Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-07-27
NOTES ON THE FAUNA or yEu-
MONTH";.
L"r.tsn tor tbc7Free Press. By Francs Il. Herr.ek
The Flycatchers.

'hS "cte' WIN Will tue lolueUlTu anu oOng-
sparrow herald the approach Of spring in
March and early April.
Though awkward in shape and manners,
and generally assimulating the foliage and
bark Of trees in their dusky cllvaceousg
plumage, they attract our notice by their
agility and wonderful address in snappingi
up insects on the wing and in the hostile spirit
which they display toward other birds.
The vigilance of nituralists AMI other
observers has resulted in the detection Of
twelve species within New Engand's borders,
While four of these are mere stragglers from
the far West and South. We have seven
species in the State of Vermont, and this is
The list in the order of their abundance
first, the Leat.fycatcher and King-5ird,
which are most numerous, then the PheJe,
Wo0d- Peooee, Great-crested .Hyedtchey, TrdiHs'
and the OAce-sidtd .Gycdtchers
The Great Crested is usually reckored
rare bre, but his distribution, unlike that of
his comrades, .s very irregular, being ex-
lremely rare a. times, then abundant and
again wholly absent from a given locality
lie was, this season, one If the most common
OF his tribe in the vicinity of Burlington.
A well-known sound of the orchard and
the highways and hedges of the country,
Is that sharp, querulous, and somewhat dc.
fiant twittcr OF the
NingbirdETyrannus Caroiinensis Bd),
alias Bee-martin, alias Tyrant nycatcher. He
is always ready to meet an enemy half way
or even more, and shake his feathered lance
full in his face,
In the old orchard you may see his rustic
dwelling conspicuous at a distance, resting
p0n i w a"u noi ,Non'ai o.a o VI
liz IN, u ap .p.,.,. toho may apiio"0n
'''1 i u'u "'nJu' s uotei''ou r"u 'eaau..,
"n Wv ,d ~ ~ '.ou'o , .'io
o", ar IL, eo' a'u ,,e W., in'. u,c'
,, W M 800; , .nsu WIN
,ura ' ''''''' e'"''' ''' !" i'o'' VI "'''e"-
AN inc smaller bros know what power
iul tomahawk ne wieids 10 thit sharp beak
VI ms, auu .ila' ne Wou'u not hesitate 10
sGap every one OF theh al snort notice.
now nc worries inc crows ana the larger
ila"hs lur tiie mere iuh Oh IL! Tue clumsy
g"I"-P""F uaps on LOT uear ne, crying
na"' "a"' WINE ilese lil'ic ViAens NY ABOUT
MN, WEAK ms iea'ners' ahd prooabiy
| threaten 10 'aRc us ne IL he ever appears 10
'ncsc parts asa,u. ihcy VIII sometime,
pursue MN iliie OF more, anu theh' urea
u. .ne game, perhaps, return 10 lheir nests
put inc oiu UttJ uoes hot Always escape So
easily saw Gro" this Season from car
| Wihuow Walking ABOUT IN pasture appar-
en'iY at MS WIS emu ana near by STOOD the
hlnspiru, teauy 10 Jackie MN me moment
nc tooh 70 nlsnt, hayins o)uotless gwen ihe
| Gro" 10 UNDERSTAND his intention OF awaiting
MS movements.
opou sucn oasls les's iiucn Vi tiiIs ilttle
| attack the larger hawks in the air and steal
l,uc oI .neir oachs' ~ Is sa'u, out ne niihes
,h ' ",n tu'i on ''J n, %"u 'ioi !,
, ,ue s i o"es. Douo.es' a'sp, Is
.ue mV'u' " 'uo n''u anu NV .iic
w Te . ''a' he s'ns'es gu, ior capture
~. t"e ,,;,, m', no. a.ow "n aP-
,,iIi , ~ n,' n.ss ",.nu' open aao iI
ra,a ,', ,vu az s, '.u, "u ;s .%u '''a duu
Ia go; aUu roh a,'i ~. J'ia'us
49, Inlss 49,, ,',,n.,,,.,;,', ,';.,h an,
liz ,,,o u" W '''''"u nun Vi
rha noe, =, ,h;, h,r, 10 sr,o % ,olo fla
artist {, owe ca ,ir,ur"snue i, 10 and in l..nn
| ;n, III, H. ~ ,,,'i' NJ a". ~ 81 ~
ror m u" ,yh;oh s"nn,i,n "n a,,I W ,ns
| from the gr,und hut ~ This case thor. ia M
attempt at coucealment. 1t is. in fact.
| Ms conspicuous as the r,bin's over the porch
or the orioles. swinging from The elm,
Loose and ragged without. composed of
roots and weeds and bempen fibres' strings.
cloth. much cotton, often and feathers. or
| the soft paris of compositaccous plants all
feled and matted together to form a suitable
cup shaped receptacle for the creamy-white,
boldly spotted eggs.
This would nearly contain the symmctri
| ell, lichen-encrusted nest Of the more
@'''A'|
vooa p.yvc. fCon,onu, ,x,rcu.. Cob,
tba, dus,,, ,eron, If ,b. woods and TONS of
trees, occasionally seen in orchards
where he may saddle his shallow couch to an
v,u ai pt, e1'hpa'. nuu S snan
n cluster of moss. than fashioned nv the
featbered architect The three or four eggs
are made after The naitern of tho Tyrants'
heinz n third smaller in sim
Who has hrnrd ,he weird melancholy note
of the wood .newcc stealing ihrouGh the
silent ranks Of III, treos
,,,,,,, ,a,,,, ,,,a,,,,, ,,,,,n .,,,
"''I Pewse pswss, neer w anu '''"'
and NOT asked Win tho nae,
'''N -. fSH
wa, " =" 'p'''' y, Wv.
inns quaint, niournlui cry is well IN Keep
inS win It's hauhts where the "ihu sishs
through Tue pines, ana IKE Tue note Oh the
w,hippoor"lii anu Tue mourning uoVe,is uouo
lless expressive Oh conteht anu nappiness' ana
celepta'es us Succession iorays III tne insect
"oriu. his 'e'escopic eye Catches inc
vagrant ny, ana circlng down WIN sure
am, his mandioles close quick as
thought over MS victlm win audible snap,
anu back he carts - MS perch.
AS his name indicates, the
us, nd
is the least in size of the New England
family and il also one of the most abund.
ant.
This pugnacious, active little bird, four
and a half inches long, in obscure suit of
ollve.gray may escape attention, but is
!edullY IcCOpnlLVu ny any ODseTVdnl person.