SUMMER BIRDS OF SHAW's GARDEN. 67 



color of the female and young and by the fact that two broods 

 are raised, for we sec unfledged young in August and some- 

 times even in September. 



WARBLING VIREO. VirCO QllvUS. 



This bird is correctly named; it is a warbler in the true sense 

 of the word, because it really warbles. The birds which we 

 usually call Warblers, namely the beautifully colored mem- 

 bers of the family Mniotiltidae or Wood Warblers, have very 

 little musical ability, and not one of them has a song which 

 could be called a warble, i.e. a soft, sweet flow of melodious 

 sounds. The name was borrowed by the first ornithologists 

 of this country from the Old World family Sylviidac, of which 

 many members have a clear, sweet, flexible voice. The fam- 

 ily Vireonidae, to which our Warbling Virco belongs, is dis- 

 tantly related to the Shrikes. Vircos are also called Green- 

 lets on account of their plain greenish coloration; all are dili- 

 gent, voluble songsters, some real artists, and all weave pen- 

 sile nests, suspended by the upper edge between forks of hori- 

 zontal twigs. Long after the clever builders have departed 

 for their winter home, their nests are seen hanging in the trees^, 

 sometimes in the very tops. While safe from enemies below,, 

 these nests are too much exposed to attacks from winged nest 

 robbers, such as Crackles and Blue Jays, and the sudden dis- 

 appearance of the songster from the Garden in the middle of 

 the season may possibly be explained by a little tragedy in 

 the tree-top. Where not molested, the Warbling Vireo is one 

 of the most constant singers, remaining musical from its ar- 

 rival in April till its departure in September with only a short 

 pause in August. A well-grounded fear of feathered nest 

 robbers is in all probability the reason why they like to build 

 their nests near human habitations and have become common 

 residents of villages, towns and the shade trees of frequented 

 streets in large cities. 



bell's vireo. Vireo hellii. 



Not less than three pairs of Bell's Vireo have found an abocfe- 

 in the Garden and have reared broods. Their home is not in 



