A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 2

In a young specimen the crown is more tinged with brown; the upper tail-coverts and the middle tail-feathers are chestnut, and, in fact, all the tail-feathers are of this color, except along both sides of the shaft on the central feathers, and along its outer side in the lateral ones.

This species is easily distinguished from T. crinitus and T. cooperi by the brown tip of the tail; the colors paler than in the former, bill slenderer, and tarsi longer.

A variety of this species (pertinax⁷⁸) is found at Cape St. Lucas, and distinguished chiefly by the considerably larger and stouter bill.

Habits. The Ash-throated or Mexican Flycatcher appears to be a common species, from San Antonio, Texas, its extreme northeastern point, southwesterly throughout Mexico as far south as Guatemala, and westward to the Pacific coast. It has been obtained in various parts of California by Mr. Cutts, Mr. Schott, Dr. Heermann, and others, as also on the Gila River. Dr. Kennerly procured specimens at Los Nogales, Mexico, and others have met with it near the city of Mexico, at Saltillo, and in different parts of Western Texas. It was found breeding at Cape San Lucas by Mr. Xantus.

In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mr. Sumichrast found this species apparently confined to the hot region. He did not meet with it anywhere else.

Mr. Dresser thinks that this Flycatcher does not reach San Antonio before the latter part of April. The first that came under his notice was one that he shot, on the 23d of that month, on the Medina River. It breeds near the Medina and the San Antonio Rivers, making its nest in a hollow tree, or taking possession of a deserted Woodpecker’s hole. Mr. Dresser observed these birds as far to the east as the Guadaloupe River, where they were common. Farther east he saw but very few. Their eggs he speaks of as peculiarly marked with a multitude of purple and brown dashes and lines on a dull yellowish-brown ground, and very similar to those of Myiarchus crinitus.

In the Mexican Boundary Survey, individuals of this species were taken by Mr. A. Schott, March 31, on the Colorado Bottom; near the Gila River, New Mexico, December 31; and also at Eagle Pass, in Texas, date not given. Mr. J. H. Clark obtained a specimen at Frontera, Texas, where he mentions finding it in great abundance in damp places, or near the water. In May, 1853, Lieutenant Couch secured several near Saltillo, and notes its occurrence among mesquite-bushes. In the following June, Dr. Kennerly found them very abundant at Los Nogales. Where two were found together, they were generally noticed to be uttering a loud chattering noise.

Dr. Heermann, in his Report on the birds observed in the survey of Lieutenant Williamson’s route between the 32d. and the 35th parallels, mentions finding this species abundant. His specimens were obtained near Posa Creek. He describes them as of shy and retiring habits, preferring the deep and shady forests where its insect food abounds. The nests, found in hollows of trees or in a deserted squirrel’s or Woodpecker’s hole, were composed of grasses and lined with feathers. The eggs, five in number, he describes as cream-colored, marked and speckled with purplish-red dashes and faint blotches of a neutral tint.

Dr. Coues found them a common summer resident in Arizona, where they arrived in the third week in April and remained until the middle of September. They were seldom found among pine-trees, but appeared to prefer ravines, hillsides, and creek bottoms. Some wintered as high up in the Colorado Valley as Fort Mohave. At Fort Whipple young birds were first observed early in July.

Dr. Cooper obtained one of this species at Fort Mohave, January 15, and is of the opinion that some may habitually winter in the Colorado Valley. In California they begin to arrive about March 10, and extend their range through very nearly the whole of the State. He describes their notes as few, loud, and harsh, but little varied, and uttered from time to time as they fly after an insect from an accustomed perch, usually a lower dead limb of a forest tree. They prefer shady situations, and are said to feed late in the evening.

Mr. Ridgway met with this species in all suitable localities, from the Sacramento Valley eastward to the Wahsatch Mountains. It was most abundant among the oaks of the plains between the Sacramento River and the Sierra Nevada; but in the wooded river valleys of the interior, as well as in the cedar and piñon or mahogany woods on the mountains of the latter region, it was also more or less frequently met with. In its manners it is described as a counterpart of the eastern M. crinitus, but its notes, though generally similar in character, have not that strength which makes the vociferous screaming whistles of the eastern species so noticeable.

This species, or a very closely allied race of it (var. pertinax) was procured at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus. It had the peculiarities of a southern race, stronger feet, stouter bill, and a generally smaller size.

A few individuals of this species were found by Mr. Grayson inhabiting the islands of the Three Marias, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. He usually saw them among low bushes, darting from their perch after flies and other winged insects. They were very silent, and seldom uttered a note.

Four eggs of this species from Matamoras, collected by the late Dr. Berlandier, have the following measurements: .82 by .75, .91 by .71, .95 by .75, .98 by .75 of an inch. Though having a very close resemblance to the eggs of M. crinita, there are noticeable certain constant variations. The ground-color is a little lighter, and has a tinge of pinkish not found in the eggs of the eastern species. The markings are more in oblong plashes of irregular shape, and rarely exhibit the waving lines. There are more and larger blotches of a light purplish-brown. The eggs are a little more spherical in their general shape, and the markings are less abundant. The eggs of M. cooperi have a still more roseate tint in the buff of the ground-color, are marked with smaller blotches of bright purple and much larger ones of lilac-brown. They measure .92 by .75 of an inch.

Genus SAYORNIS, Bonap

Sayornis, Bonap. ? Ateneo italiano, 1854.—Ib. Comptes Rendus, 1854, Notes Orn. Delattre.

Aulanax, Cabanis, Journal für Orn. 1856, 1 (type, nigricans).

Gen. Char. Head with a blended depressed moderate crest. Tarsus decidedly longer than middle toe, which is scarcely longer than the hind toe. Bill rather narrow; width at base about half the culmen. Tail broad, long, slightly forked; equal to the wings, which are moderately pointed, and reach to the middle of the tail. First primary shorter than the sixth.

This genus agrees with the preceding in the length of the broad tail, but has a longer tarsus and a different style of coloration. The species are distinguished as follows:—

S. nigricans. Sooty black; abdomen and edge of outer web of lateral tail-feather pure white.

a. Lower tail-coverts pure white.

Greater wing-coverts paler toward tips of outer webs. Wing, 3.60; tail, 3.45. Hab. Pacific Province, United States, and Mexico … var. nigricans.

b. Lower tail-coverts blackish.

Greater coverts not appreciably paler at ends. Wing, 3.35; tail, 3.30. Hab. Middle America, north of Panama … var. aquaticus.⁷⁹

Both rows of wing-coverts distinctly tipped with white; white edgings of secondaries very conspicuous. Wing, 3.35; tail, 3.30. Hab. New Granada; Venezuela … var. cinerascens.⁸⁰

 

S. fuscus. Grayish-olive above, and on sides of breast; beneath (including throat) white, tinged with sulphur-yellow. Wing, 3.40; tail, 3.20. Hab. Eastern Province United States; Eastern Mexico.

S. sayus. Brownish-ashy, the tail and upper tail-coverts black; abdomen and crissum deep ochraceous. Hab. Western Province of United States, and whole of Mexico.

Sayornis nigricans, Bonap

BLACK PEWEE

Tyrannula nigricans, Swainson, Syn. Birds Mex. Taylor’s Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 367.—Newberry, Zoöl. Cal. & Or. Route, Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, IV, 1857, 81. Muscicapa nigricans, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 302, pl. cccclxxiv.—Ib. Birds Am. I, 1840, 218, pl. lx. Tyrannus nigricans, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 326. Myiobius nigricans, Gray. Myiarchus nigricans, Cabanis, Tschudi Fauna Peruan. 1844-46, 153 (Peru). Sayornis nigricans, Bonap. Comptes Rendus XXVIII, 1854, notes Orn. 87.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 183.—Heerm. X, S, 38.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 319. Aulanax nigricans, Cabanis, Cab. Journ. für Ornith. IV, Jan. 1856, 2 (type of genus).—Ib. M. H. II, 68. Muscicapa semiatra, Vigors, Zoöl. Beechey Voy. 1839, 17.

Sayornis nigricans.

3906

Sp. Char. Wings rounded; second, third, and fourth longest; first rather shorter than sixth. Tarsi with a second row of scales behind. The head and neck all round, forepart and sides of the breast, dark sooty-brown; the rest of the upper parts similar, but lighter; faintly tinged with lead-color towards the tail. The middle of the breast, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts white; some of the latter, with the shafts and the centre, brown. The lower wing-coverts grayish-brown, edged with white. Wings dark brown; the edges of secondary coverts rather lighter; of primary coverts dull white. Edge of the exterior vane of the first primary and of secondaries white. Tail dark brown, with the greater part of the outer vane of the exterior tail-feather white; this color narrowing from the base to the tip. Bill and feet black. The tail rounded, rather emarginate; feathers broad; more obliquely truncate than in sayus. The bill slender; similar to that of S. fuscus. Length, nearly 7 inches; wing, 3.60; tail, 3.45.

Hab. California coast (Umpqua Valley, Oregon, Newberry), and across by valley of Gila and Upper Rio Grande to New Leon, and south; Mazatlan. Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 383); Cordova (Scl. 1856, 296); Vera Cruz, temp. and alp. regions, breeding (Sum. M. B. Soc. I, 557); W. Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 60).

The female appears to differ only in the smaller size. A young bird from San Francisco has two bands of rusty on the wing; the shoulders and hinder part of the back tinged with the same.

Habits. Within our limits the Black Flycatcher has a distribution very nearly corresponding with that of Myiarchus cinerascens. It is found from Oregon and California on the Pacific coast, to the valley of the Rio Grande, and thence south throughout Mexico. It also occurs as a resident in Guatemala. Specimens in the Smithsonian Museum are from various parts of Mexico, from New Mexico, and California.

During his explorations in Northern Mexico, Lieutenant Couch first met with this species at Cadereita, Mexico, in April, occurring in abundance under the high banks of the stream which supplies the town with water. Its habits appeared to him to be much the same with those of the common Phœbe-Bird (Sayornis fuscus). Its nest was supposed to be in the bank. Dr. Kennerly, who found it at Espia, Mexico, could not observe any difference in the habits from those of the Pyrocephalus rubineus. They were both observed in the same vicinity, feeding alike on insects and having the same movements.

In the Department of Vera Cruz, Mr. Sumichrast says that this species is known by the common name of Aguador. It is very common in both the temperate and the colder regions of that State. It nests within the dwelling-houses in the city of Orizaba.

Dr. Kennerly states that after passing the mountains of California, and descending into the valley of the San Gabriel River, he found these birds quite abundant on the Pueblo Creek in New Mexico, though he had noticed none previously. They were generally found perched upon the summit of a bush, from which they would occasionally make short excursions in search of prey. At the season in which they were observed, March, they were rarely found in pairs, from which he inferred they were already hatching.

Dr. Heermann speaks of it as abundant throughout all California, and as constructing its nests in situations similar to those of the common eastern species (S. fuscus). It seems to have a marked predilection for the vicinity of streams and lakes, where it is nearly always to be seen, perched upon a stake or branch. It occasionally darts into the air for an insect, and returns to the same place to renew its watch and to repeat these movements. The nest, composed of mud and mosses and lined with hair, is placed against the rocks, the rafters of a house or bridge, or against the inside of a large hollow tree, and the eggs, four or five in number, are pure white, speckled with red.

Dr. Coues found this Flycatcher a very abundant and permanent resident in the valleys of the Gila and Colorado, and the more southern portions of the Territory of Arizona generally. It was not observed in the immediate vicinity of Fort Whipple, though it was detected a few miles south of that locality. As it has been found on the Pacific coast so much farther north than the latitude of Fort Whipple, he thinks it may yet be met with, at least as a summer visitant to that place. In his journey from Arizona to the Pacific, he ascertained that it is common throughout Southern Arizona, being, among land birds, his most constant companion on the route. Perched generally in pairs upon the dense verdure that in many places overhangs the river, it pursued its constant vocation of securing the vagrant insects around it, constantly uttering its peculiar unmelodious notes. In all its movements the Pewee of the Eastern States was unmistakably reproduced. It was rather shy and wary. In Southern Arizona and California it remains throughout the winter. It seems to delight not only in river bottoms, but also in deep mountain gorges and precipitous cañons with small streams flowing through them.

Dr. Newberry found this species quite common in Northern California, and specimens were also obtained as far to the north as the Umpqua Valley in Oregon. According to Dr. Cooper it is an abundant and resident species in all the lower parts of California, except the Colorado Valley, where he found none later than March 25, as they had all evidently passed on farther north. At San Diego, at that date, the following year (1862), all these birds had nests and eggs, and were there, as elsewhere, the first birds to build. Their nest, he states, is formed of an outer wall of mud about five and a quarter inches wide and three and a half high. It is built like that of the Barn Swallow, in little pellets, piled successively, as they dry, in the shape of a half-cup. They are fastened to a wall, or sometimes placed on a shelf, beam, or ledge of a rock, but are always under some protecting cover, often under a bridge. They are lined with fine grass or moss, and horse or cow hair. The eggs, four or five in number, he describes as pure white, measuring .74 by .55 of an inch.

This bird is said to prefer the vicinity of human habitations, and also to keep about water, on account of the numerous flies they find in such situations. It will often sit for hours at a time on the end of a barn, or some other perch, uttering a monotonous but not unpleasant ditty, which resembles, according to Dr. Cooper, the sound of pittic pittit, alternately repeated, and quite like the cry of the eastern Sayornis fuscus, which is its exact counterpart in habits. It is said to fly only a short distance at a time, turning and dodging quickly in pursuit of its prey, which it captures with a sharp snap of the bill.

This species was met with by Mr. Ridgway only in the vicinity of Sacramento City, Cal., where it seemed to replace our eastern Pewee, having the same familiarity and general habits, and with notes not distinguishable from some belonging to S. fuscus.

The eggs of this species, as described by Dr. Cooper and by Dr. Heermann, are either pure white unspotted, or else white with fine red dots, in this respect resembling the eggs of the S. fuscus, which present the same variations. The measurements of those in my cabinet vary from .75 by .56 of an inch to .78 by .60.

Mr. Salvin says that Sayornis nigricans is a resident species at Dueñas, in Guatemala, where it may always be found at a short distance from the village, up the stream of the river Guacatate. It also occurs about the lake. In its actions it is described as a lively and restless species, in this respect having but little resemblance to the Tyrant Flycatchers. It may always be found near water, generally sitting on a stone on the margin, from which it constantly darts to seize a fly or an insect from the surface. His remarks may, however, refer to the var. aquaticus.

Sayornis fuscus, Baird

PEWEE; PHŒBE-BIRD

Muscicapa fusca, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 931.—Latham, Index, Orn. II, 1790, 483.—Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 68, pl. xl.—Bonap. Obs. Wilson, 1825, No. 115.—Ib. Synopsis, 68.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 122; V, 1839, 424, pl. cxx.—Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 43.—Ib. Birds Am. I, 1840, 223, pl. lxiii.—Giraud, Birds L. Island, 1844, 42. Tyrannula fusca, Rich. List, 1837.—Bonap. List, 1838. Tyrannus fuscus, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 312. ? Aulanax fuscus, Cabanis, Cab. Journ. IV, 1856, 1. Muscicapa atra, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 946.—Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, 278. Muscicapa phœbe, Latham, Index Orn. II, 1790, 489. Muscicapa nunciola, Wilson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 78, pl. xiii. Myiobius nunciola, Gray, Genera, I, 248. Muscicapa carolinensis fusca, Brisson, Orn. II, 1760, 367. Black-headed Flycatcher, Pennant, Arc. Zoöl. II, 389, 269. Black-cap Flycatcher, Latham, Synopsis, I, 353. Empidias fuscus, Caban. M. H. II, Sept. 1859, 69 (type).—Scl. Catal. 1862, 234. Sayornis fuscus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 184.—Samuels, 133.—Allen, B. Fla. 1871, 299.

Sayornis nigricans.

Sp. Char. Sides of breast and upper parts dull olive-brown, fading slightly towards the tail. Top and sides of head dark brown. A few dull white feathers on the eyelids. Lower parts dull yellowish-white, mixed with brown on the chin, and in some individuals across the breast. Quills brown, the outer primary, secondaries, and tertials edged with dull white. In some individuals the greater coverts faintly edged with dull white. Tail brown; outer edge of lateral feather dull white; outer edges of the rest like the back. Tibiæ brown. Bill and feet black. Bill slender, edges nearly straight. Tail rather broad and slightly forked. Third quill longest; second and fourth nearly equal; the first shorter than sixth. Length, 7 inches; wing, 3.42; tail, 3.30.

Hab. Eastern North America; Eastern Mexico to Mirador and Orizaba. Cuba (Caban. J. IV, 1); Xalapa, (Scl. List, 234); Vera Cruz, winter (Sumichrast, M. B. S. I, 557); San Antonio, Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 773, rare).

In autumn, and occasionally in early spring, the colors are much clearer and brighter. Whole lower parts sometimes bright sulphur-yellow; above, greenish-olive; top and sides of the head tinged with sooty. In the young of the year the colors are much duller; all the wing-coverts broadly tipped with light ferruginous, as also the extreme ends of the wings and tail-feathers. The brown is prevalent on the whole throat and breast; the hind part of the back, rump, and tail strongly ferruginous.

Habits. The Pewee, or Phœbe-Bird, a well-known harbinger of early spring, is a common species throughout the whole of eastern North America, from the Rio Grande, on the southwest, to the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the northeast, and as far west as the Missouri River.

Dr. Woodhouse found it common both throughout Texas and in the Indian Territory. It was taken by Sumichrast in the Department of Vera Cruz, but he was in doubt whether it occurs there as a resident or is only migratory. It was observed at San Antonio, Texas, but only as a migrant, by both Dresser and Heermann; but at Houston, in that State, it evidently remains and breeds, as individuals were seen there in June by Dresser. Specimens were taken in February at Brownsville, Texas, by Lieutenant Couch, and afterwards in March on the opposite side of the river,—in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

In South Carolina, Dr. Coues found these birds most common in the months of February and March, and again in October and November. He had no doubt that some remain and pass the winter, and that others are resident in the State during the summer months, but believes the great majority go farther north to breed.

In Western Maine it is a common summer visitant, breeding there in considerable numbers. Professor Verrill states that it is frequently seen there the first of March, becoming quite common by the first of April. It is also a summer visitant about Calais, where it breeds, but is rather rare. At Hamilton, Canada, Mr. McIlwraith reports it as a common summer resident, arriving about April 15.

In Pennsylvania this species arrives among the earliest spring visitants, sometimes as early as the first week in March, and continues in that region until late in October. Wilson has seen specimens as late as the 12th of November. He states that in the month of February he met with them feeding on the smilax berries in the low, swampy woods of North and South Carolina. They were already chanting their simple, plaintive notes. In Massachusetts they usually arrive from the 15th to the 25th of March. In the warm spring of 1870 they were already abundant by the 10th. They were nesting early in April, and their first brood was ready to fly by the middle of May. They have two broods in a season, and occasionally perhaps three, as I have known fresh eggs in the middle of August. They leave late in October, unless the season be unusually open, when a few linger into November.

Their well-known and monotonous, though not unpleasing, note of pē-wēē, or, as some hear it, phœ-bēē, is uttered with more force and frequency in early spring than later in the season, though they repeat the note throughout their residence north. It usually has some favorite situation, in which it remains all the morning, watching for insects and continually repeating its simple song. As he sits, he occasionally flirts his tail and darts out after each passing insect, always returning to the same twig.

This species is attracted both to the vicinity of water and to the neighborhood of dwellings, probably for the same reason,—the abundance of insects in either situation. They are a familiar, confiding, and gentle bird, attached to localities, and returning to them year after year. They build in sheltered situations, as under a bridge, under a projecting rock, in the porches of houses, and in similar situations. I have known them to build on a small shelf in the porch of a dwelling; against the wall of a railroad-station, within reach of the passengers; and under a projecting window-sill, in full view of the family, entirely unmoved by the presence of the latter at mealtime.

Their nests are constructed of small pellets of mud, placed in layers one above the other, in semicircular form, covered with mosses, and warmly lined with fine straw and feathers. When the nest is placed on a flat surface,—a shelf or a projecting rock,—it is circular in form, and mud is not made use of. A nest of this description, taken by Mr. Vickary in Lynn, and containing five eggs, was constructed on a ledge, protected by an overhanging rock, only a few feet from the ground. It measured four and a half inches in diameter and three in height. The cavity was nearly three inches wide and one and a half deep. Its base was constructed of layers of fine leaves, strips of bark, roots of plants, and other miscellaneous materials. The great mass of the nest itself was made up of fine mosses closely interwoven, and strengthened by an intermixture of firmer plant fibres. The whole was carefully and softly lined with strips of the inner bark of various deciduous shrubs, fine roots, and finer grasses. The semicircular nests are usually placed out of reach of the weather under some projecting shelter.

Wilson states that they often nest in eaves, and occasionally in an open well, five or six feet down, among the interstices of the side-walls. Nuttall has known them to nest in an empty kitchen.

Their attachment to a locality, when once chosen, is remarkable, and is often persevered in under the most discouraging circumstances. In one instance, Nuttall states that a nest was built in the boathouse at Fresh Pond, Cambridge,—a place so common as to be almost a thoroughfare. Although with its young brood this nest was torn down by ruffian hands, the female immediately built a new one in the same spot, and laid five additional eggs. This was lined with the silvery shreds of a manilla rope, taken from the loft over the boathouse.

Besides the common call-note, from which these birds derive their name, they have, during the love-season, a low twittering song with which they entertain their mates, but which is heard only when the birds are in company, and for a brief season.

The flight of the Pewee is an alternation of soaring and a succession of light fluttering motions, more rapid when pursuing its prey than in its ordinary movements. Its crest is usually erected when it is in motion, or on the lookout for insects.

Mr. Audubon found these birds in full song in Florida during the winter, and as lively as in spring, but met with none breeding south of Charleston. They leave Louisiana in February, and return to it in October. They feed largely on berries, especially during the winter, and Mr. Maynard found some in the spring of 1868 with hawthorn berries in their stomachs.

The eggs of the Pewee measure .80 of an inch in length and .60 in breadth. They are of a rounded oval shape, pointed at one end and much larger at the other. Their ground-color is a pure bright white, and generally unspotted; but a certain proportion, one set in every five or six, is distinctly marked with reddish-brown dots at the larger end.

Sayornis sayus, Baird

SAY’S PEWEE

Muscicapa saya, Bonap. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 20, pl. xi, fig. 3.—Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 428, pl. ccclix.—Ib. Birds Am. I, 1840, 217, pl. lix. Tyrannus saya, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 311. Myiobius saya, Gray, Genera, I, 1844-49, 249. Ochthœca sayĭ, Cabanis, Wiegmann Archiv, 1847, I, 255 (not type). Tyrannula saya, Bonap. Conspectus, 1850.—Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 183. Aulanax sayus, Cabanis, Journ. Orn. 1856, 2. Tyrannula pallida, Swainson, Syn. Birds Mex. No. 15, in Taylor’s Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 367. Sayornis pallida, Bonap.—Scl. P. Z. S. 1857, 204. Sayornis sayus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 185.—Ib. M. B. II, Birds, 9.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 320. Theromyias saya, Caban. M. H. II, Sept. 1859, 68 (type).

Sp. Char. Above and on the sides of the head, neck, and breast, grayish-brown, darker on the crown; region about the eye dusky. The chin, throat, and upper part of the breast similar to the back, but rather lighter and tinged with the color of the rest of the lower parts, which are pale cinnamon. Under wing-coverts pale rusty-white. The wings of a rather deeper tint than the back, with the exterior vanes and tips of the quills darker. Edges of the greater and secondary coverts, of the outer vane of the outer primary, and of the secondaries and tertials, dull white. The upper tail-coverts and tail nearly black. Edge of outer vane of exterior tail-feather white. Bill dark brown, rather paler beneath. The feet brown. Second, third, and fourth quills nearly equal; fifth nearly equal to sixth; sixth much shorter than the fifth. Tail broad, emarginate. Tarsi with a posterior row of scales. Length, 7 inches; wing, 4.30; tail, 3.35.

Hab. Missouri and central High Plains, westward to the Pacific and south to Mexico. Xalapa (Scl. 1859, 366); Orizaba (Scl. List, 199); Vera Cruz, winter? (Sum. M. Bost. Soc. I, 557); S. E. Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 473, breeds); W. Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 60).

The young of the year have the upper parts slightly tinged with ferruginous; two broad (ferruginous) bands on the wings formed by the tips of the first and second coverts. The quills and tail rather darker than in an adult specimen.

Autumnal specimens are simply more deeply colored than spring examples, the plumage softer and more blended.

Habits. Say’s Flycatcher has an extended distribution throughout western North America, from Mexico, on the south, to the plains of the Saskatchewan on the north, and from the Rio Grande and the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean.

It was first discovered by Mr. Titian Peale on the Arkansas River, near the Rocky Mountains, and described by Bonaparte. Mr. Peale noticed a difference in its voice from that of the common S. fuscus, and found it nesting in a tree, building a nest of mud and moss, lined with dried grasses. Its young were ready to fly in July. Richardson obtained individuals of this species at the Carlton House, May 13. It is not given by Cooper and Suckley in their Zoölogy of Washington Territory, but Dr. Newberry found it not uncommon throughout both Oregon and California.

Mr. Sumichrast ascertained the presence of this bird within the Department of Vera Cruz, but whether there as resident or as exclusively migratory he was not able to state. It has also been found in winter throughout Mexico. Mr. J. H. Clark met with it near Fort Webster, in New Mexico, and describes it as particularly abundant about the copper mines. One of the shafts near the fort, and which was partially filled up, served as a sinkhole for the offal of the town, and around this quite a number of these birds could always be seen in pursuit of flies and insects attracted to the place. Mr. Clark observed that their sudden darting from their perch and their instantaneous return were not always attended with the capture of an insect, but seemed at times to be done only for amusement or exercise. Mr. Dresser first noticed these birds in November, when walking in the gardens of the arsenal at San Antonio. On his journey to Eagle Pass in December, he saw several daily, generally in pairs. They would perch on a bush by the roadside, occasionally darting off after some insect, and, as soon as he drew near, would fly off to a convenient perch some distance ahead, thus keeping in advance for miles. During the months of January and February they were not uncommon, but after that he lost sight of them altogether. They seemed to prefer the open country, as he generally found them on the prairies, and never in the mesquite thickets. Their stomachs were found to contain small insects.