74 NESTS AND EGGS OF N. A. BIRDS. 



142. VIREO ATRICAPILLUS. 



BLACK-CAPPED VIREO. 



So far as known, all the specimens of this rare bird that have 

 been taken are from Mexico and Texas. The first authentic nest 

 and eggs of the Black-capped Vireo was collected in Comal County, 

 Texas, in May, 1878, by Mr. W. H. Werner, of South Bethlehem, 

 Penn. In a communication to Mr. William Brewster, giving an 

 account of their nesting habits, he states that he always found 

 them in mountainous districts. "They frequented low brushwood, 

 and built their nests from three to four feet above the ground." Mr. 

 Brewster in writing of a nest which was built "in a red oak" col- 

 lected on the 6th of May, by Mr. Werner, describes it as fol- 

 lows: t ''It is suspended in the fork of two very slender twigs, 

 and is in every way after the usual type of Vireonine architecture. 

 In a few points of detail, however, it differs slightly from any 

 Vireo's nest that I have seen. Although, generally speaking, of 

 the ordinary cup shaped foim, the walls are usually thick and 

 • firmly felted, and the entrance being very much contracted, the 

 bulging sides arch over the mouth of the nest, giving to the whole 

 a nearly spherical shape. This peculiarity may be of an individual 

 nature, though it is conspicuously shown in the specimen represented 

 by Mr. Werner's drawing. ■'-'■■•••' The measurements ofmy nest are as 

 follows: Greatest external diameter, 2.90; external depth, 2.25; 

 internal diameter at the mouth, 1.30 by 1.68; internal tiepth, 1.40 ; 

 greatest thickness of walls, .63," **''• This nest, Mr. Brewster adds, 

 "is made up of fine strips of reddish bark, probably from some 

 species of cedar, layers of small, delicate, bleached leaves of a 

 former year's growth, a few coarse grasses, one or two catkins, 

 and several spiders' cocoons.These are firmly bound to gether,and the 

 whole attached to the forked twigs above by fine shreds of veget- 

 able fibre, caterpillars' or spiders' silk, and sheep's wool The 

 lining is of fine grasses and what appear to be the slender needles 

 of some coniferous tree, the whole being arranged with that won- 

 derful smoothness and care which belongs to the highest order of 

 nest-builders alone. Mr, Werner's nest, to judge from the sketch 



tin Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, April, i879, pp. 99-103. 



