SONGLESS BIRDS. Flycatcher.
In early May the Wood Pewee comes to the garden lane and whispers of his presence with his plaintive little ditty, and in the autumn the same lonely call is virtually the only wood note left. In spite of his name, he is not exclu- sively a wood-bird, but comes through the garden, follow- ing shyly in the Phoebe’s wake. But he only trusts his precious nest to some mossy woodland limb, a trifle softened by decay, where he blends his house with its foundations by the skilful use of moss and lichens.
Alert and swift of motion, he still wears an air of mystery, and his pathetic note seems like the expression of a hidden sorrow. Trowbridge’s poem telling of his woodland search for the Pewee is one of the most charming bird epics we have, and the verse describing its plumage and song is the bird’s life history told in a few lines,—
“ I quit the search, and sat me down Besi e the brook, irresolute, And watch a little bird in suit
of sombre olive, soft and brown
Perched in the maple branches, mute; With greenish gold its vest was fringed, Its tiny cap was ebon-tinged, With ivory pale its wings were barred, And its dark eyes were tender starred. ‘Dear bird,’ I said, ‘wbat is thy name?’ And thrice the mourniul answer came, So faint and far, and yet so near,— ‘ Peweel pe-wee I peer l ’ ”
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: Empidonam flavivemm.
Length: 6.50 inches.
Male and Female: Above a. decided olive~green, which colour extends to the breast. Under parts pale yellow, including wing linings. Yellowish eye ring and two yellowish bars on wings. Lower mandible yellow; feet black.
Note: “ Kil-lic, kil-lic l " Love note, “ Pearpe, we—yea 1"
Season .- In migrations ; May and early September.
Breeds : From Massachusetts northward.
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