XI 
THE VIREO FAMILY 
(Vireonide) * 
THE vireos are a small family, fifty species, 
found only n America. They are very quietly 
dressed in greenish olive hues, with hardly a 
bright color among them. They were once 
called greenlets. 
They all live in trees and catch insects, going 
about over the twigs. They sing as they go, 
like the warblers, combining work and _ play. 
Some of them sing almost without stopping, and 
it gets to be rather tiresome after a while. One 
or two of them even sing on the nest, which 
hardly another bird does. 
The vireos make the prettiest nests. They 
are swinging baskets, hung between the forks 
of a twig, and usually near the end, where they 
rock in every breeze. They are not often very 
high. The birds are easily tamed by one who is 
quiet, and careful not to frighten them. 
1 See Appendix, 9. 
