500 EGGS OF THE EED-EYED GREENLET 



la any event, these nests are remarkably durable, hanging 

 for many months after they have been deserted; and when the 

 leaves have fallen, revealing the trees in their nakedness, these 

 structnres become conspicuous along the roadside, around the 

 edges of clearings, and among the dogwoods and Judastrees 

 that form the undergrowth of our noble oak forests. Wilson 

 says they are frequently used by mice, and that in one instance 

 a Yellowbird built its own nest in one of these deserted homes. 

 They are among the more frequent depositories of Cowbird 

 eggs; and the owners seem to be as devoted as can be to the 

 incubation of the alien eggs and subsequent care of the 

 young. Dr. Brewer narrates that in one instance a Red-eye 

 hatched three Cowbird eggs without laying any of her own ; 

 and gives the particulars of another case, in which a Vireo 

 laid two eggs, and then stopped to incubate them, together 

 with two Cowbird eggs, which had meanwhile been deposited 

 with her own. The Vireo's eggs are usually four in number, 

 measuring about four-fifths of an inch in length by three-fifths 

 in breadth, and are not peculiar in shape ; the shell is pure 

 white, sparsely sprinkled with small and sharp markings of 

 reddish-brown or dark brown, chiefly about the larger end. 

 Two broods are often reared each season by the same pair, and 

 such is probably the rule in the Middle and Southern States, 

 to judge from the great abundance of the birds, as well as 

 from the periods when newly-feathered young may be found. 

 In the District of Columbia, where these Greenlets are ex- 

 tremely abundant, I used to note their arrival during the last 

 week in April, and have observed them as late as the 25th of 

 September, about which time they leave with one accord. 

 Nuttall, however, has witnessed their lingering in Massachu- 

 setts even so late as the 26th of October. 



It is known that this Vireo is not exclusively insectivorous, 

 and the same is doubtless true of other Greenlets. Nuttall 

 observed them feeding greedily on the small berries of the 

 bitter cornel and the astringent Viburnum dentatum. The 

 same author gives some pleasant gossip about a young Vireo 

 which entered his chamber and became an inmate for a while. 

 He soon grew reconciled to the situation, became so gentle as 

 to take insects from the hand, and apparently used to seek 

 protection from an irascible Kingbird, who occupied the same 

 quarters, and who begrudged him his share of food. This 

 Greenlet used to eat viburnum-berries with a good appetite. 



