FLYCATCHERS. 249

may be heard as long as one remains in his vicinity. During the mi- gration this species is silent and its several distinctive notes are not available for its identification, and the same thing may be said of our other small Flycatchers. Great similarity in plumage exists between them all, and without the bird in hand identifications are at best questionable.

The song is more suggestive of a sneeze on the bird’s part than of any other sound with which it may be compared. It is an abrupt psé-ék’, almost in one explosive syllable, harsh like the deeper tones of a House Wren, and less musical than the similar but longer songs of Traill’s or the Acadian Flycatcher. It is hardly surprising that the birds sing very little when We see with what a convulsive jerk of the head the notes are produced, Its plaintive call is far more melodious —a soft, mournful whistle consisting of two notes, the second higher pitched and prolonged, with rising inflection, resembling in a measure aha-é-ékp. J. DWIGHT, JR.

465. Empidonax virescens ( Vieill.).* ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. Ad. —Upper parts between olive—green and dark olive-green; Wings and tail fuscous; greater and lesser wing-coverts yellowish white, forming two con- spicuous wing-bars ; under parts white, washed with pale yellowish and slightly tinged with greenish on the breast; the throat, and frequently the middle of the belly, pure white; upper mandible black, lower mandible whit- ish or flesh—color; second to fourth primaries of about equal length, the first and fifth shorter and also of equal length. [rm—Upper parts greener; under parts more tinged with yellow; wing—bars and outer edges of the tips of the secondaries ochraceous—bufl'. L., 5'75; W., 2'85; T., 2'35; B. from N., '36.

Remarks—This species has the upper parts fully as olive-green as the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but the under parts are never entirely yellow, and the throat is always white.

Bange.‘Eastern United States ; breeds from Florida to southern Connect- icut and Manitoba; winters in Central America.

Washington, common S. R., May 5 to Sept. 15. Sing Sing, common S. R., May 10 to Aug. 27.

Nest, shallow, of' plant stems, grasses, and blossoms, generally on a fork of a beech about eight feet up. Eggs, two to three, creamy white, with a few cinnamon~brown spots about the larger end, '74 x '56.

Look for the Acadian Flycatcher in woodlands watered by small streams. It selects a low rather than a high perch, and is rarely seen more than twenty feet from the ground. The frequently uttered calls of this bird are characteristic and will enable you to identify it with more case in the field than in the study. The most common is a sin- gle spec or peet, repeated at short intervals and accompanied by a

* Equivalent to Empidonax acadicus of authors; see Brewster, Auk, xii. April, 1895.