180 



THE RED EYED VIREO, OR GREENLET. 



off like an arrow in a new, direction, after tlie fresTi game lie has 

 discovered in the distance, and for which he appeared to be recon- 

 noitring. At first the males are seen engaged in active strife, pursuing 

 each other in wide circles through the forest. The female seeks out 

 ner prey with less action and flirting, and in her manners resembles 

 the ordinary Sylvias, 



The nest of the Redstart is very neat and substantial ; fixed occasion- 

 ally near the forks of a slender hickory or beach sappling, but mora 

 generally fastened or agglutinated to the depending branches or twigs 

 of the former ; sometitnes securely seated amidst the stout footstalka 

 of the waving foliage in the more usual manner of the delicate cradle 

 of the Indian Tailor-bird, but in the deep and cool shade of the forest, 

 instead of the blooming bower. 



THE RED-EYED VIREO, OR GREENLET, 



This common and indefatigable songster appears to inhabit every 

 part of the American continent from Labrador to the large tropical 

 islands of Jamaica _ 



and St. Domingo ; 

 they are likewise 

 resident in the 

 mild table land of 

 Mexico. Those who 

 pass the summer 

 with us, however, 

 migrate to the 

 warmer regions at 

 the commencement 

 of winter, as none 

 are found at that 

 season within the limits of the United . States. The Red-eyed Vireo 

 arrives in Pennsylvania late in April, and in New England about the 

 beginning of May. It inhabits the shady forests or tall trees near gardena 

 and the suburbs of villages, where its loud, lively, and energetic song 

 is often continued, with little intermission, for several hours at a time, 

 as it darts and pries among the thick foliage in quest of insects and 

 BmaL Caterpillars. From its first arrival, until August, it is the most 

 distinguished warbler of the forest, and when almost all the other 

 birds have become mute, its notes are yet heard with unabated vigor, 



RED-ETED VIREO. 



OF THE LARKS IN GENERAL. 



In this tribe the bill is straight, slender, bending a little towards 

 the end, and sharp-pointed. The nostrils are covered with feathers 

 and bristles; and the tongue is cloven at the end. The toes are 

 divided to the origin; and the claw of the back toe is very long, 

 and either straight or very little bent 



