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

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

(var. ?) pectoralis.94

Wing, 2.35; tail, 2.20; bill, .54 and .25; tarsus, .62; middle toe, .33. Colors of minimus, but wing-markings whiter. Hab. Panama.

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).

Empidonax pusillus, CabanisLITTLE 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).

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, BairdTRAILL’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.