RED-EYED VIREO 335 



VIREO OLIVACEUS (Linnaeus) 



RED-EYED VIREO 



HABITS 



Contributed by Winsor Maebett Tyler 



Spring. — The trees are leafing out fast when the red-eyed vireo 

 arrives in New England from its tropical winter home. Many of the 

 spring migrants are already here before him, and his song may pass 

 unnoticed at first, except by an experienced ear, among the chorus of 

 their voices. Only a practiced eye, too, will catch sight of him where, 

 high over our heads, he is singing — a little green bird surrounded by 

 the green leaves of the elms and maples. When we do find him, we 

 see that he is well out on the smaller, drooping branches, constantly 

 moving about among the leaves, hopping along the twigs, or taking 

 short, quick flights to other branches. He is feeding, picking up 

 insects from the leaves all about him, singing as he goes, in short, 

 hurried phrases that do not interrupt his continual search for food. 

 Hour after hour, day after day, he sings from our woodlands, from 

 the trees on the shore of our streams, and from the tall elms along the 

 streets of our towns and villages — like a happy laborer, whistling at 

 his work. 



Courtship. — Aretas A. Saunders (1938) writes: "The males sing 

 vigorously between nestings, and on one occasion I observed courtship 

 and a courtship song at this time. The date was July 28, 1933, and 

 the male sang its song in a soft whisper, audible only a short distance. 

 During the singing his wings trembled, and he moved about in front 

 of his intended mate, who sat silently watching and finally flew away, 

 with him in pursuit." 



Years ago, late in May 1909, I saw a bit of courtship behavior be- 

 tween a pair of red-eyed vireos. The birds were near at hand, in 

 plain view, not far above my head. My attention was drawn to them 

 by hearing some unfamiliar notes, high-pitched and rather squeaky 

 in tone, but uttered very quietly, made ujd of fine little trills and some 

 long-drawn-out, faint whistles, not suggesting a vireo at all. At the 

 time I described their actions thus (Tyler, 1912) : 



The two birds were very near each other ; so uear that their bills might have 

 touched, although they did not. The male, or at least the bird who played the 

 active role, faced the side of the other bird, so that their bodies were at right 

 angles. * ♦ * He rocked his body, especially his head, from side to side, his 

 bill sweeping over the upper parts of the other bird, never touching her, nor, 

 indeed, coming very near it, for his head was above and a little to one side of 

 her back. In swinging from side to side, he moved slowly, but with a tenseness 

 suggesting strong emotion. In contrast to the fluffy female, the feathers of the 

 male were drawn closely about him, so that he looked slim and sleek. The neck 

 seemed constricted, giving him a strangled appearance. 



