruces, its color
making it almost invisible in the shade. One of these birds was
observed to keep constantly on the border of a small pond and to drive
away a Kingbird from the place. He adds that it has a peculiar short
and lisping song of three notes, very different from those of the
other species. In the fall the young birds uttered a very different
call-note.
Mr. Ridgway found this species breeding, June 23, at Parley’s Park,
Utah. One nest was built on the horizontal branch of a willow, over a
stream, about four feet from the ground. It was partly pensile. It was
three inches deep and four in diameter; the cavity was two inches wide
and one and a half deep. Externally the nest was somewhat loosely
constructed of flaxen fibres of plants, soft strips of inner bark and
straw, and lined more firmly with fine roots of plants. This structure
was firmly bound around the smaller branches of the limb. The inner
nest was much more compactly interwoven than the periphery. The eggs,
four in number, were of a chalky whiteness, more pinkish when unblown,
finely sprinkled at the larger end with reddish-brown dots. Length,
.77 of an inch; breadth, .51.
Another nest from the same locality was built in the upright fork of a
wild rose, in the undergrowth of a willow thicket, and about four feet
from the ground. It is a much more compact and homogeneous nest. Its
external portion was almost wholly composed of the interweaving of the
fine inner bark of deciduous shrubs, blended with a few stems of
grasses, feathers, etc., and is lined with a few fine grass stems and
fibrous roots. The eggs, four in number, have a pinkish-white ground,
and are spotted at the larger end with reddish-brown and chestnut
spots, in scattered groups.
In the summer of 1870 a son of Mr. Thure Kumlien, of Jefferson Co.,
Wisconsin, found the nest and eggs of this species. Both parents were
obtained, and were fully identified by Professor Baird. The nest was
placed in a thick mass of coarse marsh grasses, near the ground, and
firmly interwoven with the tops of the surrounding herbage. The grass
and reeds, among which it was made, grew in the midst of water, and it
was discovered by mere accident in a hunt for rail’s eggs. It was
found, June 28, on the edge of Lake Koskonong. It is a large nest for
the bird; its base and sides are made of masses of soft lichens and
mosses, and within this a neat and firm nest is woven of bits of wool
and fine wiry stems of grasses, and lined with the same. The eggs
measure .70 by .54 of an inch, are white with a pinkish tinge, and are
marked with reddish-brown and fainter lilac blotches at the larger end.
Empidonax pusillus, var. trailli, BAIRD.
TRAILL’S FLYCATCHER.
_Muscicapa trailli_, AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 236; V, 1839, 426, pl.
xlv.—IB. Syn. 1839, 43.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 234, pl. lxv.
_Tyrannula trailli_, RICH. List, 1837.—BONAP. List, 1838.
_Tyrannus trailli_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 323.
_Empidonax trailli_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 193.—SCLATER,
Catal. 1862, 231.—SAMUELS, 140.
SP. CHAR. Third quill longest; second scarcely shorter than fourth;
first shorter than fifth, about .35 shorter than the longest.
Primaries about .75 of an inch longer than secondaries. Tail even.
Upper parts dark olive-green; lighter under the wings, and duller and
more tinged with ash on nape and sides of the neck. Centre of the
crown-feathers brown. A pale yellowish-white ring (in some specimens
altogether white) round the eye. Loral feathers mixed with white. Chin
and throat white; the breast and sides of throat light ash tinged with
olive, its intensity varying in individuals, the former sometimes
faintly tinged with olive. Sides of the breast much like the back.
Middle of the belly nearly white; sides of the belly, abdomen, and the
lower tail-coverts, sulphur-yellow. The quills and tail-feathers dark
brown, as dark (if not more so) as these parts in _C. virens_. Two
olivaceous yellow-white bands on the wing, formed by the tips of the
first and second coverts, succeeded by a brown one; the edge of the
first primary and of secondaries and tertials a little lighter shade
of the same. The outer edge of the tail-feathers like the back; that
of the lateral one rather lighter. Bill above dark brown; dull
brownish beneath. Length, nearly 6.00; wing, 2.90; tail, 2.60. _Young_
with the wing-bands ochraceous instead of grayish-olive.
HAB. Eastern United States and south to Mexico. Localities: ? Isthmus
of Panama (LAWR. VIII, 63); ? San Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865,
474, breeds); ? Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 114); Yucatan (LAWR. IX, 201).
All these localities, except perhaps the last, are to be questioned,
as being more properly in the habitat of var. _pusillus_.
This species is most closely related to _E. minimus_, but differs in
larger size and the proportions of quills. The middle of the back is
the same color in both, but instead of becoming lighter and tinged
with ash on the rump and upper tail-coverts, these parts very rarely
differ in color from the back. The markings on the wings, instead of
being dirty white, are decidedly olivaceous-grayish. The yellow of the
lower parts is deeper. The tail-feathers are rather broad, acuminate,
and pointed; in _minimus_ they are narrow and more rounded, while the
tail itself is emarginated, instead of square, as in the present bird.
The bill is larger and fuller. The legs are decidedly shorter in
proportion.
HABITS. Traill’s Flycatcher was first described by Mr. Audubon as a
western bird, procured from Arkansas. In his subsequent reference to
this species he also speaks of it as identical with several birds
obtained by Townsend near the Columbia River, but which our present
knowledge as to the distribution of this species compels us to presume
to have been specimens of the _Empidonax pusillus_, a closely allied
species or race. That Traill’s Flycatcher does occur in Arkansas, on
the other hand, is rendered probable by its abundance in other parts
of the country, making this region directly within its range of
migration. Dr. Woodhouse found it very common both in Texas and in the
Indian Territory. Mr. Dresser found it common during the summer season
near San Antonio, and to the eastward, breeding there, and building a
small hanging nest. He also had its eggs sent to him from Systerdale.
The stomach of the specimen he procured contained minute insects. It
is mentioned by Dr. E. Coues as found in South Carolina, but whether
as a migrant or as a resident is not stated. Dr. William P. Turnbull
refers to it as rare near Philadelphia, and as only a spring and
autumnal migrant. Mr. McIlwraith cites it as a rare summer visitant
near Hamilton, Canada West. It is mentioned by Mr. Boardman as found
near Calais, but has not been recorded as occurring in Nova Scotia, as
far as I am aware. In Western Maine, Professor Verrill found it a
regular but not a common summer visitant, arriving there the third
week in May. And Mr. Brewster found it breeding in considerable
abundance near Lake Umbagog in the summer of 1872.
In Massachusetts it has been found to occur very irregularly, and so
far chiefly as a migrant, at least I am not aware that it has been
known, except in a single instance, to breed within the limits of that
State. It passes through the State about the middle of May, is rare
some seasons, much more abundant for a few days in others. Near
Springfield Mr. Allen regarded it as a rather rare summer visitant,
arriving from the 10th to the 15th of May, and also mentioned it as
probably breeding. A number have been taken in Lynn by Mr. Welch, but
none have been observed to remain more than a day or two. Mr. Maynard
once met with it on the 1st of June, 1869, in a swampy thicket. It was
very shy, and he heard no note.
This species was observed by Mr. Paine, at Randolph, Vt., where it was
found to be a not uncommon, though very retiring and shy species. It
was found frequenting shady thickets, on the borders of the mountain
streams, and several of its nests were procured. The bird was
thoroughly identified, specimens of the parents having been sent to
Professor Baird for verification. Mr. Paine was not able to obtain
much insight into the manners and habits of this species, on account
of its shyness. The nests were always placed in low alder-bushes, near
running streams, and not more than three or four feet from the ground.
Mr. Paine has since informed me that Traill’s Flycatcher reaches
Central Vermont from the 20th to the 25th of May, and is one of the
last birds to arrive, coming in company with _Contopus virens_ and _C.
borealis_. They all leave before the close of September. Mr. Paine has
met with a great many nests of this species, but has only found one
containing more than three eggs. It has a very simple song, consisting
of but two notes. It has also a sort of twitter as it plays with its
mate. They are usually found in thickets, for the most part near
water, but not always, and are never seen in tall woods. They are
occasionally seen chasing one another in the open fields.
Mr. William Brewster informs me that he found Traill’s Flycatcher
moderately common and breeding at the foot of Mount Washington, in the
Glen, in August, 1869, and in the township of Newry, Me., in June,
1871. Their favorite haunts were the dense alder thickets along the
runs and small streams, over these dark retreats, perched on some tall
dead branch, full in the rays of the noonday sun. The male sang
vigorously, occasionally darting out after some insect, and returning
to the same perch. His song consisted of a single dissyllabic refrain,
_ke´wing_, uttered in a harsh peevish tone at an interval of about
thirty seconds, varied occasionally to _ke´wink_, or _ki-winch_. At
each utterance his head is thrown upwards with a sudden jerk. They
were retiring, but not shy, were easily approached, and were
apparently not so restless as most Flycatchers.
Near Washington, Dr. Coues found Traill’s Flycatcher a rare spring and
fall visitant, a few possibly remaining to breed. They came about the
last of April, and passed south the last of September. Professor Baird
frequently met with them about Carlisle, Pa.
In Southern Illinois, Mr. Ridgway has found this species a rather
common summer resident, chiefly met with in the open woods. It was
found nesting in Northwestern Massachusetts by Mr. A. Hopkins, in
Illinois by Mr. Tolman, in New Brunswick by Mr. Barnstow, and at Fort
Resolution by Messrs. Kennicott, Ross, and Lockhart.
I have myself found this species on the banks of the Androscoggin and
Peabody Rivers in Gorham, and met with several of their nests. They
were all in similar situations, and it was quite impossible to obtain
a glimpse of the bird after she had left her nest. The nests were all
made like those of the Indigo-Bird, externally of dry grasses and fine
strips of bark, and lined with finer stems of grasses. The eggs were
five in number, and incubation commenced about the first of June. I
have discovered their nests at the same time among the foot-hills at
the base of Mount Washington, its wooded sides being, at the time,
covered with snow to the depth of several feet.
Among the memoranda of Mr. Kennicott I find one dated Fort Resolution,
July 9, mentioning the procuring of the parent nest and egg of this
species. The nest was three feet from the ground, in a small spruce
among thick low bushes. The female was shot on the nest, which
contained two young and two eggs. Eggs of this species from Gorham, N.
H., and Coventry and Randolph, Vt., do not essentially vary in size or
shape. They measure .63 of an inch in length, by .56 in breadth. Their
ground-color is white, with a distinctly roseate tinge. They are oval
in shape, a little less obtuse at one end, and marked almost entirely
about the larger end with large and well-defined spots and blotches of
purplish-brown.
Empidonax minimus, BAIRD.
LEAST FLYCATCHER.
_Tyrannula minima_, WM. M. and S. F. BAIRD, Pr. A. N. Sc. I, July,
1843, 284.—IB. Sillim. Am. Jour. Sc. July, 1844.—AUD. Birds
Am. VII, 1844, 343, pl. ccccxci. _Empidonax minimus_, BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 195.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 229.—SAMUELS,
141.
SP. CHAR. Second quill longest; third and fourth but little shorter;
fifth a little less; first intermediate between fifth and sixth. Tail
even. Above olive-brown, darker on the head, becoming paler on the
rump and upper tail-coverts. The middle of the back most strongly
olivaceous. The nape (in some individuals) and sides of the head
tinged with ash. A ring round the eye and some of the loral feathers
white; the chin and throat white. The sides of the throat and across
the breast dull ash, the color on the latter sometimes nearly
obsolete; sides of the breast similar to the back, but of a lighter
tint; middle of the belly very pale yellowish-white, turning to pale
sulphur-yellow on the sides of the belly, abdomen, and lower
tail-coverts. Wings brown; two narrow white bands on the wing, formed
by the tips of the first and second coverts, succeeded by one of
brown. The edge of the first primary, and of the secondaries and
tertials, white. Tail rather lighter brown, edged externally like the
back. Feathers narrow, not acuminate, with the ends rather blunt. In
autumn the white parts are strongly tinged with yellow. Length, about
5.00; wing, 2.65; tail, 2.50. Young with ochraceous, instead of
grayish-white wing-bands.
HAB. Eastern United States to Missouri Plains; Mirador; Orizaba;
Belize. Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 384); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I,
122); Orizaba (SCL. Ibis, I, 441, and Mus. S. I.); Coban, Escuintla,
Dueñas (SCL. Catal. 1862, 229); San Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis,
1865, 474, common, summer).
HABITS. The distinctness of this species from the _acadica_, with
which it had been previously confused, was first pointed out by the
Messrs. Baird in 1843, but it was some time before the complete
differences between the two species and their distinctive habits and
distribution were fully appreciated and known. This species, one of
the commonest birds in the State of Massachusetts, where the _E.
acadica_ is nearly or quite unknown, was supposed by Mr. Nuttall to be
the latter species, and under that name is treated and its history
given. Wilson contributed to cause this error. For although his
account of the _acadica_ is in part correct, it is not wholly free
from error, and probably the nest and eggs described as belonging to
the latter were those of the _minima_. The discovery, by Professor
Baird, of the nest and eggs of the _acadica_, and their marked
difference in all respects from those of the _minima_, which had
hitherto been attributed to it, at once pointed out the errors that
had prevailed, and permitted the real facts to be appreciated.
This bird is an abundant species throughout Eastern North America,
occurring as a migrant in all the States between the Atlantic and the
Great Plains, and breeding from the 40th parallel northward over an
extent not fully defined, but probably to within the Arctic Circle. It
occurs in great numbers from Maine to Nebraska, and, unlike all the
other species of this genus, is not shy or retiring, but frequents the
open grounds, visits gardens, is found in the vicinity of dwellings,
and breeds even in the vines that half conceal their windows and
doors.
This Flycatcher reaches Washington, according to Dr. Coues, the last
of April, and remains about two weeks. It returns in autumn the third
week in August, and remains till the last of September. It is only a
spring and autumnal visitant, none breeding, and is rather common. It
frequents the margins of small streams and brooks.
I am not aware that the nest of this species has ever been procured
farther south than New York City, yet it is given by Mr. Dresser as
having been found common by him, through the summer, near San Antonio.
It is not, however, mentioned by Dr. Woodhouse, nor by the Mexican
Survey, nor was it met with by Sumichrast in Vera Cruz. It is cited by
Dr. Coues as only a migrant in South Carolina. Near Philadelphia Mr.
Turnbull gives it as a somewhat rare migrant, passing north in April
and returning in September, but adds that a few remain to breed. I did
not find it breeding in the vicinity of Newark, nor, among a very
extensive collection of nests and eggs made in that neighborhood, were
there any eggs of this species. It is mentioned by Mr. Boardman as
occurring at Calais, and in the western part of the State Mr. Verrill
found it a very common summer visitant, arriving there about the
middle of May and breeding there in numbers. It is also an exceedingly
frequent summer visitant at Hamilton, Canada West, according to Mr.
McIlwraith. It is found during the winter months near Oaxaca, Mexico,
according to Mr. Boucard, and has been met with throughout Mexico and
south to Guatemala.
In Massachusetts this Flycatcher is one of the most abundant and
familiar species, arriving from about the 20th of April to the 1st of
May. It is found most frequently in orchards, gardens, and open
grounds, and very largely on the edges of woods, remaining until
October. They are much addicted to particular localities, and return
to the same spot year after year, if undisturbed. A pair that had
established their hunting-grounds in an open area north of a dwelling
in Roxbury returned to the same spot for several successive years, and
would come regularly to the piazza of the house, where bits of cotton
were exposed for the benefit of such of the whole feathered tribe as
chose to avail themselves of it. Each year they drew nearer and nearer
the house, until at last the nest was made in a clump of honeysuckle
on the corner of the piazza, from which they would sally forth in
quest of insects, entirely unmindful of the near presence of the
family. I never observed the quarrelsome disposition that Nuttall
speaks of, nor have I ever seen them molest other birds, even when the
summer Yellow-Birds and the Chipping Sparrows have nested in the same
clump. They are very silent birds, having no song and no other cry or
note than a very feeble, guttural utterance, given out either as a
single sound or as a succession of twitters. Their nest is a very
common receptacle for the eggs of the Cow Blackbird.
This species was found breeding at Fort Resolution, latitude 62°, by
Mr. Kennicott, the nest being in an alder-bush, and about five feet
from the ground. It was also found nesting in the same locality by Mr.
Ross and by Mr. Lockhart. Its nest was found at Lake Manitobah by Mr.
McTavish, and at Fort Simpson by Mr. Ross.
This species has been gradually undergoing certain modifications of
habits and manners in consequence of its contact with civilization and
becoming familiarized to the society of man. In nothing is this made
more apparent than in the construction of its nests. Those made on the
edge of woodlands or in remote orchards are wrought almost entirely of
fine deciduous bark, hempen fibres of vegetables, feathers, dried
fragments of insect cocoons, and other miscellaneous substances felted
and impacted together; within this is a lining of fine strips of
vegetable bark, woody fibres, fine lichens, and soft downy feathers.
In some the lining is exclusively of fine pine leaves, in others with
the seeds or pappus of compositaceous plants. The nests are always
quite small, rarely measuring more than three inches in diameter or
two in height. Those made in the vicinity of dwellings indicate their
neighborhood by the variety of miscellaneous and convenient materials,
such as bits of paper, rags, cotton, wool, and the larger and more
conspicuous feathers of the poultry-yard. Where raw cotton was
abundantly provided, I have known this material, strengthened with a
few straws and woody fibres, with a lining of feathers, constitute the
whole substance of the nest.
One nest, constructed in a thick tamarack swamp in Wisconsin, is
composed of a dense, impacted mass of a dirty white vegetable wool,
intertwined at the base with shreds of bark, vegetable stems, and
small black roots. The inner rim and frame of the nest are made of
black, shining rootlets, intermingled with slender leaves and stems of
dry sedges, and lined with the pappus of a small composite plant and a
few feathers.
The eggs of this species are pure white, never, so far as I am aware,
spotted, of a rounded-oval shape, nearly equally obtuse at either end,
and measuring about .60 of an inch in length by .50 in breadth.
Empidonax acadicus, BAIRD.
SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER.
_? Muscicapa acadica_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 947.—LATHAM,
Index Orn. II, 1790, 489.—VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 71
(from LATHAM).—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 256; V, 1839, 429,
pl. cxliv.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 221, pl. lxii.—NUTTALL,
Man. I, 1832, 208.—GIRAUD, Birds L. Island, 1844, 40.
_Muscicapa querula_, WILSON, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 77, pl. xiii,
f. 3 (not of VIEILLOT). “_Platyrhynchus virescens_, VIEILLOT.”
_Tyrannula acadica_, RICHARDSON, ? Bon. List, _Tyrannus
acadica_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 320. _Empidonax
acadicus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 197.—SCLATER, Catal.
1862, 229.—SAMUELS, 143.
SP. CHAR. The second and third quills are longest, and about equal;
the fourth a little shorter; the first about equal to the fifth, and
about .35 less than the longest. Tail even. The upper parts, with
sides of the head and neck, olive-green; the crown very little if any
darker. A yellowish-white ring round the eye. The sides of the body
under the wings like the back, but fainter olive; a tinge of the same
across the breast; the chin, throat, and middle of the belly white;
the abdomen, lower tail and wing coverts, and sides of the body not
covered by the wings, pale greenish-yellow. Edges of the first
primary, secondaries, and tertials margined with dull yellowish-white,
most broadly on the latter. Two transverse bands of pale yellowish
(sometimes with an ochrey tinge) across the wings, formed by the tips
of the secondary and primary coverts, succeeded by a brown one. Tail
light brown, margined externally like the back. Upper mandible light
brown above; pale yellow beneath. In autumn the lower parts are more
yellow. Length, 5.65; wing, 3.00; tail, 2.75. _Young_ (60,892 Mt.
Carmel, Ill., August 11, 1870; R. RIDGWAY.) Whole upper surface with
indistinct transverse bars of pale ochraceous; wing-markings light
ochraceous.
HAB. Eastern United States to the Mississippi; Yucatan. Localities:
Cuba (LAWR. VII, 1860, 265; GUNDL. Rept. 1865, 240); San Antonio,
Texas, summer (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 475).
This species is very similar to _E. trailli_, but the upper parts are
of a brighter and more uniform olive-green, much like that of _Vireo
olivaceus_. The feathers of the crown lack the darker centre. There is
less of the olivaceous-ash across the breast. The bands across the
wing are light yellowish, instead of grayish-olive. There is much more
yellow at the base of the lesser quills. The wings are longer, both
proportionally and absolutely. The primaries exceed the secondaries by
nearly an inch, instead of by only about .70; the proportions of the
quills are much the same.
HABITS. This species belongs to Eastern North America, but its
distribution north and east is not determined with entire certainty. I
have never met with or received any evidence of its breeding northeast
of Philadelphia. Nuttall’s account of this bird so blends what he had
ascertained in regard to the habits of a different species with what
he derived from other writers, that his whole sketch must be passed as
unreliable. It is shy and retiring in its habits, frequenting only
lonely places, and would readily escape notice, so that its presence
in New Jersey, New York, and even New England, may not be uncommon,
although we do not know it. Mr. Lawrence mentions its occurring in the
vicinity of New York City; but I can find no evidence whatever that a
single specimen of this bird has ever been procured in any part of New
England, except Mr. Allen’s mention of finding it near Springfield.
That it is found in the immediate neighborhood of Philadelphia I have
positive evidence, having received its nest and eggs, found in West
Philadelphia. Mr. Turnbull gives it as of frequent occurrence from the
beginning of May to the middle of September. He generally met with it
in the most secluded parts of woods. Mr. McIlwraith calls it a rare
summer resident near Hamilton, Canada West.
I am informed by Mr. Thomas H. Jackson, an accurate observer, resident
in Westchester, Pa., that this Flycatcher arrives in that neighborhood
early in May, constructing its nest about the first of June. This is
generally placed on a drooping limb of a beech or dogwood tree at the
height of from six to ten feet from the ground. It is never saddled on
a limb like that of a Wood Pewee, neither is it pensile like those of
the Vireos, but is built in the fork of a small limb, and securely
fastened thereto by a strip of bark. The nest itself is mostly made of
fine strips of bark or weed-stalks, woven together without much care
as to neatness or strength, and so very slight is the structure that
you may often count the eggs in the nest from below. Occasionally this
bird constructs its nest of the blossoms of the hickory-tree, and when
thus made is very neat and pretty.
The eggs are generally three in number (Mr. Jackson has never known
more in a nest), and they are said to be of a rich cream-color, thinly
spotted near the greater end. The Cow-Bird sometimes imposes on this
species with its parasitic offspring, but not so often as upon other
birds.
Mr. Jackson also informs me that this is quite a common bird in some
localities. In one piece of woodland, half a mile east of West
Chester, he can every season meet with six or eight of their nests,
while in another direction, in a wood apparently similar in every
respect, he has never met with any.
Mr. J. A. Allen mentions finding this Flycatcher as a rare summer
visitant in Western Massachusetts, where, as he states, it breeds in
swamps and low moist thickets, which are its exclusive haunts. He
characterizes it as one of the most spirited and tyrannical of this
genus. It is said to have a short quick note, sounding like
_quequeal_, which it utters hurriedly and sharply, and to have an
erect, hawk-like attitude. He adds that it is very quarrelsome with
its own species, a battle ensuing whenever two males meet. They pursue
each other fiercely, with snapping bills and sharp, querulous,
twittering notes. He found it a very shy bird, and difficult to
collect, frequenting exclusively, so far as he was able to observe,
thick alder-swamps and swampy thickets, keeping concealed among the
thick bushes, or at a great distance.
Wilson’s history of this species is quite brief, and he expressly
states that it is a bird but little known. His account of its nest and
eggs is inaccurate, and refers probably to that of the _minimus_, as
also the statement that it extends its migrations as far as
Newfoundland. He found it inhabiting only the deepest solitary parts
of the woods, stationed among the lower branches, uttering at short
intervals a sudden, sharp squeak, heard at considerable distance
through the woods. As it flies, it utters a low, querulous note, which
it changes, on alighting, to its usual sharp cry. He adds that it is a
rare and very solitary bird, always haunting the most gloomy, moist,
and unfrequented parts of the forest, feeding on flying insects,
devouring wild bees and huckleberries in their season.
To this account Audubon furnishes but little additional that is
reliable. He evidently confounded with it the _minimus_, repeats
Wilson’s description of its eggs, and is incorrect as to its northern
distribution. He speaks of it as extremely pugnacious, chasing from
its premises every intruder, and when once mated seldom leaving the
vicinity of its nest except in pursuit of food. His description of the
nest applies to that of the _minimus_, but not to that of this
species.
Mr. Ridgway writes me that in Southern Illinois it is the most
abundant of the _Empidonaces_, breeding in the same woods with _E.
trailli_. It is so exceedingly similar to that species in manners and
general habits that they are hard to distinguish, and it requires a
long acquaintance with the two in the woods to learn to distinguish
them when seen or heard. A close attention, however, shows that the
notes of the two are quite distinct.
Mr. Dresser mentions finding this species not uncommon near San
Antonio, Texas, during the summer. Its stomach was found to contain
small insects. Dr. Woodhouse also speaks of it as common in Texas, New
Mexico, and the Indian Territory, but at what season is not mentioned.
Dr. Hoy writes me that this bird, quite common about Racine some
twenty-five years ago, has now almost entirely disappeared.
Near Washington Dr. Coues found this Flycatcher a common summer
resident, the most abundant of the kind, and the only one that breeds
there in any numbers. They arrive the last of April, and remain until
the last of September.
A beautiful nest of this species was found by Mr. George O. Welch near
Indianapolis, Indiana. It was fully identified, and the parent shot.
This nest has a diameter of four inches, and a height of two. Its base
is composed to a large extent of dried grasses, intermingled with
masses of withered blossoms of different herbaceous plants. Above this
is constructed a somewhat rudely interwoven nest, composed entirely of
long, fine, wiry stems of grasses. The cavity is two inches wide and
less than one in depth. The eggs, three in number, are exceedingly
beautiful, and differ from all the eggs of this genus, having more
resemblance to those of _Contopi_. They have an elongated oval shape,
and are quite pointed at one end. They measure .78 by .56 of an inch.
Their ground is a rich cream-color, tinged with a reddish-brown
shading, and at the larger end the eggs are irregularly marked with
scattered and vivid blotches of red and reddish-brown. The nest was
found on the 3d of June.
Empidonax flaviventris, BAIRD.
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER.
_Tyrannula flaviventris_, WM. M. and S. F. BAIRD, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc.
Phila. I, July, 1843, 283.—IB. Am. Journ. Science, April,
1844.—AUD. Birds Am. VII, 1844, 341, pl. ccccxc. _Tyrannula
pusilla_ (SWAINSON), REINHARDT, Vidensk. Meddel. for 1853,
1854, 82.—GLOGER, Cab. Jour. 1854, 426. _Empidonax
hypoxanthus_, BAIRD (provisional name for eastern specimens).
Empidonax difficilis, BAIRD (provisional name for western).
_Empidonax flaviventris_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1859,
198.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 229.—MAYNARD, B. E. Mass. 1870,
126.
SP. CHAR. Second, third, and fourth quills nearly equal; first
intermediate between fifth and sixth. Tail nearly even, slightly
rounded. Tarsi long. Above bright olive-green (back very similar to
that of _Vireo noveboracensis_); crown rather darker. A broad yellow
ring round the eye. The sides of the head, neck, breast and body, and
a band across the breast like the back, but lighter; the rest of the
lower parts bright greenish sulphur-yellow; no white or ashy anywhere
on the body. Quills dark brown; two bands on the wing formed by the
tips of the primary and secondary coverts, the outer edge of the first
primary and of the secondaries and tertials pale yellow, or
greenish-yellow. The tail-feathers brown, with the exterior edges like
the back. The bill dark brown above, yellow beneath. The feet black.
In the autumn the colors are purer, the yellow is deeper, and the
markings on the wings of an ochrey tint. Length, 5.15; wing, 2.83;
tail, 2.45.
HAB. Eastern United States, and Eastern Middle America, south to Costa
Rica. Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 122); Xalapa (SCL. Ibis, I,
441); Choctun, Dueñas (SCL. Catal. 1862, 230); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX,
114); Panama (LAWR. VIII, 63); Vera Cruz, winter, resident? (SUM. M.
B. S. I, 557); San Antonio, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 475).
Specimens from the eastern regions of North and Middle America, though
varying slightly among themselves, all agree in the characters which
distinguish them from the western series.
HABITS. This well-marked species was first obtained in Carlisle,
Penn., and described by the Bairds in 1843. It has since remained a
comparatively rare and scattered species, and has been only seldom met
with. I found it breeding in the vicinity of Halifax, and also among
the Grand Menan Islands, and in both cases was so fortunate as to be
able to obtain its nest and eggs. It has been found near Calais by Mr.
Boardman, and its nest also procured. It has also been found breeding
near Trenton, N. J., by Dr. Slack, and in a not distant locality in
the same State by Dr. Abbott.
Dr. Coues observed the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher to be a rather rare
spring and autumnal visitant at Washington. As specimens were taken
there July 28, undoubtedly they occasionally breed there. They appear
early in May, and go south the latter part of September.
Two specimens of Flycatcher, identified as of this species, are
recorded by Professor Reinhardt as having been taken at Godthaab,
Greenland, in 1853.
Sumichrast met with this species in Vera Cruz, but whether as a
resident or only as a migrant he could not determine. Mr. Dresser
states that it is common in the summer near San Antonio, arriving
there in April. Dr. Coues met it in its migrations through South
Carolina. Dr. Turnbull speaks of it as rare in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia, where it arrives in the middle of April on its way
north. It has been found throughout Eastern Mexico and Guatemala, and
as far south as Panama.
Mr. Verrill regarded this species as a summer resident in Western
Maine, though he never met with its nest, and at no time very common.
Specimens were procured between the last of May and the middle of
June. It was found, though very rare, by Mr. McIlwraith, at Hamilton,
where it was supposed to be a summer resident. Specimens were taken
about the middle of May.
Dr. Hoy detected this species in the summer of 1869, in the vicinity
of Racine, and although he had no doubt that they had a nest in the
vicinity, he was not able to discover it. He was surprised to find
that the male of this species has quite a pretty song. This fact has
since been confirmed by the observations of Mr. Boardman, who has
heard this bird give forth quite a pleasing, though somewhat
monotonous trill. This, according to Dr. Hoy, resembles
_Pēa-wāyk-pēa-wāyoc_, several times repeated in a soft and not
unpleasant call or song.
In Western Massachusetts Mr. Allen has found this species rather rare.
Those met with have all been taken from May 15 to June 5. Dr. Coues,
in his List of the birds of New England, expresses his conviction that
this species is probably much less rare than collectors have generally
supposed. It harbors very closely in shady woods and thickets, and is
very rarely to be met with anywhere else. In the distance it is not
easily distinguished from other species of this genus, and may have
been allowed to go unsought, mistaken for a much more common species.
Mr. Allen has generally met with quite a number each year in May,
sometimes several in a single excursion. Mr. Maynard took eight
specimens in a few hours, May 31, in Eastern Massachusetts, and Mr.
Welch obtained an unusual number in a single season. Dr. Coues has
also met with them near Washington during their breeding-season.
At Grand Menan I found the nest of this species in a low alder-bush,
on the edge of a thicket, but within a few feet of the shore. The nest
was about two feet from the ground, placed in the fork of the bush,
and bearing a close resemblance to the nest of the _Cyanospiza
cyanea_. It was loosely made of soft strips of the inner bark of
deciduous trees, and lined with yellow stems of grasses. It was not
large for the bird, but the conspicuous color of the materials at once
betrayed the nest as we chanced to land within a few feet of it. The
female immediately slid from it, and was not seen again, but her mate
was undisturbed by our presence. Afterwards other nests were obtained
at Halifax, on the edge of swampy woods, made of stubble, and placed
in low bushes. All the eggs I obtained were white, of a slightly more
chalky hue than those of the _minimus_, and more oblong. Those
procured by Mr. Boardman were sprinkled with minute dots of
reddish-brown. Their measurement is .68 by .52 of an inch.
Empidonax flaviventris, var. difficilis, BAIRD.
WESTERN YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER.
_Empidonax difficilis_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 198 (under _E.
flaviventris_), pl. lxxvi, f. 2.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 230.
_Empidonax flaviventris_, COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 328.
SP. CHAR. Similar to _flaviventris_, but tail much longer, and colors
lighter and duller. The olive above less green, and the sulphur-yellow
beneath less pure, having an ochraceous cast, this especially marked
on the edge of the wing; wing-bands grayish rather than yellowish
white. Measurements, ♂ (58,550, Parley’s Park, Wahsatch Mountains,
Utah, August 5, 1869; C. KING, R. RIDGWAY): Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.80;
wing-formula, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6, 1. _Young._ Wing-bands ochraceous,
instead of grayish-white, with a sulphur-yellow tinge.
HAB. Western Province of United States, and Western Mexico. (Mazatlan,
Colima, etc.) Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 62).
HABITS. This Flycatcher is a western form, closely allied to our
eastern _E. flaviventris_. It was met with by Dr. Coues in Arizona,
where it was rather rare, and appeared to be a summer resident. It
arrives in that Territory about the middle of April, and remains there
until the latter part of September. Dr. Coues found it difficult to
distinguish this form from our eastern _flaviventris_.
Dr. Cooper obtained at Monterey, Cal., specimens of the western types
of this bird, having darker markings on the wing, which, however, he
regards as only indicative of a young plumage, and not of specific
distinctness. He found these birds chiefly frequenting woods of
_Coniferæ_, and very silent, which, so far as the observation has any
value, indicates a marked difference between the eastern and the
western birds.
The eggs of this species are also different from any of the eastern
_E. flaviventris_ that I have ever seen, and are more like the eggs of
_E. trailli_ than of the other species of _Empidonax_. They measure
.73 of an inch in length, by .58 in breadth, have a creamy-white
ground, marked at the larger end with reddish-brown and purplish
markings. They are of an oblong-oval shape. Mr. Ridgway met with this
species only once in his western explorations, when he obtained a pair
in a thick pine woods on the Wahsatch Mountains, in June. They were
exceedingly retiring, and frequented dark woods, whose solitudes were
shared besides only by the _Turdus auduboni_ and _Myiadestes
townsendi_. Their note was a _pit_, much more like that of some
Warblers than like the notes of the other _Empidonaces_.
This species, called by Mr. Grayson “The Lonely Flycatcher,” was found
by him quite common in the Three Marias, islands off the Pacific coast
of Mexico, as well as on the main coast, and also in California. The
accustomed places of resort of this solitary little bird were, he
states, the most retired and secluded dells of the forest. He there
met with it beneath the canopy of the natural and shady grottos formed
by the overlapping branches, intermingled with innumerable creeping
plants, sitting upon some low twig watching for a passing fly. At
other times it might be seen frequenting some secluded and shady
little brook, near the surface of which it often darted upon the flies
that skimmed over the surface of the water, ever and anon uttering a
low and plaintive one-syllabled note.
Empidonax obscurus, BAIRD.
WRIGHT’S FLYCATCHER.
_? Tyrannula obscura_, SWAINSON, Syn. Mex. Birds, in Philos. Mag. I,
1827, 367. _Empidonax obscurus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 200,
pl. xlix, f. 3.—IB. M. B. II, Birds 9, pl. xi, f. 3.—SCL.
Catal. 1862, 230.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 329. _Empidonax
wrighti_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 200 (name proposed in case
this should prove not to be the _T. obscura_ of Swainson).
SP. CHAR. Bill very narrow. Tarsi long. Wing rounded. Second, third,
and fourth quills longest; first shorter than sixth, sometimes than
seventh and eighth. Tail rounded. Above dull brownish-olive, paler on
the rump, tinged with gray on the head. Loral region and space round
the eye whitish. Throat and forepart of the breast grayish-white,
slightly tinged with olive across the latter; the rest of the under
parts pale yellowish. Wings and tail brown; the former with two
conspicuous bands of brownish-white; the outer primary edged, the
secondaries and tertials edged and tipped with the same. The outer web
of the external tail-feather white, in strong contrast. Length, 5.75;
wing, 2.75; tail, 2.55; tarsus, .70. _Young._ Wing-bands
yellowish-gray, or grayish-buff (not ochraceous); upper parts with a
brownish wash; abdomen tinged with dull buff.
HAB. Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of United States, and
table-lands of Mexico. Localities: La Parada, Mexico (SCL. Catal.
1862, 230); Vera Cruz, winter, perhaps resident (SUM. M. B. S. I,
557); Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 63).
The most decided character of this species is seen in the combination
of the narrow bill and the white outer margin of the external
tail-feather, together with the long tarsi. The bill measured across
opposite the middle of the nostrils is less than half its length from
the forehead, instead of being considerably more, as in nearly all the
other North American species, except _hammondi_. From this, however,
the longer tail, edged externally with white; the longer bill and
tarsus, the more rounded wings, the paler throat, etc., will
distinguish it. Some specimens (spring and summer individuals) are
very pale, showing scarcely any yellow beneath; the upper parts more
tinged with gray. Sometimes there is a decidedly hoary frontlet.
A young specimen (53,303, ♀, Upper Humboldt Valley, Nev., September
16, 1868; C. King, R. Ridgway) is remarkable for its pale and
unusually grayish colors. There is nowhere any tinge of yellow, and
scarcely any of brown, the colors being simply clear ash and pure dull
white, except the dusky of wings and tail. In these respects it
differs from all others in the collection; there can be no doubt,
however, that it is the same species as the brownish individuals
obtained in the same locality.
HABITS. This Flycatcher appears to have been first described as a
Mexican species by Swainson in 1827. Since then it has been obtained
by Sumichrast in the Department of Vera Cruz, but whether resident or
only migratory he was unable to decide. Specimens were obtained at El
Paso, in Texas, by Mr. C. Wright, on the Mexican Boundary Survey. Dr.
Coues found this bird a summer resident in Arizona, but rare. It
arrives there early in April, and remains until October. Dr. Cooper
first observed this species at Fort Mohave about April 1, and a few
afterwards until May 25. They kept among low bushes, were generally
silent, or with only a single lisping chirp. Occasionally they flew a
short distance after insects in the general manner of this genus. We
are indebted to Mr. Ridgway for all the knowledge we possess in
reference to the habits and nesting of this rare species.
He met with them in all the aspen groves and thickets of the high
mountain regions, from the Sierra Nevada to the Wahsatch and Uintah
Mountains. The aspen copses at the head of the cañons of the highest
and well-watered ranges of the Great Basin were their favorite resort;
but they were sometimes seen in the “mahogany” woods on the spurs, and
occasionally, even, on the willows in the river valleys. Their common
note was a weird _sweer_, much like the call of _Chrysomitris pinus_,
but very often, especially when the nest was approached, they uttered
a soft liquid _whit_. In the Toyabe Mountains, where these little
Flycatchers were breeding abundantly in the aspen copses, Mr. Ridgway
found them to be so unsuspicious that several were taken from the nest
with his hand; and one which was shot at and slightly wounded returned
to her nest and suffered herself to be taken off without showing any
alarm.
A nest obtained by Mr. Ridgway near Austin, in Nevada, July 3, 1868,
was built in the crotch of a small aspen, about five feet from the
ground. This nest is a very neat, homogeneous, compact structure,
cup-like in shape, three inches in diameter, and two and a half in
height. Its cavity is one and a half inches in depth, and three inches
across the rim. It is composed almost entirely of strips of soft and
bleached fragments of the inner bark of deciduous trees and shrubs,
and hempen fibres of various plants. The inner nest is a lining made
of finer materials of the same, with a few fine roots and feathers.
The eggs, three in number, are of a uniform creamy white, unspotted,
and not unlike the eggs of _Empidonax minimus_. They measure .73 of an
inch in length, and .60 in breadth.
The nest and eggs of this species were also found by Mr. C. S.
McCarthy, in Dodge Valley, July 2, 1859. The nest was in a low
flowering bush, and was a few feet from the ground. It was likewise
found breeding at Camp Grant, Arizona, by Dr. Palmer.
Empidonax hammondi, BAIRD.
HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER.
_Tyrannula hammondi_, DE VESEY (XANTUS), Pr. A. N. Sc. May, 1858.
_Empidonax hammondi_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 199, pl. lxxvi,
f. 1.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 230.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
330.
SP. CHAR. Tail moderately forked; the feathers acutely pointed. Third
quill longest; second and then fourth a little shorter. First much
shorter than fifth, a little longer than sixth. Bill very slender;
dark brown. Above dark olive-green, considerably darker on the head.
Breast and sides of the body light olive-green, the throat
grayish-white; the rest of under parts bright sulphur-yellow. A
whitish ring round the eye. Wings and tail dark brown; the former with
two olivaceous gray bands across the coverts; the latter with the
outer edge a little paler than elsewhere, but not at all white.
Length, 5.50; wing, 2.80; tail, 2.50; tarsus, .67.
HAB. Mexico and Western Province of United States (Clark’s Fork; Fort
Laramie; Fort Tejon, Orizaba, and numerous intermediate points). North
to Lesser Slave Lake, where breeding abundantly (S. JONES, Mus. S.
I.). Localities: Vera Cruz, winter, perhaps resident (SUM. M. B. S. I,
557); W. Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 62).
In this species the olive-green on the sides is scarcely
distinguishable from that on the back, although becoming more yellow
on the middle of the breast. There is a decided ashy shade on the
whole head. The only light edging to the quills is seen on the
terminal half of the secondaries. The upper mandible and feet are
black; the tip of the lower (and in one specimen the whole) dark
brown. The fork of the tail measures a quarter of an inch in depth;
the longest quill exceeds the first by .40.
This species is at once distinguishable from all the North American
_Tyrannulas_, except _obscurus_, by the extreme narrowness as well as
shortness of the bill. This is only .25 of an inch wide at the
posterior angle of the mouth, and only .19 at the nostrils. Its colors
above are those of _acadicus_, while the general effect is much more
that of _flaviventris_, although less brightly olive. The throat is
grayish, not of the same yellow with the belly; the ring round the eye
white, not yellow; the olive of the breast much more continuous and
distinct; the bands on the wings dull grayish instead of clear
greenish-yellow. The tail, instead of being nearly even, is quite
deeply forked. The bill is scarcely half as wide, and brownish, not
yellow, beneath. The tarsus has the same peculiar scutellation.
The differences from _T. obscurus_ are less easily expressed. It is,
however, considerably smaller, and more olivaceous above and below,
the tarsi very much shorter; the most tangible character is seen in
the absence of the white on the outer web of the external
tail-feather, which is only a little paler brown than elsewhere. The
abdomen is much more distinctly yellowish.
HABITS. This species was first discovered in the vicinity of Fort
Tejon, Cal., by Mr. Xantus, in 1858, and described by him in the
Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy. It has since been taken in
other parts of California and Mexico. Sumichrast found it in the
Department of Vera Cruz; and Dr. Coues has taken it in Arizona, where
he regarded it as a rather rare summer resident, arriving late in
April and remaining until the third week in October.
Dr. Cooper obtained a single specimen of this species at Fort Mohave,
May 20. It closely resembled _E. obscurus_ in its habits at that time,
and he mistook it for that species. He afterwards met with others, as
supposed, of these birds, on Catalina Island, in June. They kept in
low trees, and uttered a few faint lisping notes. The first of this
species arrived at Santa Cruz, March 13, and they were numerous during
the summer, disappearing in September. April 27, Dr. Cooper found the
first nest. It was built on the horizontal branch of a negundo-tree,
about eighteen feet from the ground. He found four others afterwards,
from four to ten feet high, either on horizontal branches or on forks
of small trees. They contained three or four eggs each, or young. The
last one with eggs was found as late as June 29, probably a second
nest of a pair that had been robbed. These nests were all thick
walled, composed externally of dry mosses and downy buds, with a few
strips of bark and leaves, and slender woody fibres, and often with a
few hairs or feathers lining the inside. Externally the nests were
about four inches wide and two and a half high. The cavity was two
inches wide and one and a half deep. The eggs were white with brown
blotches and specks near the larger end, disposed mostly in a circle.
They measured .68 by .52 of an inch.
These birds, he further states, frequented only the darkest groves
along the river, and had a very few simple call-notes of a monotonous
character. They were so very shy that he could not get near enough to
determine the species, which in all probability was not this species,
but the _E. pusillus_.
The _E. hammondi_ was met with by Mr. Ridgway only in the East
Humboldt Mountains, where, in September, it was found in the thickest
groves of tall aspens. It seemed to be confined to these localities,
and was much more secluded than the _E. obscurus_. Its common note was
a soft _pit_.
A number of nests and eggs sent, with the parent birds, from Lesser
Slave Lake, by Mr. Strachan Jones, show that its eggs are unspotted
creamy-white, like those of _E. minimus_ and _E. obscurus_. Indeed, a
number of nests and eggs of the former of these two species, also
accompanied by the parent birds, could not be distinguished, except by
their apparently just appreciably larger size, on the average.
GENUS MITREPHORUS, SCLATER.
_Mitrephorus_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 44. (Type, _M. phæocercus_.)
GEN. CHAR. Similar in general character to _M. empidonax_, but with
fulvous, fulvous-olive and rufous tints, instead of clear olive, gray,
white, and sulphur-yellow. Head crested; bristles of gape reaching
nearly to tip of bill. Feet very weak.
[Line drawing: 40602 ♀]
The type of this genus (_M. phæocercus_) is quite different in form
from _Empidonax_, the nearest North American ally, but both _M.
pallescens_ and _fulvifrons_ could with little violence be placed in
it. There is no positive character to separate the latter from the
average of species of _Empidonax_, except it be the color. The crest
is not at all conspicuous, nor is there any appreciable difference of
form; while in the form of the bill these species are much nearer
_Empidonax_ than _Mitrephorus_. The legs, however, are weaker, and the
rictal bristles longer.
There are two forms of the group, as defined by Sclater: one embracing
_E. phæocercus_, Sclater (Mexico and Guatemala), and _E.
aurantiiventris_, Lawr. (Costa Rica); the other _E. fulvifrons_,
Giraud, and _pallescens_, Coues. The differences between the last two,
which are probably merely races of one species, may be expressed as
follows:—
M. fulvifrons. Olivaceous above; beneath
ochraceous-fulvous; darkest on the breast, paler on throat
and crissum. External edge of outer tail-feathers whitish.
Olive of back fulvous; under parts decided
ochrey-fulvous. Wing-bands tinged with ochraceous; wing
rather pointed. First quill equal to sixth; third,
longest. Wing, 2.65; tail, 2.40; tarsus, .61. _Hab._
Northern Mexico var. _fulvifrons_.[97]
Olive of back grayish; beneath obscurely ochrey-fulvous
and much paler; wing-bands grayish-white; wing rather
rounded. First quill shorter than sixth; fourth longest.
Length, 4.75; wing, 2.15; tail, 2.00; tarsus, .55.
_Hab._ Arizona var. _pallescens_.
[97] _Mitrephorus fulvifrons. Muscicapa fulvifrons_, GIRAUD,
16 species Texas birds, 1841, pl. ii (Mexico?). _Empidonax
fulvifrons_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 301. _Mitrephorus
fulvifrons_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 45. _Empidonax
rubicundus_, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. ii, 1859, 70 (Mexico).
_Hab._ Northern Mexico.
Mitrephorus fulvifrons, var. pallescens, COUES.
BUFF-BREASTED LEAST FLYCATCHER.
_Mitrephorus pallescens_, COUES, Pr. Philad. Ac. 1866, 63 (Fort
Whipple, Arizona).—COOPER, Orn. Calif. I, 334. _Mitrephorus
fulvifrons_, ELLIOT, Illust. B. Am. I, pl. xix.
SP. CHAR. Above fulvous-gray, with an ashy cast on the tail and crown;
lighter across the nape. Two grayish-white bands across the wings, and
the terminal half of the secondaries and outer web of lateral
tail-feather broadly edged with the same. Whole lower parts, including
the lores and cheeks, and lining of wing, light ochraceous, very
deeply ochraceous across the breast and on the sides, nearly white on
the abdomen and crissum. Upper mandible deep black, lower whitish
(“bright orange-yellow” in life); feet deep black. Wing-formula:
second, third, and fourth quills equal and longest, 5, 6, 1. Tail very
slightly emarginated, but lateral feather a little the shortest.
_Male._ Length, 4.75; wing, 2.25; tail, 2.00; culmen, .54 (measured to
concealed base); breadth of bill, .24; tarsus, .54; middle toe, .28.
_Female._ Colors paler; deep ochraceous of breast, etc., less
distinct.
HAB. Southern border of Middle Province of United States (Fort
Whipple, Arizona).
The true _M. fulvifrons_ of Mexico differs simply in deeper colors,
the shade above being decidedly fulvous, instead of grayish, and the
lower parts much more deeply ochraceous, the abdomen not approaching
white; the wing-markings are also tinged with ochraceous.
HABITS. This species, both new to our fauna and previously
undescribed, was taken by Dr. Coues at Fort Whipple. It belongs to a
newly established genus of Flycatchers, recently established by Mr.
Sclater, similar to _Empidonax_. So far as known, its members are more
or less tropical in their residence. It is a rare summer resident at
Fort Whipple, arriving there early in May. Nothing is stated in
reference to its habits, except that they correspond with those of the
_Empidonaces_.
GENUS PYROCEPHALUS, GOULD.
_Pyrocephalus_, GOULD, Zoöl. of Beagle, 1838, 44.
[Line drawing: _Pyrocephalus rubineus._
38206 ]
GEN. CHAR. Tarsus moderate, very little longer than the middle toe;
hind toe not longer than the lateral. Bill slender, very narrow at the
base. Tail broad, even, considerably shorter than the wings (about
four fifths), which reach beyond the middle of the tail. First quill
shorter than the fifth. Head with a conspicuous rounded crest. Sexes
dissimilar. Male with the crown and lower parts red (except in _E.
obscurus_); tail, back, and wings dark brown.
The single North American species of this genus is readily
distinguished among other Flycatchers by the bright red of the under
parts. The female is quite different in color from the male, being
peculiar in this respect among North American Flycatchers.
Species and Varieties.
E. obscurus.[98] Entirely uniform sepia-brown beneath,
with a wine-purple tinge posteriorly and on the forehead.
_Hab._ Peru.
E. rubineus. Whole crown, and entire lower parts (except
lining of wing), brilliant scarlet-red; a stripe on side
of the head, and entire upper parts, sepia-brownish.
_Female._ Whitish anteriorly beneath, more or less reddish
posteriorly; anterior portion with dusky streaks; crown
dusky. _Young_ without any red; feathers above bordered
with lighter; streaks beneath numerous. Length, about
5.50.
The brown of a dark sepia cast, edges of wing-feathers
not appreciably paler, the red with a slight carmine
shade. No whitish on the edge of outer nor on tips of
other tail-feathers. _Hab._ South America var. _rubineus_.[99]
Similar to last, but outer web of lateral tail-feather
distinctly whitish, the rest tipped slightly with
whitish. _Hab._ Northern South America (Bogota and
Guayaquil) var. _nanus_.[100]
The brown of a decided grayish cast, and edges of
wing-feathers very distinctly paler; red more scarlet
(but equally intense). No whitish tips to tail-feathers,
and no white edge to the outer. _Hab._ Middle America;
north into southern border of United States var. _mexicanus_.
[98] _Pyrocephalus obscurus_, GOULD, Zoöl. Voy. Beag. iii,
45.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 46; Catal. Am. B. 1862, 228
(Peru).
[99] _Pyrocephalus rubineus_, (BODD.) CAB. _Muscicapa
rubinea_, BODD. (ex Buff. pl. enl. cclxv, f. 1).
_Pyrocephalus r._ CABANIS et HEIN. Mus. Hein. ii, p.
67.—SCLATER, Catal. Am. B. 1862, 227.
[100] _Pyrocephalus rubineus_, var. _nanus_, GOULD, Zoöl.
Beag. iii, 45, pl. vii.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 46, 144;
1860, 282, 295; Catal. Am. B. 1862, p. 228. The last is
hardly separable by the characters given, as, although they
are never seen in southern specimens, they are not constant
in the northern ones. Specimens of _nanus_ are as large as
any of _rubineus_, there being in every region a great range
of variation in dimensions.
Pyrocephalus rubineus, var. mexicanus, SCLATER.
RED FLYCATCHER.
_Pyrocephalus rubineus_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, May, 1851,
115. CASSIN, Ill. I, IV, 1853, 127, pl. xvii.—BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 201.—SALVADORI, Atti. Milan. vii, 1864.—HEERM. X,
_S_, 38. _Tyrannula coronata_, SWAINSON, WAGLER, Isis, 1831,
529. _Pyrocephalus nanus_, WOODHOUSE, Sitgreave’s Report, 1853,
75 (not of GOULD). _Pyrocephalus mexicanus_, SCLATER, P. Z. S.
1859, 45, 56, 366; 1864, 176.—IB. Ibis, 1859, 442.—IB. Catal.
227.—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1860, 399 (Guatemala).—CABANIS,
Mus. Hein. ii, 1859, 68.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 333.
SP. CHAR. Head with a full rounded or globular crest. Tail even. Crown
and whole under parts bright carmine-red; rest of upper parts,
including the cheeks as far as the bill, and the lining of the wing,
dull grayish-brown; the upper tail-coverts darker; the tail almost
black; greater and middle wing-coverts and edges of secondaries and
tertials dull white towards the edges. _Female_ similar, without the
crest; the crown brown, like the back; the under parts whitish
anteriorly, streaked with brown; behind white, tinged with red or
ochraceous. Length of male about 5.50; wing, 3.25; tail, 2.75. _Young_
resembling the female, but lacking any trace of red, and with each
feather of the upper parts bordered with whitish, producing a very
variegated appearance.
HAB. Valleys of Rio Grande and Gila southward. Localities: Honduras
(MOORE, P. Z. S. 1859, 55); Cordova (SCL. 1856, 296); Vera Cruz, hot
to alpine regions (SUM. M. B. S. I, 557); Yucatan (LAWR. IX, 201);
Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 64).
[Illustration: _Pyrocephalus rubineus._]
Every stage between the youngest plumage described and the adult male
may be found in a large series of immature specimens: the shade of the
red in both sexes frequently varies, it being sometimes of a slightly
rosaceous tint, and again decidedly inclining to orange; its amount in
the female varies almost with the individual. The two South American
races (var. _nanus_ and var. _rubineus_; see synopsis) differ in
having the brown of upper parts, etc., very decidedly darker; no
appreciable light edgings to wing-feathers, and sometimes an
appreciably more intense red. One of them (_nanus_) has a distinct
white outer edge to lateral tail-feather, and slight whitish tips to
the other; the other has no more than a trace of these markings.
HABITS. This brilliant species is a rare summer visitant to Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, and probably Southern California. It is found
throughout Middle America. It has only within a few years been known
as a resident within our territory, but was first observed in Texas by
Captain McCown, of the United States Army, in 1850, and its claim to a
place in our fauna publicly made by Mr. G. N. Lawrence. Captain
McCown, in some notes on the habits of certain Texan birds, published
in the Annals of the N. Y. Lyceum, speaks of this Flycatcher as being
seldom seen, and of his having noticed not more than a dozen in
Western Texas. He always found them near ponds of water, in the
vicinity of the Rio Grande, generally on a tree or a stake near the
water. He only met with one nest, and this was inaccessible. It was
built on an acacia over the water.
Lieutenant Couch, in a letter to Mr. Cassin, states that he first met
with this bird at Charco Escondido, in Tamaulipas, on the 10th of
March. The males had come in advance of the females, as the latter
were not observed until several weeks afterwards. Early in the
morning, and again about sunset, one of these birds came to the
artificial lake constructed there for the supply of water to the
inhabitants. It appeared to be of a very quiet and inoffensive
disposition, usually sitting on the upper branches of the trees,
occasionally uttering a low chirp. He subsequently met with these
birds in Nueva Leon. In their habits they appeared to be in some
respects similar to the smaller northern Flycatchers.
Dr. Henry also met with these birds in the vicinity of Fort Webster,
in New Mexico; he found them exceedingly rare, and his observations
were confirmatory of their partiality for the neighborhood of water.
His first specimen was obtained on the Rio Mimbres, near Fort Webster,
in the month of March.
Dr. Woodhouse met with an individual of this Flycatcher near the
settlement of Quihi, in Texas, in the month of May. It was breeding in
a thicket. He did not hear it utter any note.
According to the observations of Mr. Sumichrast, this bird is very
abundant throughout the entire Department of Vera Cruz, common
everywhere, at all heights, in the hot, the temperate, and the alpine
regions. Mr. Dresser obtained a fine male specimen from the San Pedro
River, near San Antonio, in August. Another, a young male, was
obtained September 25. It was very shy, and made its way through the
low bushes like the Hedge Sparrow of Europe. A third was obtained
April 5, after much difficulty. It was not so shy as the others, but
kept more in the open country, always perching on some elevated place.
Its note resembled that of the _Milvulus forficatus_.
This bird, according to Dr. Coues, is not found as far to the north as
Fort Whipple, among the mountains, though it extends up the valley of
the Colorado to an equally high latitude. It is also said to be common
in the valley of the Gila and in Southern Arizona generally.
Mr. E. C. Taylor (Ibis, VI, p. 86) mentions finding this Flycatcher
tolerably abundant both at Ciudad Bolivar and at Barcelona, but he did
not meet with a specimen on the island of Trinidad. He notes its great
resemblance in habits to the _Muscicapæ_ of Europe.
Dr. Kennerly reports that these birds were often observed by him at
various points on the road, from Boca Grande to Los Nogales. It
generally selected its perch on the topmost branch of some bush or
tree, awaiting the approach of its insect food, and then sallying out
to capture it. Sometimes it poised itself in a graceful manner in the
air, while its bright plumage glistened in the sun like some brightly
colored flower.
Dr. Heermann procured a specimen of this Flycatcher at Fort Yuma,
where he was informed that it was quite common in spring. He saw other
individuals of this species at Tucson in Sonora. These birds, he
states, station themselves upon the topmost branches of trees, and
when pursued appear quite wild, flying to a considerable distance
before again alighting.
Dr. Cooper saw at Fort Mohave, May 24, a bird which he had no doubt
was an individual of this species, but he was not able to procure it.
It perched upon the tops of bushes, and would not suffer him to
approach within shooting distance. One has since been taken by Mr. W.
W. Holden in Colorado Valley, lat. 34°, April 18.
Mr. Joseph Leyland found this species common on the flats near Peten,
in Guatemala, as also on the pine ridges of Belize. They have, he
states, a singular habit of spinning round and round on the wing, and
then dropping suddenly with wings loose and fluttering as though
shot,—apparently done for amusement. They lay three or four
light-colored eggs in a small nest composed of light grass and lined
with cottony materials. Mr. Xantus found the nest and eggs of this
species at San José, Mexico, May 16, 1861.
FAMILY ALCEDINIDÆ.—THE KINGFISHERS.
CHAR. Head large; bill long, strong, straight, and sub-pyramidal,
usually longer than the head. Tongue very small. Wings short; legs
small; the outer and middle toes united to their middle. Toes with the
usual number of joints (2, 3, 4, 5).
The gape of the bill in the Kingfishers is large, reaching to beneath
the eyes. The third primary is generally longest; the first decidedly
shorter; the secondaries vary from twelve to fifteen in number, all
nearly equal. The secondaries cover at least three quarters of the
wing. The tail is short, the feathers twelve in number; they are
rather narrow, the outer usually shorter. The lower part of the tibia
is bare, leaving the joint and the tarsus uncovered. The tarsus is
covered anteriorly with plates; behind, it is shagreen-like or
granulated. The hind toe is connected with the inner, so as to form
with it and the others a regular sole, which extends unbroken beneath
the middle and outer as far as the latter are united. The inner toe is
much shorter than the outer. The claws are sharp; the middle expanded
on its inner edge, but not pectinated.
The North American species of Kingfisher belong to the subfamily
_Cerylinæ_, characterized by the crested head, and the plumage varying
with sex and age. The single genus _Ceryle_ includes two types,
_Streptoceryle_ and _Chloroceryle_.
GENUS CERYLE, BOIE.
_Ceryle_, BOIE, Isis, 1828, 316, ch. (Type, _Alcedo rudis_ of Africa.)
_Ispida_, SW. Birds, II, 1837, 336. (Type, _A. alcyon_, in part.)
GEN. CHAR. Bill long, straight, and strong, the culmen slightly
advancing on the forehead and sloping to the acute tip; the sides much
compressed; the lateral margins rather dilated at the base, and
straight to the tip; the gonys long and ascending. Tail rather long
and broad. Tarsi short and stout.
This genus is distinguished from typical _Alcedo_ (confined to the Old
World) by the longer tail, an indented groove on each side the culmen,
inner toe much longer than the hinder instead of equal, etc.
The two species of North American Kingfishers belong to two different
subgenera of modern systematists, the one to _Streptoceryle_, Bonap.,
the other to _Chloroceryle_, Kaup. The characters of these subgenera
are as follows:—
Streptoceryle, Bonap. (1854). Bill very stout and thick.
Tarsus about equal to the hind toe; much shorter than the
inner anterior. Plumage without metallic gloss; the
occipital feathers much elongated, linear, and distinct.
Type, _C. alcyon_.
Chloroceryle, Kaup (1849). Size smaller and shape more
slender than in the preceding. Bill long, thin. Tarsi
longer than hind toe; almost or quite as long as the inner
anterior. Plumage with a green metallic gloss above; the
occiput with a crest of rather short, indistinct feathers.
Type, _A. amazona_.
[Line drawing: _Ceryle alcyon._
1640]
The genus _Ceryle_ was established by Boie on the _Alcedo rudis_, of
Linnæus, an African species. Modern systematists separate the American
Kingfishers from those of the Old World, and if correct in so doing,
another generic name must be selected for the former. If the two
American sections be combined into one, _Chloroceryle_ of Kaup (type,
_Alcedo amazona_) must be taken as being the older, unless, indeed,
_Ispida_ of Swainson (1837) be admissible. This appears to have been
based on _Alcedo alcyon_, although including also some Old World
species.
Ceryle alcyon, BOIE.
BELTED KINGFISHER.
_Alcedo alcyon_, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 180.—WILSON, Am. Orn.
III, 1811, 59.—AUDUBON, Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 384; pl.
lxxvii.—IB. Birds America.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 102.
_Ceryle alcyon_, BOIE, Isis, 1828, 316.—BREWER, N. Am. Oology,
I, 1857, 110, pl. iv, fig. 52 (egg).—WOOD, Am. Naturalist,
1868, 379 (nesting).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 158.—COOPER &
SUCKLEY, 167.—DALL & BANNISTER, Ch. Ac. I, i, 1869, 275
(Alaska).—FINSCH, Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 29 (Alaska).—SAMUELS,
125.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 337.—ALLEN, B. Fla. 300.
_Megaceryle alcyon_, REICHENB. Handb. Sp. Orn. I, II, 1851, 25,
pl. ccccxii, fig. 3108-9. _Ispida ludoviciana_, GMELIN, Syst.
Nat. I, 1788, 452. “_Alcedo jaguacate_, DUMONT, Dict. Sc. Nat.
I, 1816, 455” (CASSIN). “_Alcedo guacu_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict.
XIX, 1818, 406,” (CASSIN). _Streptoceryle alcyon_, CABANIS,
Mus. Hein. II, 151.
[Illustration: PLATE XLV.
1. Sayornis nigricans. ♂ Cal., 3906.
2. ” fuscus. ♂ Pa., 957.
3. ” sayus. ♂ Nevada, 52286.
4. Nephœcetes niger. ♀ Puget Sound, 11871.
5. Panyptila melanoleuca. ♂ Nevada, 53277.
6. Ceryle alcyon. ♂ D. C., 25207. ½ nat. size.
7. Chætura pelagica. ♂ Pa., 1010.
8. ” vauxi. ♀ Puget Sound, 15955.
9. Ceryle americana, _var._ cabanisi. ♂ Texas, 6194. ½ nat. size.]
SP. CHAR. Head with a long crest. Above ashy-blue, without metallic
lustre. Beneath, with a concealed band across the occiput, and a spot
anterior to the eye, pure white. A band across the breast, and the
sides of the body under the wings, like the back. Primaries white on
the basal half, the terminal unspotted. Tail with transverse bands and
spots of white. _Female_ and _young_ with sides of body and a band
across the belly below the pectoral one light chestnut; the pectoral
band more or less tinged with the same. Length of adult about 12.75
inches; wing, 6.00.
[Illustration: _Ceryle alcyon._]
HAB. The entire continent of North America to Panama, including West
Indies. Localities: Honduras (MOORE, P. Z. S. 1859, 53; SCL. Ibis, II,
116); Sta. Cruz, winter (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 67); Belize (SCL. Ibis, I,
131); York Factory, H. B. T. (MURRAY, Edinb. Phil. J. Jan. 1860); Cuba
(CAB. J. IV, 101; GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 292); Bahamas (BRYANT, Bost.
Soc. VII, 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE, Birds Jam. 81); Orizaba (SCL. P. Z.
S. 1860, 253); Panama (LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, 318 n.); Costa Rica
(CAB. J. 1862, 162; LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 118); Tobago (JARD. Ann. Mag.
19, 80); Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 471); Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S.
1866, 59); Sta. Bartholemy (SUND. Ofv. 1869, 585).
This species varies considerably in size with locality, as do so many
others. Western specimens are appreciably larger, especially those
from the northwest coast. According to Nuttall and Audubon, it is the
female that has the transverse band of chestnut across the belly. In
this they may be correct; but several specimens in the Smithsonian
collection marked female (perhaps erroneously) show no indication of
the chestnut.[101]
Two closely allied but much larger species belong to Middle and South
America. They differ in having the whole body beneath of a reddish
color.
HABITS. The common Belted Kingfisher of North America is a widely
distributed species at all times, and in the summer is found in every
portion of North America, to the Arctic Ocean on the north, and from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is more or less resident throughout
the year, and in mild and open winters a few have been known to linger
throughout New England, and even in higher latitudes. In 1857 Captain
Blakiston found it remaining on the lower part of the Saskatchewan
River until the 7th of October; and afterwards, in 1859, at Pembina,
on the 1st of May, he observed them to be present, although the river
was not yet open. Those that have migrated to the south make their
reappearance in spring throughout the continent as soon as, and not
unfrequently before, the ice has disappeared from the rivers and
ponds.
It occurs in extreme northern latitudes. Mr. MacFarlane received skins
from the Eskimos obtained on the Arctic coast, and Mr. Dall found them
breeding at Fort Yukon, where it was quite common on all the small
streams flowing into that river. It was also found by Dr. Richardson
frequenting all the large streams of the fur countries, as far at
least as the 67th parallel. In California a larger race than our
Atlantic species is found abundantly along the coast, and about nearly
every stream or lake in which the water is not turbid and muddy.
Mr. A. Newton reports this bird as a winter visitant at St. Croix,
leaving the island late in April. It frequents mangrove swamps and the
mouths of small streams, sometimes fishing half a mile out at sea. The
stomach of one contained shells of crabs. The occurrence of two
specimens of this species in Ireland is recorded by Mr. Thompson.
The Kingfisher is an eminently unsocial species. It is never found
other than in solitary pairs, and these are very rarely seen together.
They feed almost entirely upon fish, which they capture by plunging
into the water, and which they always swallow whole on emerging from
their bath. Undigested portions of their food, such as scales, bones,
etc., they have the power of occasionally ejecting from their
stomachs. They may usually be noticed by the side of streams,
mill-ponds, and lakes, stationed on some convenient position that
enables them to overlook a deep place suitable for their purpose, and
they rarely make a plunge without accomplishing their object.
The cry of the Kingfisher, uttered when he is disturbed, or when
moving from place to place, and occasionally just as he is about to
make a plunge, is loud and harsh, and resembles the noise made by a
watchman’s rattle. This noise he makes repeatedly at all hours, and
most especially at night, during the breeding-season, whenever he
returns to the nest with food for his mate or young.
They nest in deep holes excavated by themselves in the sides of
streams, ponds, or cliffs, not always in the immediate vicinity of
water. These excavations are often near their accustomed
fishing-grounds, in some neighboring bank, usually not many feet from
the ground, always in dry gravel, and sufficiently high to be in no
danger of inundation. They make their burrow with great industry and
rapidity, relieving one another from time to time, and working
incessantly until the result is satisfactorily accomplished. When
digging through a soft fine sand-bank their progress is surprising,
sometimes making a deep excavation in a single night. The pages of
“The American Naturalist” contain several animated controversies as to
the depth, the shape, and the equipments of these passages. The result
of the evidence thus given seems to be that the holes the Kingfishers
make are not less than four nor more than fifteen feet in length; that
some are perfectly straight, while some, just before their
termination, turn to the right, and others to the left; and that all
have, at or near the terminus, an enlarged space in which the eggs are
deposited. Here the eggs are usually laid on the bare sand, there
being very rarely, if ever, any attempt to construct a nest. The use
of hay, dry grass, and feathers, spoken of by the older writers, does
not appear to be confirmed by more recent testimony. Yet it is quite
possible that in certain situations the use of dry materials may be
resorted to to protect the eggs from a too damp soil.
The place chosen for the excavation is not always near water. In the
spring of 1855 I found the nest of a Kingfisher in a bank by the side
of the carriage path on Mount Washington, more than a mile from any
water. It was a shallow excavation, made that season, and contained
fresh eggs the latter part of May. The food of the pair was taken near
the dam of a sawmill on Peabody River. In another instance a pair of
Kingfishers made their abode in a sand-bank in the midst of the
village of Hingham, within two rods of the main street, and within a
few feet of a dwelling, and not in the near vicinity of water. Here
the confidence they displayed was not misplaced. They were protected,
and their singular habits carefully and curiously watched. During the
day they were cautious, reticent, and rarely seen, but during the
night they seemed to be passing back and forth continually, the return
of each parent being announced by a loud rattling cry. Later in the
season, when the young required constant attention, these nocturnal
noises seemed nearly incessant, and became almost a nuisance to the
family.
The Kingfisher, having once selected a situation for its nest, is very
tenacious of it, and rarely forsakes it unless compelled to by too
great annoyances. They will submit to be robbed time after time, and
still return to the same spot and renew their attempts. They are
devoted to their young, exhibit great solicitude if their safety is
threatened, and will suffer themselves to be taken from their nest
rather than leave it, and immediately return to it again.
Mr. Dall observed a male bird of this species digging other holes in
the bank near his nest, apparently for amusement or occupation. They
were never more than two feet in length and about eight inches in
diameter. He seemed to abandon them as soon as made, though seen to
retire into one to eat a fish he had captured.
The eggs are usually six, rarely seven, in number, and are of a
beautifully clear crystal whiteness. They are very nearly spherical in
shape, and measure 1.31 by 1.06 inches.
[101] This confounding of the two sexes has probably
resulted from guess-work of the collector, who, noticing the
marked difference between the male and female, and naturally
supposing the former to be the more brightly colored, marked
the rufous-breasted specimens accordingly; while the few
marked correctly may have been thus labelled after careful
dissection.
Ceryle americana, var. cabanisi, TSCHUDI.
TEXAS KINGFISHER; GREEN KINGFISHER.
_Alcedo americana_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 451 (in part).
_Ceryle americana_, LAWRENCE, Annals N. Y. Lyceum, V, 1851, 118
(first introduction into the fauna of United States).—CASSIN,
Illustrations, I, 1855, 255.—BREWER, N. Am. Oology, I, 1857,
3, pl. iv, f. 53 (egg).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 159, pl.
xlv.—IB. Mex. B. II; Birds 7, pl. vii.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1,
1870, 339. _Alcedo viridis_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict. XIX, 1818,
413 (CASSIN). _Ceryle cabanisi_, REICHENB. Handb. sp. Orn. I,
27.—CABAN. Mus. Hein. II, 147. _Alcedo cabanisi_, TSCHUDI.
SP. CHAR. Head slightly crested. Upper parts, together with a pectoral
and abdominal band of blotches, glossy green, as also a line on each
side the throat. Under parts generally, a collar on the back of the
neck, and a double series of spots on the quills, white. _Female_ with
a broad band of chestnut across the breast. _Young_ of both sexes
similar to the adult, but white beneath tinged with buff, and marking
on breast more obsolete. Length about 8.00; wing, 3.14.
HAB. Rio Grande region of Texas and southward. Localities: Honduras
(SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 358); Bogota (SCL. P. Z. S. 1853, 130); Cordova
(SCL. P. Z. S. 1856, 286); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 131); Honduras
(Ibis, II, 117); S. E. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 472, breeds);
Colorado River (COUES P. A. N. S. 1866, 59); Costa Rica (LAWR. N. Y.
Lyc. IX, 118).
This species is much smaller than the Northern or Belted Kingfisher,
and is easily distinguishable by the diagnostic marks already given.
The sexes appear to differ, like those of _C. alcyon_, namely, the
female being distinguished by a rufous pectoral band, which is wanting
in the male.
Tschudi and Cabanis separate the northern from the more southern bird
under the name of _C. cabanisi_; Tschudi retaining the name of _C.
americana_ for specimens resident in eastern South America. The
differences are said to consist in the larger size, longer bill,
greater extension of the white of the throat, and the decided spotting
on the wing-coverts and quills of _cabanisi_. Though these differences
are readily appreciable, they correspond so entirely with natural
laws, distinguishing northern and southern individuals of most
resident species, that it is only fair to consider them as merely
modifications of a single species.
Several other species of _Chloroceryle_ proper are found in Tropical
America.
HABITS. So far as is certainly known, this species is only found
within our fauna as a bird of Texas, where it is occasional, rather
than common, and confined to its western limits. From information
received, I am confident that it will yet become known as at least of
rare occurrence in Southern Florida, and possibly along the whole gulf
coast. It was first noticed as a bird of the United States by Captain
McCown, and added to our list by Mr. Lawrence, in 1851. It has since
then been occasionally taken near the Rio Grande and in all the
northeastern portions of Mexico. It is said to be found nearly
throughout Mexico, and to be abundant also in Central America.
Mr. Dresser noticed several of these birds at Matamoras, in August,
and afterwards found them common on the Nueces and the Leona Rivers,
in which places they were breeding. In December he saw others near
Eagle Pass. They were nowhere so abundant as the common belted
species.
Dr. Coues states that they have been observed on several points on the
Colorado River between Fort Mohave and Fort Yuma,—the only instances
of their occurrence in the United States other than on the Rio Grande.
We have but little information in regard to their habits, but there is
no reason to suppose that they differ in this respect.
Mr. Salvin states that this species occurs abundantly everywhere upon
the small streams in the Atlantic coast region, and in the interior of
Central America. It was frequently observed near Dueñas, both on the
Guacalate and on the outlet of Lake Dueñas. And Mr. J. F. Hamilton, in
his Notes on the birds from the province of Santo Paulo, in Brazil,
states that he found this species several times in the vicinity of
shallow pools, most especially those of which the banks were well
wooded. Several times he saw them perched on logs projecting a few
feet out of the water. Dr. Burmeister speaks of this bird (var.
_americana_) as the most common species of Kingfisher in Brazil. It is
there met with everywhere near the small brooks, on the overhanging
branches, and plunging into the water after its prey, which consists
especially of small fish. It is less shy than other species, coming
quite near to the settlements and being easily shot. Its nest is found
in holes in the banks.
Mr. E. C. Taylor also mentions finding this species pretty common in
the island of Trinidad, especially among the mangroves in the swamps
and lagoons.
Eggs marked as those of Kingfishers were found in the collection of
the late Dr. Berlandier, of Matamoras, and are presumed to belong to
this species, though no notes in relation to their parentage, and none
referring to this bird, were found among his papers. Except in size,
they closely resembled eggs of the _C. alcyon_, being of a pure bright
crystal-white color, and measuring 1.06 inches in length by .61 in
breadth.
[Illustration: Sternum of _Ceryle alcyon_.]
FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDÆ.—THE GOATSUCKERS.
CHAR. Bill very short; the gape enormously long and wide, opening to
beneath or behind the eyes. Culmen variable. Toes connected by a
movable skin; secondaries lengthened; plumage soft, sometimes very
full and loose, as in the Owls.
The preceding diagnosis in connection with that of the order will
suffice to separate the _Caprimulgidæ_ from their allies. Their
closest relatives are the _Cypselidæ_, next to which perhaps may be
reckoned the _Trochilidæ_.
In defining the subdivisions of this family, we make use of an
excellent monograph of the American species by Dr. Sclater, in
Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society, London, 1866, 123. He
establishes three subfamilies as follows:—
I. Podarginæ. Claw of middle toe not pectinated; outer toe
with five phalanges. Sternum with two pairs of posterior
fissures.
Outer pair of posterior sternal fissures much deeper
than inner pair; tarsus long and naked. Eggs
colorless. _Podargus_, _Batrachostomus_, _Ægotheles_,
Old World.
Outer pair of posterior fissures much deeper than
inner pair; tarsus extremely short and feathered.
_Nyctibius_, New World.
II. Steatornithinæ. Claw of middle toe not pectinated;
outer toe with five phalanges. Sternum with one pair of
shallow posterior fissures. Eggs colorless. _Steatornis_,
New World.
III. Caprimulginæ. Claw of middle toe pectinated; outer
toe with four phalanges only. Sternum with one pair of
shallow posterior fissures. Eggs colored (colorless in
_Antrostomus nuttalli_, Baird).
_a._ _Glabrirostres._ Rictus smooth. _Podager_,
_Lurocalis_, _Chordeiles_, New World. _Lyncornis_,
_Eurystopodus_, Old World.
_b._ _Setirostres._ Rictus armed with strong bristles.
_Caprimulgus_, _Scotornis_, _Macrodipteryx_, Old World;
_Antrostomus_, _Stenopsis_, _Hydropsalis_,
_Heleothreptus_, _Nyctidromus_, _Siphonorhis_, New World.
Dr. Sclater is of the opinion that _Podargus_ may ultimately have to
be placed in a different family from the _Caprimulgidæ_, with or
without the other genera placed under _Podarginæ_; of these
_Nyctibius_, the sole New World genus has species in Middle (including
Jamaica) and South America. _Steatornis caripensis_, the single
representative of the second subfamily, is found in Trinidad,
Venezuela, and Colombia. It lives in caverns and deep chasms of the
rocks, becoming excessively fat (whence the scientific name), and is
said to feed on fruits. The bill is large and powerful, more like that
of a Hawk than a Goatsucker.
SUBFAMILY CAPRIMULGINÆ.
CHAR. Outer toes with four digits only; claw of middle toe pectinated.
Sternum with one pair only of sternal fissures or notches. Toes
scutellate above. Hind toe directed a little more than half forward,
nostrils separated; rather nearer the commissure than the culmen.
The _Caprimulginæ_ have been divided by Dr. Sclater as follows:—
A. Glabrirostres. Rictus smooth.
I. Tarsus stout, longer than middle toe, entirely naked _Podager_.
II. Tarsus moderate, shorter than middle toe, more or less
clothed with feathers.
_a._ Tail short, almost square _Lurocalis_.
_b._ Tail elongated, a little forked _Chordeiles_.
B. Setirostres. Rictus bristled.
III. Aerial. Tarsi short, more or less clothed.
_a._ Wings normal, second and third quills longest.
1. Tail moderate, rounded at tip _Antrostomus_.
2. Tail elongated, even at tip _Stenopsis_.
3. Tail very long, forked or bifurcate _Hydropsalis_.
_b._ Wings abnormal in male; outer six quills nearly
equal _Heleothreptus_.
IV. Terrestrial. Tarsi elongated, naked.
_a._ Bill moderately broad; nasal aperture scarcely
prominent _Nyctidromus_.
_b._ Bill very broad; nasal aperture much projecting
(Jamaica) _Siphonorhis_.
[Line drawing: _Chordeiles popetue._
1605 ♂]
Of the genera enumerated above, only two certainly belong to the fauna
of the United States (_Chordeiles_ and _Antrostomus_), although there
is some reason to suppose that _Nyctidromus_ should be included, as
among the manuscript drawings of Dr. Berlandier, of birds collected at
Matamoras on the Lower Rio Grande, is one that can be readily referred
to no other than _N. albicollis_. The briefest diagnoses of these
three genera will be as follows:—
Chordeiles. Gape without bristles; tarsi moderate, partly feathered;
tail narrow, slightly forked; plumage rather compact. Antrostomus.
Gape with bristles; tarsi moderate, partly feathered; tail broad,
considerably rounded; plumage soft.
Nyctidromus. Gape with bristles; tarsi lengthened, bare; tail broad,
rounded; plumage soft.
[102] _Nyctidromus albicollis. Caprimulgus albicollis_ and
_guianensis_, GMELIN, S. N. I, 1788, 1030. _Nyctidromus
americanus_, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. S. 1851, 179. _Nyctidromus
guianensis_, _derbyanus_, _grallarius_,—_affinis_ of
authors. _Nyctidromus albicollis_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1866,
145. _Hab._ From Northern Mexico southward to Ecuador and
Brazil.
GENUS CHORDEILES, SWAINSON.
_Chordeiles_, SWAINSON, Fauna Bor. Amer. II, 1831, 496. (Type,
_Caprimulgus virginianus_.)
GEN. CHAR. Bill small, the nostrils depressed; the gape with feeble,
inconspicuous bristles. Wings long, narrow, and pointed; the first
quill nearly or quite equal to the second. Tail rather narrow,
slightly forked; plumage quite compact. Habits diurnal or crepuscular.
Many species of this genus belong to America, although but two that
are well characterized enter into the fauna of the United States.
These are easily distinguished as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
C. popetue. White patch on primaries extending over the
five outer quills, anterior to their middle portion. No
rufous spots on quills, anterior to the white patch.
_a._ Dark mottling predominating on upper parts; lower
tail-coverts distinctly banded.
Wing, 8.00; tail, 4.40. _Hab._ Eastern Province of
United States and Northwest coast var. _popetue_.
Wing, 6.90; tail, 4.00. More rufous mottling on
scapulars and jugulum, and a decided ochraceous tinge
below. _Hab._ West Indies var. _minor_.[103]
_b._ Light mottling predominating on upper parts; lower
tail-coverts only very indistinctly and sparsely banded.
Size of var. _popetue_. _Hab._ Middle Province of
United States var. _henryi_.
C. acutipennis. White patch on primaries extending over
only four outer quills, and beyond their middle portion;
distinct rufous spots on quills, anterior to the white
patch.
Wing, 6.20 to 6.50; tail, 3.90 to 4.10. _Hab._ South
America var. _acutipennis_.[104]