Published by the Smithsonian Institution between the 1920s and the 1950s, the Bent life history series of monographs provide an often colorful description of the birds of North America. Arthur Cleveland Bent was the lead author for the series. The Bent series is a great resource and often includes quotes from early American Ornithologists, including Audubon, Townsend, Wilson, Sutton and many others.
Bent Life History for the Great Crested Flycatcher - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written.
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness," a disembodied sound, a loud, striking challenge note, coming from somewhere in the woodland treetops, greets us early in May in New England, and we know that one of our showiest and most fascinating birds has arrived with the vanguard of the migrating hosts. He is oftener heard than seen, for, although he is handsomely colored, his soft colors blend well into his surroundings in the forest trees, as he sits motionless on some lofty branch and proclaims possession of his chosen territory over which he has ruled for successive seasons. If we watch carefully he will betray his presence, and we shall see the flash of reddish brown in his wings and tail, or his yellow under parts, as he sallies forth to snap up an insect or to drive some intruder out of his domain.
Probably the crested flycatcher was originally a forest-loving bird. It still shows a fondness for what remnants of our forests are left in southern New England, though it seems to prefer the more open portions, the edges of clearings and woodland glades, and the borders of the woods. It is seldom found in the depths of extensive forest areas. Since civilized man has cleared away so much of our forested land and has made improvement thinnings in most of the remainder, this flycatcher finds fewer cavities there in which to build its nest and has learned to adapt itself to living in more open situations, in old orchards, in isolated trees in open lots and even about human habitations.
Dr. Samuel S. Dickey writes to me: "In the backwoods of West Virginia, where I have given attention to thespecies for a period of 30 odd years, it inhabits stands of original timber, such as white oak, tulip poplar, white linden, sugar maple, white ash, beech, and sour gum. It delights to frequent the edges of cranberry glades, at altitudes up to 3,000 feet at least. Pairs enjoy rugged cliffs of the deeply entrenched creeks and rivers. Others flit across abandoned fields, given over to wild apple bushes, saplings, and Jersey scrub pines."
Courtship: Dr. Dickey contributes the following notes on this subject: "As early as April 25 their characteristic call notes could be heard from the open windows of our house. After quite an indication of springtime activity, lasting fully a week, males were seen to clash in more distant areas of the field, where 4he natural habitats of pairs overlapped. They then would draw up close to, one another, over fences and bushes, expand their wings, spread their tails, and dart rapidly at each other. They then tore some feathers from breasts, held fast with their claws, and tossed and tumbled toward the ground. Thers were periods, too, when they would actually dally in the grass, and, after seemingly biting with beaks, would separate and flit off in the direction of their respective nesting grounds. However, such maneuvers did not last long. The remainder of their excessive ardor was directed to their females.
"Males were seen to dash from high dead limbs after females. 'rhey would glide around and around walnut trees, enter undergrowth of yellow-locust poles, and then emerge along fencerows. The female was seen to escape the encroachment of the male. She would swerve upward, dart toward an abandoned cavity of the redheaded woodpecker, and make a hurried retreat inside the orifice.
Then she would turn around and thrust her playful, comic countenance out of the hole. The male would hover close to the orifice and then return to the high perch from which he started his sally. Such maneuvers were repeated over and over again until mating was completed; whereupon the female proceeded to gather material for nest construction and take it into the woodpecker's cavity."
The impression seems to prevail that passerine birds select new mates each year, but evidently this is not always the case with the crested flycatcher, which seems to show great attachment to its home territory and, sometimes, to its former mate. Raymond J. Middleton, of Norristown, Pa., has demonstrated by banding that one pair has remained constant for three years: he says (1986) "This pair of birds was taken on each of the years 1934, 1935 and 1936 in the nesting box while feeding half-grown young on the dates above given, being mated together for three consecutive years. A147214 is now at least 8 years old."
Nesting: The crested flycatcher is a hole-nesting species and will use almost any cavity that is large enough to hold a rather bulky nest and that has an opening large enough to admit of easy access. It seems to show a preference for natural cavities in trees but has probably always used to some extent the abandoned holes of the larger woodpeckers, such as the flicker, the pileated woodpecker, the red-headed woodpecker, and the red-bellied woodpecker. But since it has become adapted to civilization, it does not seem to fear the presence of man and has learned to nest in a variety of man-made structures, oft en near human dwellings. Nesting boxes erected for purple martins or other birds are most commonly used in such locations, but nests have been recorded also in hollow logs attached to buildings, hollow posts, an old wooden pump, an old lard bucket, a stove pipe or open gutter-pipe, or any old tin can or box of proper size and suitably located.
In my home territory, in southeastern Massachusetts, we have always associated crested flycatchers with old orchards, where we often saw or heard the birds as we were driving by or while exploring them as favorite nesting sites for various birds. They seemed to prefer orchards that were partially surrounded by deciduous woods or were located on the outskirts of the woods; but often they were found in orchards remote from such cover. They had no use for young or well-pruned orchards; old neglected orchards with dead trees, full of natural, rotted-out cavities were their choice. All the nests that we have found, with one exception, were in apple trees in such orchards. The cavities selected were in the trunks or main branches; sometimes these were vertical or somewhat slanting, and sometimes nearly or quite horizontal.
When open at the top or at the end of a horizontal branch, the cavities were sometimes very deep, even 2 or 3 feet, but such cavities were filled with trash and nesting material so that the nest was usually not more than a foot or so from the opening. The only nest that was not in an apple tree was in a dead stub, about 7 feet high and open at the top, in some swampy woods. The orchard nests ranged from 6 to 11 feet above the ground, as such old apple trees are not large. We found that these flycatchers formed strong attachments to their homes and returned to the same orchards year after year; one pair was found nesting in the very same cavity that it had occupied nine years earlier; I had not visited the locality in the meantime, but I like to think that it may have been occupied during at least some of the intervening years.
Dr. Dickey tells me that, in West Virginia, "a small weather-worn knot hole is a favorite breeding site, while abandoned orifices of squirrels are used too." M. G. Vaiden reports from Mississippi that he has found nests in various situations: in an old woodpeckers' hole in an immense chinaberry tree; in a yard on a farm, about 50 feet from the ground; in a natural cavity in a black locust, 28 feet up in the trunk; in a natural cavity in an ashleaf maple; and in "tall cypress trees in the brakes of the territory."
Bendire (1895) says that natural cavities are preferred, "where such are obtainable, even should these be much more extensive than are really needed, as instances are known where openings in hollow limbs fully 6 feet deep have been ifiled up with rubbish to within 18 inches of the top before the nest proper was begun. Both sexes assist in nest-building, and it takes sometimes fully two weeks before their task is completed. The finishing and lining of the nest is generally completed by the female."
In addition to the few trees named above, nests of the crested flycatcher have been found in natural cavities or woodpecker holes in various oaks, ashes, maples, birches, pines, and cedars, as well as in beech, chestnut, tulip, pear, tupelo, sycamore, cottonwood, and locust trees, and probably in others. Dead stubs in the woods have probably been old favorites, and even woodpecker holes in telegraph poles have been used. Nests have been reported at various heights above ground, from 3 feet in low stumps or prostrate trees up to 70 feet in large trees; but probably most of the nests are located below 15 or 20 feet.
Bendire (1895) says: "The nesting cavities selected are crdinarily from 18 to 30 inches deep and others are considerably deeper, while occasionally one is quite shallow. The inner cup of the nest varies from 2% to 3½ inches in diameter and from 1½ to 2 inches in depth." Dr. Dickey (MS.) writes: "Nests that I have examined consisted of loose foundations of leaves of such deciduous trees as sugar maple, white oak, scarlet oak, walnut, and apple. They were intermixed with petioles, skeleton leaves, animal hair (from dog, cat, cattle, pig, rabbit, and horse), chicken and other poultry feathers, bark fibers from trees, hemp, rootlets, pieces of cord string, and strands from ropes.~~ Many and varied are the materials used in the construction of the nest and the filling in of the cavity, to which the size of the nest must conform.
Prof. Maurice Brooks writes to me: "The crested flycatchers that have built in a box erected for them, near French Creek, W. Va., have given striking evidence of a sense for color. At this time we are keeping on the farm chickens of two breeds, Barred Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. The flycatchers have utili~ed feathers in constructing the nest. On t.he outside of the nest we counted 17 Plymouth Rock feathers, but not a single Rhode Island Red feather. On the other hand, the lining of the nest was composed almost entirely of Rhode Island Red feathers, not a single gray feather from the Plymouth Rocks being used. The nest contained three pieces of snakeskin, evidently that of the pilot blacksnake (Elaplie obsoleta) ."
In addition to the materials mentioned above, the following have been found in the nests of this flycatcher: Large quantities of grass and pine needles, a few small twigs, feathers of grouse, owls, and hawks, a rabbit's tail, woodchuck fur, seed pods, bits of bark, cloth, and paper, pieces of onion skin, Cellophane. paraffined or oiled paper, bits of eggshells, and pieces of horse manure.
I have left until the last the consideration of the use of the castoff skins of snakes about which so much has been written. Almost everyone who has written anything about the crested flycatcher has touched on this subject. There can be no doubt that such old skins are often, perhaps generally, found in the nests, though they are usually found in small pieces and are often entirely lacking or replaced with something else of similar texture. Fully 25 percent of the nests t.hat I have personally examined have contained no pieces of snakeskin or any similar material. Mr. Vaiden tells me that "from a total of 37 nests examined in the past 30 years, snake skins have been found in only 14." On the other hand, Prof. Brooks (MS.) says of one nest: "The birds had evidently been unable to find the pieces of snakeskin, which they are accustomed to place in their nests, but in this case they had substituted three pieces of the yellowed outside skin of an onion. This is the only nest I have ever seen that did not contain at least one piece of snakeskin. I have identified the sloughed skin of the pilot blacksnake (Elaphe o~so~eta,), the black racer (Coluber con.st rioter), the common watersnake (Natrix 8ipedon). and one of the little green snakes. I saw in a nest a piece of snakeskin that bore the unmistakable checkerboard pattern of the housesnake (Lampropeltis tria'ngulu.m) ."
In my experience the snakeskin is usually found in small pieces, more or less imbedded in the body of the nest or in the lining, but in some cases it is conspicuously displayed on the rim or left hanging in a long strip outside of the cavity. This has led to the oft-repeated theory that it is used as a "scasecrow" to frighten away predatory mammals, birds, reptiles, or other enemies. Frank Bolles (1890) was evidently convinced of the truth of this theory by the following circumstantial evidence, of which lie writes:
In rue instance, at Tamworth, New Hampshire, I found a nest with one egg In it but with no snake skin visible. I found it about 7 A. M. one beautiful day in early July, 1888. 1 touched the egg and handled the nest slightly. Shortly before sunset I looked a second time into the hollow limb where the nest was placed, and was much surprised, in fact somewhat startled, by what I saw. Forming a complete circle about the egg, resting, in fact, Uke a wreath upon the circumference of the nest cavity, was a piece of snake skin six or seven inches long. The part which had encased the head of the snake was at the front of the nest and was slightly raised. It may not be wise to found a theory upon a single fact, but from the moment I saw that newly acquired snake skin, placed as it was, I made up my mind that the Great Crested Flycatcher uses the skin to scare away intruders.
He had a somewhat similar experience at the same nesting site the following year, which still further convinced him. His experience was suggestive, but. not convincing. Charles L. Whittle (1927) has 1mublished an interesting article on this subject, from which I quote as follows:
Since many species of birds have their young and eggs destroyed by snakes, and since old birds at nesting time are greatly concerned when a snake Is seen near their nests, us I have often observed to be the case, it seems obvious that If such species, arid presumably the Great-crest does not escape their depredations, in seeking nest ing material recognized snakes' sloughs as sufficiently snake-like to act as scare-crows to other birds, or other animals, they would themselves he too much alarmed on discovering the slonghs to use them in nest building. Hence two corollaries nppear to be justified: (1) that since birds gather snakes' slonghs, they do not associate the flimsy, lifeless material with their former wearers; and {2j that they themselves, not recognizing that sloughs resemble snakes, do not employ them in nest building as scarecrows, b,rt in the same manner that birds occasionally use fragments of birch bark, leaves, strings, newspaper, etc., as nesting material.
The above argument seems convincing. Many other birds use cast-off snakeskins as nesting material, some very extensively. I have a nest of the eastern blue grosheak in my collection that is almost completely covered with several long pieces of such skin wound about its exterior, in which case it may have been used as decoration or camouflage. But in most instances it is probably used as convenient and desirable nesting material. The fact that the crested flycatcher has been found so often using such material as onion skins, thin, greasy, or waxed paper, paraffine paper, or strips of Cellophane suggests that either these bright shiny substances attract their attention, or that they, like snakeskins, furnish a certain degree of resiliency, or perhaps ventilation, in the nest. Mr. Bolles (1890) noted that fresh pieces of skin were brought in from time to time during incubation, which may indicate that the birds appreciate the value of such light, springy, and airy material in the close confines of the nesting cavity.
Eggs: The crested flycatcher has been known to lay anywhere from four to eight eggs; five seems to be the commonest number, six eggs are frequently found, and the larger numbers are very rare. I have heard of only one set of eight, which is in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The eggs are mostly ovate or short-ovate, occasionally elliptical-ovate or elongateovate. They are only slightly glossy. The eggs of the genus Myiarehus are all handsomely and peculiarly marked, those of this species being usually more heavily marked than those of the other species. The ground color varies from creamy white or "cream color" to "cream-buff", or "pinkish buff", rarely "vinaceous-buff." The eggs are usually quite uniformly covered with the peculiar markings, but sometimes these are somewhat concentratcd at one end. The markings consist of a few irregular or elongated blotches and streaks and scratches or fine hair lines, as if made with a pen, of "claret brown," "liver brown," or other browns, and various shades of drab, purple, or lavender. The measurements of 50 eggs average 22.6 by 17.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 23.8 by 17.8, 23.6 by 18.0, and 20.6 by 15.2 millimeters.
Young: The incubation period has been stated as 13, 14, or 15 days, by different observers. Bendire (1895) says: "As a rule but one brood is reared in a season, and incubation lasts about fifteen days; the female attends to these duties almost exclusively, but is not a very close setter, and it is not uncommon to find addled eggs in the nests of this species. An egg is deposited daily until the set is completed."
A. Dawes DuBois says in his notes: "The voices of the young remind me of the peepers (tree frogs) heard in early spring, though more subdued. They keep up these calls when they think they hear their parents coming. The parents usually came together with food, and one sat on a nearby branch while the other went into the nest. When the first one came out the other entered the nest and gave its supply of food to the young. The usual food for the young consisted of medium-small insects, but occasionally one of the parents would bring a large miller or a small butterfly, and give it, wings and all, to the young. The parents took excrement from the nest and flew off with it." Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson (1915) writes: "The striking thing in the feeding, at least to us, was the large percentage of larvae fed. They comprised the largest single item of food; being 21.15% of the total. Grasshoppers under two heads in the tables, were 12.50%; spiders, 6.73%; moths, 6.97%; unidentified, 26.20%; red admirals, 3.12%; flies, 3.60%; beetles, 4.08%; hymenoptera (bees and wasps), 4.32%; and the remainder, 11.30%, were miscellaneous insects." Henry Mousley (1934) spent about 30 hours watching a nest of young crested flycatchers, during the first half of July 1932. Referring to the food brought to the young by the male, he says: "On four occasions, he brought a butterfly which I easily recognized as the Silver-bordered Fritillary (Brentki8 ~myrisa), an insect having a spread of wings of nearly one and three-quarter inches, which will give you some idea of what the young had to put up with." He also saw the male bring "a ripe wild raspberry" and the female bring "the second large soft green caterpillar." On July 2, when he estimated that young were three or four days old, "the young were fed thirteen times in three hours, ten times by the female, and three by the male." On subsequent occasions, the young were usually fed at intervals varying from 10 to 13 minutes, though once he saw them fed 10 times in one hour. The average rate of feeding for the whole period was once in 11.25 minutes. The male fed 42 times and the female 118. He estimated that the young left the nest when they were about 18 days old, which agrees exactly with Ora W. Knight's (1908) figure.
The findings of other observers differ: Mrs. Margaret Morse Nice (1931a) gives 12 days as the altricial period, Dr. Gabrielson (1915) says 12 to 13 days, and Dr. Dickey tells me that the young remain rn the nest three weeks.
Dr. Gabrielson (1915) says:
We saw no evidence of regurgitation. * ï * During the study we saw the parents carry away the excreta 41 tImes and devour it only once. Much (if it was undoubtedly removed during our absence from the blind, but there must have been much of it devoured while the birds were concealed from our view in the nest.
The nestlings were very noisy and restless. They kept up a constant peeping from the ~rst day. On July 7 twhen about sIx days oldi one or more of them began to utter a loud clear call or whistle, "twee-et," which was occasionally answered by the parents from a dIstance. * * * On July 8 the nestlings began to climb restlessly about in the nest. ï * ï They crawled part way up the sides of the cavity and fell back to the bottom again. * * Several times on July 9 they fell out of the nest and started away through the grass. * * Whatever the cause of this action they quieted down after July 10 and remained in the nest untIl July 14.
After the young had left the nest, Mr. Mousley (1934) discovered them, wit.h their parents, "about three hundred yards to the north of the nest. They were in a tangle of small birch-trees, willows, and other shrubs, the intervening spaces being covered with brushwood and very long grass, making it impossible to get about in a hurry, but forming a wonderful get-away for young birds." Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1932) says: "After the young leave t.he nest the entire family keeps together for some time and goes roving about in the upper reaches of the forest, the young, which closely resemble their parents, being fed in part by the old birds while learning to care for themselves. They are all for the most part silent at this time, only an occasional, long-drawn wheep from the adults and weaker calls from the young announcing their presence.~~ Plumages: The young are hatched naked and blind, but they soon become scantily clothed in grayish natal down, which adheres to the tips of the juvenal feathers and does not entirely wear away until the young birds leave the nest. The pattern of the juvenal plumage is essentially like that of the adult, but the colors are somewhat duller, the upper tail coverts are "cinnamon-rufous," the outer webs of the tail feathers are edged with rusty, or "cinnamon-buff," the median and greater wing coverts are broadly tipped with "cinnamon-rufous," the buffy edgings of the primaries are broader than in the adult, and the tertials are edged with pale buff. The sexes are alike in all plumages, though the colors of the adult female may be slightly duller.
Dr. Dwight (1900) says that the first winter plumage is "acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning by the middle of August, which involves the body plumage, wing-coverts and tertiaries (apparently), but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young birds becoming practically indistinguishable from adults." This plumage is apparently fully acquired before the birds migrate, but just when the juvenal relniges and rectrices are molted does not seem to be known. Dickey and van Rossem (1938) say: "The only immature bird collected (April 18) has retained its jiivenal remiges and rectrices from the previous year. It is renewing the 7th primary in each wing, in addition to an extensive renewal of the contour plumage. The retention in this single specimen of the juvenal wing and tail feathers is probably an abnormality, for the other species of Myiaichue which occur locally change these at the postjuvenal molt."
Dr. Dwight (1900) states that the first nuptial and the adult nup~ tial plumages are acquired by wear, but I suspect that we may find evidence of a partial prenuptial molt at both ages when sufficient material is available. Adults have a complete postnuptial molt beginning early in August and completed before the birds go south.
Food: Prof. Beal (1912) examined the contents of 265 stomachs of the crested flycatcher, and found it divided into 93.70 percent animal and 6.30 percent vegetable matter. "Beetles constitute 16.78 percent of the food, and of these 0.24 percent are useful species." He identified 52 species of beetles in the food, representing 12 different families, among which such harmful species as the cotton-boll weevil, the strawberry weevil, and the plum curculio were noted. Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) amount to 13.69 percent; the destructive sawflies were found, but only one worker honeybee; a few parasitic species were noted, but the proportion was not large. Diptera (flies) amount to only 3.06 percent. Hemiptera (bugs) constitute 14.26 percent of the diet. Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) seem to be favorite food; the average for all the months is 15.62 percent, but it ran as high as 23.18 percent in September. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are the largest item in the food, 21.38 percent; caterpillars were found in 73 stomachs and adult moths and butterflies in 48, an unusually large percentage of adults. The remainder of the animal food was found to consist of dragonflies, lace-winged flies, and a few other insects, 4.14 percent; spiders, 4.03 percent; and a few eggshells; and "three stomachs contained the bones of a lizard (An oils CarolineThsz8)."
The vegetable food, 6.30 percent, consists of small wild fruits, such as mulberry, pokeberry, sassafras, spicebush, blackberry, raspberry, chokecherry, wild bird cherry, Virginia creeper, wild grape, cornel, huckleberry, blueberry, and elderberry.
Since the above bulletin was published, A. L. Nelson has sent us the results of the analysis of six more stomachs and a compilation of all the material in the economic food notes files of the Biological Survey. Among these I find mentioned a number of butterflies and moths, both adults and larvae, including the destructive leopard moth; also June bugs and cicadas.
He quotes from a letter from Fred E. Brooks as follows: "While making some observations recently upon the grapevine rootborer (Mermythrus polistoformis) in a vineyard in Upshur County, W. Va., I noticed that the insects were being preyed upon by crested flycatchers (Myiarcku8 c9in.itws). The adult of this insect is a dayflying moth and the birds would catch them as they flew about the vines." He also quotes the following from W. D. Doan (1888): "In eastern Pennsylvania its food consists largely of the following insects: Anisopterix pometaris and A. vernata, Pieris oleracea (Oleracea But. terfly), P. rapae (the imported cabbage butterfly), (YoiiOA philodice (sulphur butterfly), corn worm (Gartyna zese), house fly (Muses domeetica), white-lined house fly (Taki~nue lineola), stable fly (Stomoa~ys caleitrans) , red ant (Formica s~~i~a),field cricket (GryZWs abbieviatus), mosquito (Cuka~ taeniorhynchu8), and red-legged locust (Caloptenue femur-ru~'z&m), besides large numbers of beetles."
As may be seen from the above analyses, the food habits of the crested flycatcher are almost wholly beneficial; the harm done by the taking of a few predatory insects is far offset by the long list of injurious species that it destroys. It should be encouraged to live and increase its numbers in our orchards and gardens by leaving natural cavities in otherwise worthless trees and by putting up boxes for nesting places.
Although most of the insects named above are probably taken on the wing in true flycatcher fashion, some of its food is secured in other ways. Early in the season, before the trees are in full leaf age, much of the flycatcher's food is taken on or near the ground, or from crevices in the bark of trees, or from crannies in rail fences or fence posts. Dr. Dickey (MS.) says: "When food is scarce, during a season of drought, cold, or unusual rainfall, crested flycatchers will visit haystacks, crannies of log barns, and even open doors of hay lofts, to obtain stray insect life that harbors in such nooks. Again it will deign to pass to the bases of clumps of saplings, stir a mass of leaves or a spider web, and obtain some choice tidbit."
Francis H. Allen tells me that he observed "two feeding among the foliage of trees and shrubs, flitting about much as vireos would, and not at all in characteristic flycatcher fashion." He "saw them pick insects off the leaves when hovering before them, like kinglets."
Dr. Gabrielson (1915) writes of its hunting methods:
The greatest variety of food was secured in true flycatcher fashion, I. e., by watching for passing insects and darting after them from the chosen perch. * ' Some of these if not captured in the first dash, were not pursued further, but others, notably butterflies and moths, were followed until secured.
The second method was somewhat different, although the Insects were still taken while the flycatchers were on the wing. This method was to hang on rapidly beating wings before a leaf or branch and pick the insects from it. a * a The third method was a variation of the first. The Great Crests sat on a low branch until they saw an insect In the grass, when they would drop to the ground and secure ~ a a a When they missed the insect, they never hopped or ran along the ground, but rose Into the air and dove down into the grass again. One watched catching a grasshopper near the foot of the nest tree went through this performance several times before the prey was finally secured.
Behavior: In a general way the behavior of the crested flycatcher is much like that of the eastern kingbird; in its erratic dashes after prey it is distinctly like other flycatchers, and its hovering flight on rapidly vibrating wings reminds us of the kingbird; its flight is swift, as it must be to secure such lively insects as dragonflies; when not hunting it often sails from one tree to another on motionless wings and spread tail, after the well-known manner of the blue jay. It is quite intolerant and aggressive toward small birds that approach its nest or even enter its territory; but it does not seem to care to attack crows and hawks, as the kingbird does, perhaps for the obvious reason that its eggs and young, often deep down in a hollow, are less accessible to these large birds.
Dr. Gabrielson (1915) writes:
A Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Flicker came to the tree at various times. The woodpeckers were driven away by the Greac Crests, but they paid no attention to the Chickadee. * * S A Cowbird came into the nest tree while the female was in the nest, sneaked to the nest opening and looked in. What she saw was evidently not reassuring as she quickly backed away and flew off.
A squirrel crossing the glade was vigorously attacked and made to scamper for refuge to the nearest tree. Once safely there he turned and expressed his opinion of the Great Crest in shrill and violent language.
The most vicious performance which I witnessed was an attack on an Immature Bronzed Grackle. He blundered Into the nest tree while the male was sitting on one of the topmost branches, and had hardly settled himself when he was struck a violent blow from behind and seat sprawling to the ground. He lay there squawking for a few moments and then started to fly away. Hardly had he lifted himself from the ground when another blow on the back of the head caused him to turn a complete somersault Into a small bush. He crawled out on the side opposite the nest and flew away without being further molested. The Great Crest used both beak and wings In the attack and the second blow took several feathers out of the grackle's head.
As we enter the nesting territory, even while we are some distance from the nest tree, the birds set up a loud outcry; and, as we draw nearer, they become more excited, flying about nervously, uttering their loud alarm or challenge notes, with crests erected and bills snapping. But when we have actually discovered the nest, they are apt to withdraw in silence, or sit and watch us quietly. They seldom offer to attack a human intruder, though Dr. Gabrielson (1915) says: "When the nestlings were taken out of the nest on July 13 they made a great fuss and the parents answered them for a few moments. This noise soon ceased and the adults, particularly the female, made a desperate attack on our party, flying about our heads and at our faces. Finally, even this stopped, and the female alighted on a branch about fifteen feet away and kept silent watch of the proceedings."
Voice: Its voice is one of the most prominent characteristics of the crested flycatcher, as it is so much oftener heard than seen. It has been referred to as a harsh squeak, but I have never heard it make a sound that could be called harsh qr squeaky; its commonest note seems more like a loud, rather musical whistle, suggesting, in quality at least, the latter part of the "bob-white" call of the quail. To me it sounds like whoit-whoit-whoit, or wkuit-hu,it, repeated several times. It has also been written wltip-whip-whip, or whit-whitwhit, or whuir-wkuree, or puree. The alarm note is a loud, less musical wheep, or queep, of great carrying power, audible at a long distance. Both notes are emphatic and immediately attract at.tention. Forbush (1927) mentions a very different loud note, queer- queerqueer-queer, as rendered by J. A. Farley.
Francis H. Allen (1922) says that this flycatcher has what we must call a genuine song:
[This] is chiefly an early morning performance, but may be heard, too, at other times of the day. Like the kingbird's it is a long, indefinite song or series of songs, but it has nothing of the hurried character of the former. Indeed, it Is one of the most leisurely songs I know, for there is a rest of two seconds or more after each phrase. In its simplest form the song Is a repetition of the phrase queedie over and over again Indefinitely, but each alternate queed~le is of different character from the one that immediately precedes It. The first time I studied the song I found numbers 2, 4, 6, etc., to be about a fifth on the musical scale higher than numbers 1, 3, 5, etc.; or, rather, this was true of the first syllable of each phrase: the quce. The die part was perhaps a third lower than the quce in numbers 1, 3, 5, etc., and about an octave lower in numbers 2, 4, 6, etc. To indicate the difference In pitch I am in the habit of rendering the song coodle, queedle, coodle, queedle, coodle, queedtc, etc. The 41e part always being on the same pitch, the inflection of the alternate queedle8 has the effect of a finality in discourse. I think the difference In pitch between the coodle8 and quecd~e8 Is not always as great as a fifth, for, not being a musician, sometimes I have had to listen rather intently to detect it.
Mr. Allen goes on to explain certain variations in the song in the same paper, to which the reader is referred. And Mrs. Nice has referred to it in three papers (1928, 1931a, and 1931b),in which she treats mainly of the time at which she has heard the "morning twilight song" at different places; most of the songs were heard between 5 00 and 5: 30 A. M., but once as early as 4: 24 on June 11. The songs were given at the rate of from 28 to 30 notes a minute. "The length of these songs surprised me, one lasting 28 minutes and two others more than 35" (1931b).
Eugene P. Bicknell (1885) writes: "In July the voice of this bird begins to fail, and a silent-period is nearly approached, if, indeed, it be not actually reached, in trying summers. During this time of semi-silence the usual utterance is a single note, which is often faint, and with a mournful intonation as it sounds at slow intervals among the high trees of the woods. Towards the end of August there is noticeable on the part of the birds an attempt to regain their earlier vocal prowess, but they soon return to the low note which they learned in July. This is their farewell, and is in strange contrast to the harsh outcry with which they came upon the scene."
After reading this manuscript, Francis H. Allen writes to me: "I have been accustomed to write what is perhaps the commonest note of the crested flycatcher as k'v,keek. Apparently others, who render it as wheep, have not noticed the introductory k', but I feel quite sure that it is commonly used. Another very common note is the rattling cry, creep or cr-r-r-reep, as I put it. As a matter of fact, this note is really polysyllabic; that is, the rapidly repeated ee sound has somewhat the effect of a rolled r."
Field marks: In outline the crested flycatcher is larger than the kingbird, having a more decided crest and a much longer tail; its coloring is entirely different, an olive-brown back, pale gray breast and throat, yellow abdomen, and conspicuous wing bars. The Arkansas kingbird, now often seen in the Eastern States, shows some of these colors, but its wing bars are not conspicuous, it has a black tail, with white outer webs of the lateral feathers, and the cinnamonrufous in the wings and tail, so conspicuous in the crested flycatcher, is lacking. In flight, the cinnamon in the wings and tail of the latter species shows up very plainly as one of the best field marks. Its voice is, of course, quite distinctive.
Enemies: Probably one of the worst enemies of this and other hole-nesting birds is the European starling, which has increased so rapidly that it is appropriating all the available nesting cavities. The crested flycatcher is possibly more than a match for it and can hold its ground, but I have no evidence on the subject one way or the other. On June 8, 1941, W. G. F. Harris and I hunted through an old orchard in Raynham, Mass., where a pair of crested flycatchers had been in the habit of nesting for a number of years. The orchard was overrun with starlings; large numbers of young starlings were flying about among the trees, in full juvenal plumage, evidently the products of first broods, and their parents were laying their second sets of eggs, one of 'which we found.
'When we located the flycatchers' nest, we were surprised to find that it contained six eggs of the flycatcher and one egg of the starling. The flycatcher was on the nest. Incubation had started in three of the flycatcher's eggs, the other three and the starling's egg being perfectly fresh. It would seem that the starling had probably laid its egg in the flycatcher's nest before the latter's set was complete and during the interval when she was off the nest. This illustrates the keen competition for nesting sites.
Snakes and squirrels probably destroy some eggs and young, though the flycatchers could doubtless drive away the latter. Mr. DuBois tells me the following snake story: "There were two or three boys in our town who made frequent expeditions to the country. One day, while exploring a farmer's orchard, we came to an apple tree worthy of investigation because of a cavity in a main limb. It was my turn to climb up; and when I reached the level of the hole and peered into it, I could see the head and coils of a large snake. With the aid of a stick the snake was soon dislodged and was killed by the boys on the ground as soon as it had made the descent. A huge enlargement of its body invited further investigation. We opened it and found an adult great crested flycatcher that had been recently swallowed whole. The bird had been caught at her own nest. I cannot vouch for the identification of the snake. As I recall it now, we called it a bullsnake."
Winter: Although stragglers have been observed in late fall and winter in South Carolina and even New England, most of the northern crested flycatchers leave their more northern summer homes in late September or early October and spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Dickey and van Rossem (1938) say that, in El Salvador, it is "fairly common in fall, winter, and spring on the coastal plain and in the foothills and mountains up to 3,500 feet. This species is most numerous in open woods in the lower foothills and is least so along the coast. Extreme dates of arrival and departure are October 25 and April 13.',
DISTRIBUTION Range: The United States and southern Canada west to the Great Plains. Winters south to Colombia.
Breeding range: The crested flycatcher breeds north to southern Manitoba (Carberry, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg); southern Ontario (Gargantua, Lake Nipissing, and Ottawa); southern Quebec (Montreal and Quebec City); and central Maine (Houlton and Patten). The eastern boundary of the breeding range is the Atlantic seaboard south to Florida (St. Augustine, New Smyrna, and Flamingo). South to Florida (Flamingo, Cape Sable, Seven Oaks, and Pensacola); southern Mississippi (Bay St. Louis); southern Louisiana (New Orleans, Thibodaux, and Grand Coteau); and southeastern Texas (Houston, Victoria, and Kerrville). West to eastern Texas (Kerrville, San Angelo, and Commerce); Oklahoma (Wichita Mountains Refuge, Minco, and Arnett); central Kansas (Pratt, Hays, and Stockton) ; eastern Nebraska (Hastings and West Point) ; eastern South Dakota (Yankton, Sioux Falls, and Faulkton); eastern North Dakota (Wahpeton, Fargo, Grafton, and the Turtle Mountains); and southwestern Manitoba (Treesbank and Carberry).
Winter range: The winter range extends north to, probably rarely, southern Texas (Brownsville) ; and southern Florida (Punta Rassa, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale). East to southeastern Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Tavernier); probably eastern Cuba (Guantanamo); and Colombia (l3onda, Puerto Valivia, and Rio Frio). South to Colombia (Rio Frio and Novita); Panama (Obaldia, Quebrada, and Divala); and Costa Rica (San Jose and Bolson). West to Costa Rica (Bolson and Tenorio); El Salvador (Volcan de Conchogua and Rio San Miguel); Guatemala (Gualan and Quirigua); Gaxaca (Santa Efigenia and Tapanatepec); and Veracruz (Motzorongo).
The range as outlined is for the species, which is separated taxonomically into northern and southern races. The northern form (Myiai'chus crinitus boreus) occupies the entire breeding range except the peninsula of Florida and the coastal region north to southern South Carolina, which are occupied by the southern crested flycatcher (M. c. crinitus).
Spring migration: Early dates of spring arrival are: Northern Florida, March 8. Southeastern Georgia, March 21. South Caroline: Charleston, April 10. North Carolina: Raleigh, April 9. Virginia: Variety Mills, April 24. District of Columbia: Washington, Apr11 20. New Jersey: Morristown, May 3. New York: Shelter Island, May 1. Connecticut: Hadlyme, May 4. Massachusetts: Stoneham, May 3. Vermont: St. Johnsbury, May 10. Maine: Avon, May 9. Quebec: Montreal, May 10. Louisiana: New Orleans, March 12. Tennessee: Athens, April 9. Kentucky: Eubank, April 13. Indiana: Bloomington, April 18. Michigan: Plymouth, April 25. Ontario: Ottawa, May 5. Iowa: Hillsboro, April 20. illinois: Chicago, April 27. Minnesota: Minneapolis, May 4. Texas: Refugio County, March 13. Kansas: Manhattan, April 25. Southeastern Nebraska, May 2. Manitoba: Aweme, May 24.
Fall migration: L ate dates of fall departure are: Manitoba: Aweme, September 11. Kansas: Onaga, October 2. Minnesota-Minneapolis, October 10. Illinois: Chicago, September 18. Iowa: Keokuk, September 17. Ohio: Wauseon, October 2. Mississippi: Ariel, October 15. Quebec: Montreal, September 4. Maine: Winthrop, September 13. Massachusetts: Waverly, September 29. District of Columbia: Washington, September 29. North Carolina: Raleigh, October 16.
Casual records: The crested flycatcher has been recorded on a few occasions outside of its normal range. Among these is a specimen taken in the Moose Mountain district, Saskatchewan, on June 20, 1924; one was reported from Eastend, Saskatchewan, on May 24, 1933; one was collected at Windsor, Cob., on August 17, 1911; and one was obtained at Douglas, Wyo., on June 14, 1896.
Egg dates: Fborida: 23 records, March 14 to June 11; 12 records, May 5 to 25, indicating the height of the season.
Georgia: 11 records, May 5 to June 27.
Illinois: 14 records, May 25 to July 10; 8 records, June 9 to 22.
Massachusetts: 25 records, May 28 to June 26; 13 records, June 7 to 15.
Ontario: 3 records, June 14 to 28.
Texas: 12 records, April 11 to July 21; 8 records, April 19 to May 26.
Because the Linnaean name for this species is based on Catesby's description of a bird 8upposed to have c6me from South Carolina, and because South Carolina specimens are sup posed to belong to a southern race, the above name is now restricted to the crested flycatchers of Peninsular Florida, which are supposed to range north along the Atlantic coast to southern South Carolina. This seems rather farfetched, as we have no definite type locality given for Catesby's bird, which he said "breeds in Carolina and Virginia."
This is what Dr. E. W. Nelson (1904) had to say on the subject: "As first pointed out by Mr. Bangs, the Great Crested Flycatchers of southern Florida are readily distinguished from birds occupying other parts of its range by the much greater size of their bills. This character appears so constant and is so marked that it seems to be worthy of recognition by name, although not accompanied by any other equally well marked differences. Unfortunately the birds from the Carolinas are most like those from New England, so that Mr. Bangs in his Myiarckus crinitus lwreus (Auk, XV, p. 179, April, 1898) renamed the type form. The name afterwards given by Mr. Howe to the bird of southern Florida must therefore be recognized."
Reginald Heber Howe, Jr. (1902), proposed to call the southern Florida bird Myiarchws crinitus residuus, saying: "The main and a very sufficient character of separation given by Mr. Bangs, 'the swollen bill' of the southern, as contrasted with the small and slender bill of the northern bird, is very marked even in a comparison between northern and southern Florida examples."
Mr. Ridway (1907) relegated both new names to synonymy and said: "After carefully comparing breeding specimens from Florida with those from more northern localities I am unable to find differences sufficient, in my judgment, to warrant their subspecific separation."
If the South Carolina birds are to be included in the southern race, it seems likely that the range of this subspecies might be extended along the Gulf coast westward to Louisiana and perhaps Texas. Dr. Oberholser (1938) says: "The Southern Crested Flycatcher is a fairly common summer resident, from March 12 to October 2, in southeastern Louisiana, wherever woodlands or sufficient trees produce a suitable habitat."
In Florida, according to Arthur H. Howell (1932), the crested flycatchers "inhabit a variety of situations: open pine forests, cypress swamps, hammocks of oak or cabbage palmetto, the custard apple forest on the shores of Lake Okeechobee, and the black mangrove swamps near Cape Sable."
In a general way the haunts and habits of the southern crested flycatcher are similar to those of its northern relative, due allowance being made for the difference in environment. It nests in similar situations but uses local material; Major Bendire (1895) mentioned a nest, taken near San Mateo, Fla., that "was placed in a hole in the side of a rotten stump in low, flat pine woods, and was composed of dry cypress leaves, pine needles, grasses, sphagnum moss, dead leaves, bunches of hair, snake exuviae, strips of cypress bark, weeds, grass roots, palmetto fiber, and feathers; it was lined with bunches of hair, feathers, strips of cypress bark, and pieces of snakeskin."
Charles J. Pennock mentions, in some notes he sent me, the attempts of a pair to build a nest in a stovepipe that served as chimney for a building occupied by a colored "Auntie." The stovepipe ran out horizontally and then turned upward. One morning the old lady lighted a fire, had trouble with the draft, and was "fairly smoked out." A peck or more of nesting material was taken out of the pipe.
Although the northern crested ficatcher does not habitually attack crows and hawks, H. H. Bailey (1925) says that birds of the Florida race of the species "are of great benefit in helping to drive off the crows and hawks bent on catching the farmers little chicks, and I have seen them pursue these intruders for some distance, in company with a kingbird."
The eggs of the southern crested flycatcher are like those of its northern relative, and do not seem to differ much from them in size. The measurements of 40 eggs average 22.4 by 17.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 23.8 by 19.0, 20.6 by 17.5, and 21.4 by 15.9 millimeters.
Guide to Birds of North America