THE OOLOQIST 



229 



age done by our beneficial birds is a 

 mere bagatelle coni])ared with the 

 good they do us. — San Jose :\Iercury. 



W. A. Strong. 

 San Jose, Cal. 



The Solitary Vireo. 



(Lanivireo solitarius solitarius). 



The Solitary is by far the earliest 

 arrival among the Vireos and is usual- 

 ly two weeks ahead of the other. 



From records kept for a number of 

 years past of the arrival and departure 

 of migratory birds I find that the Soli- 

 tary lias arrived on dates ranging from 

 April 18th to May 1st, according to the 

 severity of the season but always 

 about two weeks in advance of the 

 other Vireas and a few days ahead 

 of the earliest of the Warblers. 



Almost all the other small migrants 

 when they first appear are found along 

 the river valley where vegetation is 

 more advanced and food is more plen- 

 tiful. 



The Solitary, however, is just as apt 

 to be first heard back in the mountains 

 and is always more common there 

 than along the valley. 



After the migrations have set in in 

 earnest the Solitary is common. 



When snow storms occur during the 

 migrations in May, numbers of Warb- 

 lers and Vireos sometimes appear in 

 town about the fruit and shade trees 

 and at such times I usually see a few 

 Solitaries but ordinarily the Solitary 

 is never about town. 



As a summer resident it is quite 

 common in the mountains in the heav- 

 ier forests where there is plenty of 

 hemlock. 



In such situations the Solitary can 

 be heard singing overhead at most any 

 time. Its note is like the Red-eyes but 

 is louder, richer and fuller. Their 

 scolding note are also deeper and 

 harsher. The Blue-headed begins nest- 

 ing quite early and many have full 



sets before the bulk of the Warblers 

 and Vireos have fairly begun nest 

 building. 



I have frequently come upon females 

 gathering nesting material and at such 

 times they did not seem to be shy or 

 show fear. I always found it an easy 

 matter to keep the bird in sight until 

 she reached the nest. The male fre- 

 quently accompanies the female to 

 and fro while nest building and at 

 several nests where I spent some time 

 on different days watching operations 

 I found that the male bird helped at 

 times. In this vicinity they do not 

 nest very high. I have never found 

 one over twenty-five feet from the 

 ground and have found several nests 

 not over four feet up. 



The majority of nests are built in 

 hemlocks. Ocacsionally a beech is 

 chosen and I have found several close 

 to the ground in with hazel and other 

 bushes on hardwood timbered ridges. 



In size, build and general appear- 

 ance I do not believe they can be dis- 

 tinguished from the Red-eyed but they 

 vary considerably in structure and 

 decorations. A Vireo's nest in a hem- 

 lock though is certain to prove to be 

 a Solitay's and I have yet to find a 

 Red-eyed or other Vireo's nest in a 

 hemlock. 



Some nests of the Solitary arQ hand- 

 somely decorated for in the deep and 

 shady forests they inhabit they have 

 an abundance of lichen, cobwebs and 

 decorative stuff to choose from. 



The eggs are, if anything, heavier 

 marked than the Red-eyed, although if 

 a number of sets of both kinds were 

 placed together I do not believe they 

 could be distinguished with certainty 

 by color or markings. 



The Solitary usually lays four eggs 

 sometimes only three but as a usual 

 thing four are laid. With the Red-eyed 

 there is a full set. Although I have 

 peeped into many a Red-eye's nest I 

 never could find a set of four. 



