182 BITtDS OF ILLnfOIS. 



llmrcil with s>il|ilnir-y"'lliiw: linineof winufanU Its oilj;'". tlio liHtpr cRpci-lully nearly 

 whltr. (Jullls lilarklsh liniwn. ciliji-d I'Xtfrnnlly. cxocpt iit rnd» of prlniarU'X. with ollvf; 

 ilitiTiially witli wlilH". Tail-fcatlicTB HkIiIit lirowii. iMltfil oxtomally like Ih.' liaok. In- 

 Ifriially with pali- nllvaccims wlilli'. Dill ihmky al>ovi>. pale below: tarsi pliiniheoiiH; 

 IrlH riMl. LeiiKtli, ti.Xi; cxtfiif of wines. 1(1.25: wing. 3.33; fall. 2.50. 

 "Feinnlr r.liiillar. liut iluUiT In pliimace." [Hist. -Y. .!»«. /?.) 



Taking the country at large, the Red-eyed Vireo is perhaps the 

 most abundant woodland species. It is the hfte noir of the collec- 

 tor, who, during the "warhlcr season" daily, an<l much to his disgust, 

 sacrilices a greater or less number of indiviiluals; indeed it is a 

 common saying that a "a Red-eyed Vii-eo can make himself look 

 and act like any sort of warbler." It is probable that we have not 

 a more beneficial bird than this species, noxious and destructive in- 

 sects of numerous kinds constituting his principal food. Seekuig 

 for these is his constant occupation, as he hops along a branch, 

 now peering into some crevice of the bark or nook among the foli- 

 age, even uttering his pretty song during the interval between swal- 

 lowing the last worm and finding the next. "The tender and 

 pathetic utterances of this Vireo, uttered with so much apparent 

 animation, to judge from their sound, are in striking contrast to 

 the apparent indifference or unconsciousness of the httle vocahst 

 who, while thus delighting the ear of the listener, seems to be all 

 the while bent on procuring its daily supply of food, which it pur- 

 sues with unabated ardor. (Brewer.) 



"This Vireo," says Dr. Brewer,* "builds the pensile nest of its 

 race, suspending it from the fork of two or more twigs of a forest 

 tree, at various heights of from live to fifty feet from the ground. 

 It is cup-hke in shape, and always dependent from small twigs, 

 around which its upper edges are firmly bound. Externally it is 

 woven of various materials, fine strips of bark, the hempen fibres 

 of vegetables, and webs of spiders and various caterpillars. These 

 are compactly pressed and woven, and, as some suppose, aggluti- 

 nated by the saliva of the builder. Sometimes the unmanageable 

 materials give to the outside of the nest a rude and unfinished ap- 

 pearance, at others they are evenly and smoothly wrought. They 

 are very strong, uninjured by the storms of winter, and are often 

 made use of by other birds, by mice, and even by the same bird a 

 second season." 



•Hint. X. Am.S. 1, p. 305. 



