TRAILL'S FLYCATCHER.
(_Empidonax pusillus Trailli._)
In size and general appearance, this species closely resembles the wood
pewee; but its habitat and mode of nesting are much different. It does
not frequent the back-woods nor the high timbered places; and not until
a thick second-growth of low underwood succeeds the original forest in
low swampy places does it make its appearance in the central districts
of Ontario. Then it is so shy and wary, darting off into the deepest
concealment whenever its haunts are invaded by the presence of human
kind, that were it not for its noisy notes, it would scarcely be known
to exist.
It arrives in this vicinity toward the end of May, when its haunts are
being clothed with the emerald foliage of summer, and when it can the
more easily conceal itself from observation, which it appears to dread.
Then, however, the rapidly repeated "wick-we-o" of the male, as he
perches on some elevated, but shady branch, intimate its presence, and
that his mate has probably chosen the neighboring thicket for her summer
home, while should this be penetrated, her sharp "twick," repeated in a
repellant tone, gives the intruder to understand that she is there, and
that his presence is not welcome.
It is very active in its movements, and darts through the shrubbery with
the rapidity of a flash. It appears to subsist chiefly on insects, many
of which it captures on the wing after the manner of its family. It is
only in recent years that this species has become a summer resident of
this vicinity; and in the particular places where it chooses to reside,
it seems yearly to be more common. In the manner and position of its
nest, it differs from all the other Canadian flycatchers. This is placed
in deep concealment among the thick foliage of the particular shrub,
bush or underwood in which it is built, and if the first efforts at
brood raising are successful, it does not appear to nest again that
season, but if otherwise, it will try again. Its first nest may be found
the early part of June, but its efforts at reproduction appear to cease
after the month of July, and it becomes silent as August advances.
On the 19th of July, 1885, my boys reported to me they had found the
nest of a new kind of bird in a piece of low woods on the farm opposite
Wildwood. They stated that the bird was nearly as large as a hermit
thrush, but more like a flycatcher; that the nest--placed in a low blue
beech--was like an indigo bird's, but that the three eggs which it
contained, were like those of a vireo. Eager to ascertain what this new
discovery might be, I returned with the boys to the nesting place, and
though the owner was absent, I saw at a glance that it was a discovery
new to me. The nest was placed in the fork of a small blue beech, three
feet off the ground, well concealed among the leaves and surrounding
raspberry vines. It was composed externally of wool and coarse grasses;
and lined with fine dry grass and some horsehair. The three eggs were of
a whitish-yellow hue, with a few redish dots toward the large end. Now,
anxious to see the owner of this nest, I took a ramble through the wood,
where I heard and saw the male bird, and when I returned the female
flushed off the nest and darted into the neighboring thicket, and for
some time I supposed this species to be the olive sided flycatcher, but
learning my mistake, I became certain that it was the _Trailli_, and
have since been confirmed in this identification. The next summer, about
the 20th day of June, within a few yards of the above mentioned place, I
found in the forks of a small swamp elm, about four feet off the ground,
another nest of the same species; much the same in composition, and
containing three fresh eggs, similar in hue and markings. And on the
same day, a few rods further in the wood, another nest of this species,
containing three young a few days old. This nest, however, was in the
forks of a red-maple sapling about nine feet off the ground, and some of
the coarse grass stalks of which it was composed hung down nearly a foot
from the bottom of the nest. Last season I failed to discover any nests
of this species, though I found the birds in several other places.
THE LEAST FLYCATCHER.
(_Empidonax minimus._)
This species, in general appearance and place of habitat, much resembles
the wood pewee, but it is smaller in size, and its mode of nesting is
quite different.
Its scolding notes are the repetition of a simple "chip"; but these are
seldom heard except when its nest or young are approached. Its song, if
such it may be called, resembles the word "chebeck" repeated in a clear
tone, may often be heard, especially for some weeks after its arrival.
Its advent here usually occurs in the latter part of May; and it leaves
Canada for more southern latitudes in the early part of September.
Its usual habitat is the high, rolling, hard-wood timbered lands; and
for the hilly margins of gravel-bottomed creeks, it seems to have a
decided partiality.
In the dry season it feeds occasionally on small fish, which it easily
captures, as they wriggle in the shallow water, though in general it
feeds on small insects and their progeny in various stages of
development.
This little creature is quite pugilistic, and in the pairing season two
males often indulge in a free and fierce fight, which probably
influences the female in her decision of accepting the victor as her
future partner.
The nest of this species is placed in the upright fork of a small tree,
or where some small branches project from a larger stem. It is a neat,
compact structure, much like that of the redstarts, composed chiefly of
the fibrous matter that forms between the bark and wood of decayed
trees, lined with fine hair. The set of eggs, numbering from two to
five, are of a clear white hue. It does not appear to nest more than
once during the season.
[FINIS.]
For The Hawkeye O. and O.
BIRD NESTING IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.