Warbling Yireo. ' 209 



times in the same indifferent manner. Most birds sing 

 for the sole sake of the music they are producing, selecting 

 a perch, and with upright head pouring forth the joy bub- 

 bling up from the soul. The warbling vireo, however, 

 sings about its regular duties as the artless boy or girl 

 sings while engaged in some pleasing employment, as an 

 accompaniment to its ordinary occupations. It carries this 

 trait so far that it sings frequently while it is sitting on 

 its nest, little regarding as drudgery the cares of rearing 

 a family, which many of the birds appear to find so 

 burdensome. 



In an article on " Birds Who Sing on the Wing," in the 

 Oologist for March, 1895, Dr. Morris Gibbs thus speaks of 

 this species: -'The warbling vireo, rarely, in a transport 

 of bliss, during the mating season, launches into the air 

 while yet singing, and apparently forgetful of custom, 

 strives to make us, mundane creatures, as happy as its 

 happy self." 



The warbling vireos are regular residents of the large 

 shade trees along our village and city streets, and of the 

 parks and groves of city and country, where their sweet 

 and varied songs indicate their presence. I have found 

 them especially abundant in the heavy groves of maple, 

 elm, and other trees which adorn the banks of the rivers, 

 growing on the ridge immediately between the rivers and 

 the adjacent swamp-lakes. There the songs of these vireos 

 almost continuously remind the visitor of their abundance, 

 and the slender, drooping twigs afford them desirable sites 

 for nesting. They are also found regularly in the orchards, 

 and no collection of fruit trees of any size lacks its pair 

 of warbling vireos. W.hen there are maples growing in 

 the door-yard, either in town or country, the soft warbling 

 of these vireos delights the family. From the door or 

 window the children may watch the movements of these 

 little greenlets, and frequently observe them construct 

 their hanging tenements and jealously care for their 

 growing family. Large maple trees appear to offer them 

 the most congenial surroundings, and where the woodlands 

 do not furnish such trees, they are seldom found in abun- 

 dance. They are quite at home in the shady parks, for 

 they are rarely seen out in the unobstructed sunshine. 

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