528 HABITS OF bell's greenlet 



the White-eyed Vireo would be under the same circumstances. 

 A few years later, Dr. Woodhouse found it in Texas, where he 

 states that it was abundant ; and several observers afterward 

 noted its occurrence in that country. Among them were Mr. 

 Dresser and Dr. Heermann, both of whom ascertained that 

 the bird breeds in that State. Other naturalists meanwhile 

 filled in the interval between these two widely separated local- 

 ities ; but the still broader area of distribution of the species 

 was not determined until very recently. Among the most inter- 

 esting observations in this regard should be mentioned those 

 by Mr. Eidgway and Mr. Nelson in Illinois, Dr. Cooper in Cali- 

 fornia, and especially by Mr. ETenshaw in Arizona. 



"The Vireo Bellii," says Mr. Eidgway, in the first of the 

 places above cited in the American Naturalist, " was found to 

 be a common, or at least not rare, species in the thickets on 

 the prairies. It was first seen on the 8th of June, when speci- 

 mens were shot, and being then in full song, there can be 

 little doubt that the species breeds there." 



His later note in the same periodical gives further particu- 

 lars : — 



"... During a lull in the chorus we heard, from the depths 

 of the thicket, a very curious gabbling, or sputtering song, 

 which was entirely new to us. We hastened to the thicket, 

 and, eutering it as far as possible, lay in wait for the strange 

 songster to resume his vocal performance. In a few moments 

 a little grayish bird carefully approached, flitting cautiously 

 from twig to twig, now and then halting, and, after uttering 

 the peculiar notes which had attracted our attention, would 

 stretch out his neck and eye us with great curiosity and evi- 

 dent suspicion. After observing him carefully to our satisfac- 

 tion at a distance of hardly a rod, we found that he was Bell's 

 Greenlet {Vireo Bellii)^ a species of the plain east of the 

 Eocky Mountains from Texas northward, and not before 

 detected east of the Mississippi river. After we had become 

 satisfied of his identity we shot him ; but upon attempting to 

 secure our prize, we found the briary undergrowth too intricate 

 and powerful to allow a passage through it. In nearly all the 

 thickets others of the same species were frequently heard, so 

 that it appeared to be common in that locality. The little 

 White-eyed Greenlet ( V. noveboracensis) was also common in 

 the same thickets, and was easily distinguished by his well- 

 known notes, an attempted translation of which gives it the 

 local name of ' chickty-beaver bird.'" 



