THE VIREO. 61 



cate, approaching nearer the Warblers in that re- 

 spect. The Vireos are more musical than the Ty- 

 rants, the latter being as a family quite destitute of 

 song. Their motions upon the wing are also quite 

 dissimilar; the flight of the former being gliding, 

 and with little motion of the wings, while 'that of the 

 latter is accompanied frequently by rapid fluttering. 

 A position in the family of Shrikes is now believed 

 to be the most natural. There are a number of spe- 

 cies of the Yireos found in our woods, but the two 

 mentioned above are the most conspicuous on ac- 

 count of the peculiar sweetness of their notes. Be- 

 sides them we have the Solitary Vireo, the Yellow- 

 throated Vireo, and the White-eyed Vireo ; the latter 

 has sometimes been called the Politician, in conse- 

 quence of their nests being seldom found without 

 containing one or more pieces of newspaper in their 

 texture. The nests of all these little birds are par- 

 ticularly neat in their structure, being mostly com- 

 posed of fine materials, and arranged with the utmost 

 skill. That of the White-eye is built in a lowjbushy 

 vine, a species of Smilax which is very abundant. 

 It is in the form of an inverted cone, and besides 

 the newspaper, we find small dry twigs, grasses, and 

 pieces of hornet's nests ; the whole is lined with fine 

 fibrous roots. In this snug little cavity is often 

 found the egg of the Cow-bird, several of the species 

 of the Vireos being honored with the task of assist- 

 ing to perpetuate this singular race. 



The next bird we shall present is the Cedar-bird, 

 or Waxwing. Arrayed in a plain and modest suit ; 

 6 



