532 HISTORY OF THE 



part of the breeding season. They are very pleasing singers, 

 their song being not like the "Wiio's-af raid," jerky notes of 

 the White-eyed Yireo, nor as loud as those of the Ked-eyed, but 

 a more warbling and varied song than that of any other of the 

 family which I have heard. 



On the 11th I found a nest near the head of a deep canon, 

 suspended from the forks of the end of a horizontal branch of a 

 small elm tree, abont five feet from tlie ground. It was screened 

 from sight above by the thick foliage of the tree and the larger 

 surrounding trees, but beneath, for quite a distance, there was 

 nothing to hide it from view. The material, however, of which 

 it was made so closely resembled the gypsum that had crumbled 

 from the rocks above, and thickly covered the ground, that I 

 should have passed it by unnoticed had I not, on my near ap- 

 proach, been attracted to the spot by the scolding and the ex- 

 cited actions of the birds. On discovering the nest, I did not 

 stop to examine it, but kept leisurely on my course till out of 

 sight, then cautiously turned back, and, at a safe distance, liad 

 the pleasure of seeing both of the birds busily at work building 

 their nest, then about two-thirds completed. The nest is hemi- 

 spherical in shape, and composed of broken fragments of old, 

 bleached leaves, with here and there an occasional spider's 

 cocoon, interwoven together, and fastened to the twigs with 

 fibrous strippings and silk-like threads from plants and the webs 

 of spiders, and lined with fine stems from weeds and grasses. 

 On the 18th, my last day in the vicinity, I went to the nest, con- 

 fidently expecting to find a full set of eggs, but, on account of 

 the cold, wet weather, or for some other cause, the bird had not 

 laid, and I had to content myself with the nest. 



Eggs usually four, .72x.61; plain white; in form, oval. 



Vireo noveboracensis (Gmel.). 



WHITE-EYED VIREO. 

 PLATE XXXI. 



Summer resident; common in the eastern part of the State. 

 Arrive in April; begin laying about the middle of May; leave 

 the last of September to middle of October. 



B. 248. fl. 143. C. 181. G. 68, 269. U. 631. 



