FOUR XEIGHBORS DIVERSE 



vidual. I should about as soon have expected a hawk 

 to rival the pet Canary. However, I saw that it was a 

 Butcher-bird without doubt, so that day I added to my 

 little stock of bird-lore. 



The Butcher-bird nests far to the north, but the 

 other species, the Loggerhead Shrike, is more southerly, 

 and is quite widespread, though rare in the northeastern 

 States. I have found its nest in Florida and seen it a 

 few times as far west as North Dakota. In habits it is 

 a good deal like the Butcher-bird, though more of the 

 sort of singer that one w^ould expect a butcher to be. I 

 have noticed that it seems to like pretty well to perch 

 on telegraph wires. 



Somew^hat resembling the shrikes in structure, hav- 

 ing in common with them the strong, notched bill, 

 the vireos are yet a very different group of birds. 

 They are birds of the foliage, clad in dull green and 

 olive garb which renders them inconspicuous, great 

 destroyers of insects, and of considerable ability in 

 song. They all build neat cup-shaped nests which 

 they hang in a slender fork, usually near the end of a 

 bough. Of the six species that visit us, the first to 

 come in spring, toward the latter part of April, is the 

 Blue-headed or Solitary Vireo. These species are all 

 pretty much of a size and quite similar in plumage, 

 and we must look carefully to distinguish them. This 

 one is particularly distinct with the bold white ring 

 around the eyes, bluish-gray crown and sides of head, 

 and short, stubby bill. It is a northerly species, but it 



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