KEY WEST VIKEO. 



559 



and I liavL' iin iloubt but wliat tlicytloiii a similar manner utter a ('oiitimioiis serifs of notes. 

 These birds prefer dense thickets usually in swampy localitien and place their nests in 

 them. This structure resembles that nf other A'in^os Imt is almost always ])laced low and 

 I havefound them within a foot of tlie ground. The i)ir(ls ;ippear in New England 

 al)out the middle of May, the eggs are deposited about the first week in June, and the 

 birds depart for tJie Soutli early in Septeml)er. In Florida, where they are con- 

 stantly resident, they breed in April. Tn New England the White eyed Vireos are most 

 conuuoii near tlie coast and are not id' regular occiir.ince iKirth of Massachusetts. 



VIREO NOVEBORACENSIS MAYIMARDI. 



Key West Vireo. 



Vireo noveboracensis maynardi F.rewstcr. Auk April iss."), p. 148. 



DESCRIPTION. 

 Sp. Ch. Size, about that of the White-eyed Vireo but tlie bill is iiroportionately larger being nearly the 

 size of that of the Bahama Vireo (V. crassirostris). The colors are darker or grayer above than those of the 



White-eyed, and the sides of the head are much grayer, with often 

 a decidedly ochraceous tinging, which also pervades the yellow below. 

 This and the suiiercillary line is never as clear as is typical V. novebo- 

 racensis. 



OBSERVATIONS 

 Although as an average the bills of V. crassirostris are larger than 

 those of V. uiayn,'u-di, (Sec Fig. 7s) some arc exactly the same size, 

 and an cNdiiiiilc of this is gi\cu in the cut. Abuvc. many sjiccimens of V. 

 mtiviiardi d') not differ tVoui ^^ crassirostris, b\it I have never seen one 

 which shows ipiite as much clear yellow below, especially on the sides 

 and flanks as does this latter named species, and the average V. crassi- 

 rostris is very much more ochracrous yellow beneath. Occursas a con- 

 stant resident, as far as absolutely known, on Key West, at Miami on 

 Biscayne Bay, and at Tarpon Springs, probably also on the other Florida 

 Keys. Mr. Brewster tells me that a specimen has also been taken in 

 Georgia. 



A 7-5 ' v^ 



C B 



Fig. 78. Head of adult Key 

 West Vireo. A. upper mandible 

 of same. B. bill of Bahama Vi- 

 reo ; C. upper mandible. 



, DIMENSIONS. 



Longest specimen, ^.TiO; greatest extent of wing, .*.nO; largest wing. '2Sm: tail, '2.10; bill, fii; tarsus, .81. 

 depth of nostril, .20. Shortest specimen, 4.71); smallest extent ef wing, 7.4."); smallest wing, 2.11; tail, 1.00; 

 bill, .50, depth of nostril, .18: tarsus, .T'l. 



HABITS. 

 I found the first specimens or the Key West Vireo that I ever saw, on Nov 11, 

 1870. At this time only a small portion of Key We.st was settled; the principal part of 

 the city being on the northern siile of the western end of the island. To the east and 

 north and .some extent to the southward the laml was covered with a thick growth of 

 i^hubbery. These thickets, whi<;h were in many places im])a,s.sal)le, formed the retreat of 

 liundreds of birds and among them were a larue mnnber of the Vii-eo. About fourteen 

 years after, in Jan. 1S84, I again visited the island and found the city greatly enlarged 

 while the .scrub wa.s jjrojjortionately diminished. The Vireos weie, however, very common 



