BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 299 



like the former, but not high in the air ; it is generally hung 

 from the branch of a brier or a vine, and composed of bits of 

 hornets' nests, newspapers, or grass woven in with twigs, with 

 a lining of root-fibres. The eggs are four or five, white, with 

 a few brown spots toward the larger end. If any one ap- 

 proaches the nest, the vireo scolds with great heat and passion. 

 At other times, it seems quite indifferent to his presence, and 

 looks at him with perfect composure, at the distance of a few 

 feet. 



The Warbling Vireo, Viero gilvus, is a charming singer, 

 and so unwearied in its various and animated warble, that it is 

 one of the chief attractions of a summer day. Its notes, so 

 mellow and flowing, cannot be mistaken for those of any other 

 bird ; neither is any one who hears it at a loss to trace it to the 

 performer, who never retires to the forest, and seems to delight 

 in the society of man. At the same time his note is unambi- 

 tious, and gives the listener the impression that it was not in- 

 tended to be heard, but was simply an unconscious outpouring 

 of the harmony and happiness of his breast. In this unpre- 

 tending manner, he differs from most other birds of sweet note, 

 which appear as if fully aware of their powers, and desirous to 

 display them. 



The nest of the warbler is suspended high in the air, formed 

 of blades of grass disposed in a circular form, with bits of 

 hornets' nests, corn husks, or old apple blossoms, inserted be- 

 tween, and kept in place by threads of caterpillars' silk ; the 

 lining is of fine grass, pressed into the proper form with great 

 care. The eggs are four or five, white, spotted with reddish 

 black at the larger end. These birds remain with us from May 

 to October, when they leave us reluctantly for the tropical re- 

 gions. They are not, like the red-eye, seen in Florida in the 

 winter. 



The Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus, is perhaps more com- 

 mon than the former ; not equal to the warbler in its song, 

 which is rather broken and interrupted, than easy and flowing ; 



