July 



*' red-eye's " warble is that of the soHtary virco 

 — so pure and serene — the tone of a finer spirit. 

 In the more open places, where a single 

 shrub or tree will afford a sheltered perch, or in 

 a row of trees by the road-side, one is likely to 

 hear the warbling vireo, which is in truth a 

 warbler, and with more mellow tone than the 

 '* red-eye " possesses. One eminent writer 

 says that not a single other bird " can rival the 

 tenderness and softness of the liquid strains of 

 this modest vocalist. ' ' This is high praise, and 

 I have not been so fortunate as to find any war- 

 bling vireo that would justify the compliment. 

 To my ear there is a pronounced petulance of 

 tone in the " red-eye," and a touch of it in the 

 warbling vireo, as if neither of them possessed 

 the loveliest disposition in the world. The 

 warbling vireo is noticeably smaller than the 

 *' red-eye," and of a more dull and uniform 

 color. (Fearing that the foregoing language in 

 regard to the '' red-eye" depreciates it below 

 my own real estimate, I am glad to confess that 

 later in the season its song sounded richer and 

 less irritable. Perhaps the ear is less critical 

 in the silences of August than in fiiU-toned June ; 

 or quite possibly, the " red-eye's " song sweet- 

 ens with age.) 



209 



