XLIII 



THE EED-EYED YIEEO 



THE first thing I usually hear of a summer's morning 

 (if I waken at the time I usually do, just as the first 

 streak of dawn appears in the east) is the song of the 

 red-eyed vireo, tho at home^ where we had plenty of robins, 

 they used to begin singing as early as the vireos. In fact, 

 it was a race between these two birds to see which would 

 get up first, sing his morning hymn, and catch the early 

 worm. 



From the fact that the vireo is one of the first birds to 

 sing in the morning, it becomes fairly easy for one who is 

 willing to get up early to identify him. He proclaims 

 his name as plainly as a bird can do. His melody is 

 scarcely worthy of the name song, nevertheless it is a 

 pleasing and cheerful role and seems to express entire 

 satisfaction on the part of the bird himself. It is a "vireo- 

 vireo-viriee-vir-'a-\iree,'^ uttered energetically but with a 

 tendency to drawl the words a bit. 



As the day advances, by nine-o'clock the robin is usu- 

 ally through singing and does not resume till evening. 

 Not so with the red-eyed vireo. He sings all day long. 

 But tho he sings almost constantly, he is usually heard 

 rather than seen. His small size and dull color help to 

 conceal him and he generally manages to keep himself 



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