The Song of the Philadelphia Vireo 93 



This ravine is located in the village of Geneseo, N. Y., near the Normal 

 School building. There are residences close at hand. House cats roam through 

 this ravine early in the morning and late in the afternoon. They, of course, 

 catch many of the birds, and frighten others away. Some of them hide in the 

 camera-boxes, and pounce on the birds from this vantage-point. 



It is most unfortunate that we have no legislation against roaming cats. 

 They are roaming, mostly because they are improperly cared for or insuffi- 

 ciently fed at home. It is common for people to own cats and let them "hunt 

 for a living.'' It means often that they feed on birds. 



It is entirely legal now to keep a cat that lives on song-birds. A large 

 number of people are not keeping cats because they do feed on birds. If public 

 sentiment continues to increase, the cats will be less numerous and the birds 

 will have a better chance. Anyone who tries to feed the birds will find that 

 the cats are a nuisance, and will be willing to aid in securing legislation to 

 protect the birds from this their worst enemy. 



The Song of the Philadelphia Vireo 



By MRS. ELIZA F. MILLER, Bethel, Vermont 



THAT is a Red-eyed Vireo singing, isn't it?" said a visiting friend? 

 as we walked down the street near my home. 



I don't know," was my reply, "I begin to suspect that Vireo." 



This was on June 16, 191 2. The bird had been singing all day for weeks, 

 and I too had thought it a Red-eye. But the voice w^as unusually sweet and 

 there was a difference in the song that was quite pronounced, when once 

 noticed. I listened intently many days, and at last decided to try to write 

 it down. At the piano, it seemed to correspond with G G C E, rest, G C E, 

 rest, F B ; the G highest, the other two notes the next lower ones in the scale. 



Of course, the bird's pitch was "way beyond the keyboard." Over and 

 over, he sang these three phrases. 



One might think, perhaps, that this is not very unlike the Red-eye's song; 

 but the highest tones were emphasized and dwelt upon, instead of slighted, 

 as is the way of the Red-eye, and there was the briefest of pauses between the 

 high G and the C, ever>' time. Sometimes, in an absent-minded way, he 

 uttered the high G, or tweet, alone. Sometimes he was particularly 

 emphatic on the second G of the first phrase. 



Later, he often sang so much like a Warbling Vireo that I should have 

 believed it to be one, only that he tacked his own peculiar song to the end; 

 or else he sang his own, and finished with the Warbling Vireo song, and all 

 in the same sweet tone. On comparing the song of the real Warbling Vireo 

 with that of the new Vireo, a slight difference, difficult to describe, could 

 be detected. 



