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Least Flycatcher — Part 2
Adult--Upper parts olive; under parts pale gray, slightly tinged with yellow on the belly. Length--5.40.
Breeding Range--From Pennsylvania and New Jersey northward.
The nest, which is either saddled on a branch or placed in a crotch at from seven to twenty-five feet from the ground, is a neat structure of soft plant fibre, fine grass, thin strips of bark, and hair; some nests are built entirely of grass and strips of bark, with no soft materials. The eggs, which number from 3 to 4, and very rarely 5, are buff or white. Size--.62 x .50.
These, the smallest of our flycatchers, are found in abundance throughout their range, though their distribution is somewhat local. Apple orchards seem to be their favourite nesting places. I have found no less than four of these nests in one small orchard containing not more than thirty trees.
The breeding season begins in central New Jersey about the second week in May.