Nesting Habits of Two Flycatchers at Lake Tahoe
BY ANNA HEAD
WO species of Flycatchers were very common on the shores of Lake Tahoe. especially during July and the first of August. when the silence of other birds brought into prominence their persistent,
unmusical calls. Each species had an area peculiar to itSelf. and. indeed, each individual pair claimed a limited circle of land, and would allow no trespassing near their nesting-tree.
The larger of the two, the Olive'sided Flycatcher. chose the very shore of the lake. where immense pines and firs grew in open order on the sandy shore. The first pair I noticed had chosen a nearly dead cedar. about one hundred feet high, as a perching-tree, since from the tip of a bare bough a wide and clear outlook was to be had. Here one or the other of them would perch, never silent from dawn until dark. but flirting its tail, turning its head restlessly from side to side, and uttering its dissyllabic cry of “hip— hip" or “quilp-quilp" at intervals between rapid dashes after winged in- sects. As it whirled and tumbled in the air in frantic pursuit of a moth. it almost seemed to be coming to pieces. so loosely was it jointed. till a loud [lid of the beak announced success, and in an instant it was back on its perch. looking as if it had always sat there. There were two other notes. heard not quite so often, The more musical was. I think. meant for a song. and was heard chiefly in the early morning and dusk of evening. It consisted of three notes. in a sort of whistling tone. with the emphasis on the second. Each syllable was loud. however. and uttered with a separate effort, so that it carried fare This song may be expressed by the following syllables: “whip-péw-hipl” A third note was more like a twitter, and was uttered during excitement. chiefly when the young were learning to fly. It sounded like "why, why, why,” repeated very rapidly a number of times. Sometimes this note was given as a prelude to the real song.
On July 22 I found a nest on the tip of a slender fir branch. not more than twenty feet from the ground. and in full sight of the favorite perching- tree of this pair. It contained three fully fledged young. They were a pretty sight as they stretched their little wings. craned their necks. and tip- toed along the fir»twigs. They were rather more brightly colored than their parents. whose plumage was somewhat worn at that season, Their heads were a dark. smoky gray. looking almost black in contrast with a light gray streak which went down from the angles of the beak. and a white streak on the center of the breast, Only the Yellow Gape showed imma- turity. and they spent a great deal of time preening their glossy feathers. The parents visited them often. catching insects and delivering them on the wing. with a light, swallowvlike action. They never perched far away.
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