VIREOS. 331 



629. Vireo solitarius ( Wils.). Blue-headed Vireo. (See Fig. 52.) 

 jid. — Top and sides of the head bluish gray ; eye-ring and lores white ; back 

 olive-gi'een; greater and middle wing-coverts tipped with white, forming 

 two distinct wing-bars ; outer web of inner secondaries white ; under parts 

 white ; sides washed with greenish yellow. L., 5-61 ; W., 2-96 ; T., 2-15 ; B. 

 from N., -28. 



RemarTcs. — This species may be known by its white lores and eye-ring, and 

 bluish-gray cheeks and crown. 



Range. — Eastern North America; breeds from Connecticut (and south- 

 ward along the crest of the Alleghanies) northward to New Brunswick and 

 Manitoba; winters from Florida southward. 



Washington, common T. V., Api. 10 to May 10; Sept. to Oct. 26. Sing 

 Sing, tolerably common T. V., Apl. 23 to May 14 ; Sept. 8 to Oct. 20. Cam- 

 bridge, common T. V., rather rare S. E., Apl. 25 to Oct. 5. 



Nest.^ pensile, of pine needles, plant down, etc., firmly interwoven, sus- 

 pended from a forked branch five to ten feet up. Eggs., three to four, white, 

 with a few specks or spots of black, umber, or rufous-brown, chiefly at the 

 larger end, 'SO x -53. 



This large and handsome Vireo — a bird of the woods — is the first 

 of its family to reach the Northern States in the spring and the last 

 to depart in the autumn. Like its congeners, but unlike birds in gen- 

 eral, it sings at its work. In form its music resembles the Red-eye's, 

 the Philadelphia's, and the Yellow-throat's ; but to me it is more varied 

 and beautiful than any of these, though some listeners may prefer the 

 Yellow-throat for the richness and fullness of its " organ tone." The 

 Solitary's song is matchless for the tenderness of its cadence, while in 

 peculiarly happy moments the bird indulges in a continuous warble 

 that is really enchanting. It has, too, in common with the Yellow- 

 throat, a musical chatter — suggestive of the Baltimore Oriole's — and a 

 pretty trilled whistle. Its most winning trait is its tameness. Wood 

 bird as it is, it will sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two 

 birds I have seen which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest 

 manner while sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as 

 readily as any pet canary; but I have seen others that complained 

 loudly whenever I approached their tree. Perhaps they had had sad 

 experiences. Bradb^ord Torrey. 



A single specimen of the Plumbeous Vireo {629h. V. s. ph/mbevs)., a west- 

 ern species, has been taken at Peterboro, N. Y. (Miller, Auk, xi, 1894, p. 79). 



639c* V. S. alticolSL Brewst. Mountain Solitary Vireo. — Similar 

 to the preceding, but with a much larger bill, and the back generally with 

 more or less slaty blue. W., 3-15; T., 2-25; B. from N., -35; depth of B. at 

 N., -20. 



Range. — Higher portions of the Alleghanies in North and South Carolina; 

 southward in winter to Florida. 



