GREENLETS. 135 



the holes of aged trees, or upon the ends of beams in outhouses, or, in short, 

 in any appropriate place of concealment. The eggs are five in number, of a 

 greyish white, marked with pale orange-brown spots. When the young are 

 able to fly, the parents lead them to some branch, and supply them with food ; 

 but they soon learn to chase their own prey, and become expert and quick in 

 the pursuit. Pennant and other writers state that the flycatcher is partial to 

 cherries and various fruits. This is unquestionably a mistake; soft insects are 

 its only food, but gardeners seem to think that all birds devour fruit, and fre- 

 quent their gardens only for that purpose. 



Siib-Fmnily VI. 



THE GREENLETS. VIREONIN^. 



General Characteristics. — Bill rather short and straight, with the culmen slightly 

 curved, and the sides compressed to the tip, which is curved and emarginated ; the 

 gonys long and ascending ; the gape furnished with short weak bristles ; the nostrils 

 rounded and exposed ; the wings rather long and pointed ; the tail moderate ; the 

 tarsi moderate and covered with broad scales ; the toes moderate, the lateral ones 

 equal and united at the base, especially the outer. 



The Greenlets are so called on account of the constant presence 

 of green on some part of their plumage. They are all little birds, 

 and are confined to the New World, inhabiting the United States, 

 Brazil, Guiana, and the West India islands. They are mostly 

 insect-feeders, but will vary their diet with fruit, berries, and other 

 vegetable food. Many species are known, and some are remark- 

 able for their eccentric habits and curious mode of nesting. Some 

 of them build a neat nest, in the form of an inverted cone, sus- 

 pended by the upper edge. The materials of which the walls are 

 composed are fragments of rotten wood, dry stalks, and similar 

 articles ; and it is remarkable that amongst these, pieces of paper 

 are always found. Wilson says that the bird exhibits so great a 

 predilection for fragments of newspapers that some of his friends 

 gave it the name of " the Politician." The materials of this pretty 

 nest are held together with the silk of caterpillars, and the lining 

 consists of fine dry grass and hair. 



The typical species is 



The Greenlet {Vireo viresccus), an inhabitant of various parts of North 

 America and the West Indies, but only to be met with in particular localities 

 at certain times of the year. These are very lively birds, always seeking among 

 the leaves of trees for their food, which consists of insects both in the larva 



