302 WHITE-EYED VIBEO 



White-eyed Vireo ; Whip-Tom-Kelly : Vireo 

 novehoracensis. 



(See Fig-. 171, p. 305.) 



Upper parts bright olive green ; under parts white ; breast and 



sides washed with yellow ; two yellowish wing' bars. Length, 



about 5| inches. 

 Geographic Distribution. — Eastern United States ; breeds 



from Florida to Connecticut and Minnesota ; winters from 



Florida southward. 



In Bermuda this bird abounds and is called the 

 ' Chick of the Village,' the people interpreting its 

 song as " Chiclc-a-dee-cliich'-de-viUety While 

 this is a fair rendering, the song has an interro- 

 gatory inflection given better by the phrasing, 

 "iV^o^(,', who are you\ eli f " This suits the man- 

 ner of the bird, too, for it hunts calmly through 

 its bush till it faces you, and then accosts you quite 

 with the air of one who has a prior right on the 

 premises. It is a piquant, independent, original 

 character ; one which stimulates the interest, and 

 makes us desire a better acquaintance. 



Like all the Vireos, the White-eye is very tame. 

 Doctor Mearns says he has actually taken a sitting 

 bird from the nest before she would leave it, and 

 that then, instead of flying off, she would return 

 and scold most vigorously, in a tone resembling 

 that of an irate Catbird. The nest is like the 

 pendent basket of the Red-eye, and the eggs are 

 white, speckled with black at the larger end. 



While the Vireos have adopted a Quaker-like 



