Bell's Vireo 437 



Tliis genus, containing a considerable number of species, ranges over 

 North America as far south as Costa Rica and throughout the Greater 

 Antilles (for key, see p. 431). 



Bell's Vireo. Vireo belli. 



A.O.U. Checklist no G33— Colorado Records— Thome 87, p. 264 

 (error apud Cooke) ; Cooke 97, p. 218 ; H. G. Smith 03, p. 438 ; 05, 

 p. 82 ; 08, p. 189. 



Description. — Male — Above dull greyish-brown, slightly tinged with 

 ohve, niore so on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; orbital ring and 

 supra-loral streak obscurely white ; wings and tail dull dixsky with 

 paler edgings, and an obscure double wing-band formed by the pale 

 tips of the middle and greater coverts ; below white, tinged on the sides, 

 flanks, under tail-coverts, axUlaries and under wing-coverts with sulphur- 

 yellow ; iris brown, bill pale horn, lower mandible paler, legs dusky 

 horn. Length 4-15; wing 2-20; tail 1-80; culmen -38; tarsus .75. 



The sexes are alike ; the young birds closely resemble the adults, 

 but the wing-bands are more distinct and the inner secondaries are 

 edged with yellowish-white. 



Distribution. — Breeding in the prairie regions from North Dakota 

 and Indiana southwards to north-east Mexico ; in winter further south 

 through Mexico to Oaxaca. Bell's Vireo, long suspected to be a regular 

 svunmer visitor to Colorado, has only recently, through the observations 

 of H. G. Smith, been proved to be so. He has taken it in con- 

 siderable nimabers at Julesburg, Wray and Holly, all localities on the 

 eastern border of the State, between the 18th of May and 31st of Augiist, 

 while his first example was obtamed on Clear Creek near Denver on 

 June 6th, 1903. It may be considered a regular summer bird in the 

 eastern half of the State. 



Habits. — Goss writes: "These active birds inhabit 

 dense patches of bushes and briers on the prairies ; hedge- 

 fences are also a favourite resort. Their call and alarm 

 notes are rather harsh, and their song does not rank 

 very high. Their deep, cup-shaped nests are suspended 

 from slender forks of twigs or vines and are composed 

 of lint-like strippings from plants, neatly interwoven 

 with bits of old leaves, and lined with fine weed stems, 

 and in some cases hairs. The eggs, usually four in number, 

 are pure white, thinly speckled at the larger end with 

 dark reddish-brown, and measure "69 x "50." 



