206 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



The Eed eyed Vireo and Warbling Vireo are small, brown, in- 

 teresting little birds, that frequent our towns and villages. Their 

 sweet little warbling songs begin with the dawn, and are contin- 

 ued during the day. I scarcely remember an hour of the past 

 summer that I did not hear the song of " Brigadier, brigadier, bring 

 it," under my window. Many times they would pursue flies so 

 eagerly, and so near us, that we would feel the rustle of their 

 wings as they passed by. The nests are beautifully constructed, 

 of fine materials. The White eyed Vireo is called the Politician, 

 because in the texture of its nest it uses pieces of newspaper. A 

 nest in my possession has on one side a blue postage stamp, and 

 on the other a scrap of newspaper, with the word " picnic," in 

 capital letters, woven into it. 



The Scarlet Tanager is the most beautiful bird of the north. 

 His body is of the most brilliant and glowing scarlet, wings and 

 tail jet black. His preference is for woods and fields, but 

 sometimes he remains in our towns and cities, or so near them 

 that we get occasionally a glimpse of him, and hear his whistle, 

 which is strong, plaintive, and musical. 



The Summer Yellow Birds, or American Goldfinch, are true 

 wood warblers, known from the Arctic to the Gulf. The plum- 

 age is a pale canary color, darkened with orange and black. If 

 the young are caged, they take kindly to imprisonment, and often 

 make valuable cage birds, for the song is one of great sweetness. 

 The Wren frequents both country and town, but seems to prefer 

 the latter. It is a favorite everywhere. Very little is known of 

 its habits. It is a restless bird, always in motion; even when 

 singing it has to flit about. It is a courageous fighting bird. A 

 small box or hollow is a chosen place for its nest. The song is 

 sweet and wonderfully strong for a bird of its size. It begins on 

 a high, sharp key, then suddenly fails to a sweet murmuring song, 

 that ascends again and ends with a rapid trill. 



The song of the Pewee, or Phebe, is well known to us all. It 

 is a small, brown bird that seems to prefer solitude or dark shady 

 retreats, where it repeats its only song of "phebe," "phebe," 

 from dawn to dark. " So plainly expressive of sadness is thi8 

 peculiar note that it is difficult to beiieve that the little being that 

 utters it can be free from sorrow." 



