246 BULLETIN 197, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



he will dive forth from the protection of the trees at a passing insect, very 

 much in the manner of a flycatcher ; but on his return to the protection of the 

 green foliage his flycatcher propensities desert him and he usually goes full tilt 

 into the cover rather than show himself longer than necessary. 



All observers agree that this, like most other vireos, is very tame 

 and confiding, or rather fearless, as shown in its attachment to its 

 nest. It is usually necessary to lift the bird off its nest in order to see 

 the eggs. Mr. Dawson (1923) mentions an extreme case, in which 

 J. H. Bowles, in attempting to collect a set of eggs, "had been obliged 

 to cut away a large willow branch, and the foliage was so heavy and 

 so one-sided that the branch had turned over in his hands, insomuch 

 that the Vireo's nest, which hung near the tip, was nearly upset, lack- 

 ing nearly an eighth turn, that is, a quarter of a half, of being upside 

 down. But the bird clung to the nest, and it was her presence alone 

 which saved the eggs! Even when the branch was hauled in, she 

 required to be removed by hand. A large experience with this bird, 

 unfolding with the years, shows it to be, without exception, the most 

 confiding species within our borders." 



Under the name Anthony's vireo, which is now discarded, Mr. 

 Burleigh (1930) writes of its habits in northwestern Washington: 



This little Vireo may he fairly plentiful here but it is so quiet and inconspicu- 

 ous that it is easily overlooked and may therefore be thought scarcer than it 

 really is. It is certainly unlike any of the other vireos with which I am familiar 

 for I rarely heard it utter a sound, and during the spring it oddly enough became 

 even more retiring and nothing even slightly resembling a song v/as heard. At 

 intervals throughout the winter single birds were seen feeding in underbrush 

 in the short stretches of woods, frequently with restless flocks of Kinglets, but I 

 soon realized that unless actually looked for they possibly would not have been 

 noticed." 



IMr. Kathbun watched a pair of Hutton's vireos during their nest- 

 building activities for over an hour and witnessed a display of hostility 

 by the hard-working female against her less active mate ; he writes in 

 his notes : "During the time occupied by this work the male sat near 

 where first seen, and ceaselessly uttered his notes. As soon as the 

 female had completed her work on the nest, she flew directly at her 

 mate, attacking him, and the birds for a moment struggled together, 

 the male seeming to be rather on the defensive ; then suddenly the fe- 

 male flew away closely followed by her mate. These actions on the 

 part of both birds were repeated several times subsequently. Invari- 

 ably, after the female finished her work on the nest, an attack on her 

 mate would follow, the last seen being to all appearances the most 

 vicious, for in this instance the birds fell to the ground in their 

 struggles." 



Voice. — If Hutton's vireo is not a brilliant singer, it is certainly a 

 persistent one, as shown by some song records sent to me by Mr. 

 Rathbun, who watched one singing and being answered by another 



