360 THE WESTERN WARBLING VIREO. 
family is the attention paid to the outside instead of the inside of the nest. The 
outside is carefully adorned with lichens, old rags, pieces of wasp nests, or bits 
of newspaper, with no idea of furthering concealment, for the result is often 
very conspicuous. The walls are not over a third of an inch thick, but are so 
strong that they not infrequently weather the storms of three or four seasons. 
When we came upon a female sitting contentedly in her nest in the center 
of a charming birch tangle in Chelan County, we had as good as photographed 
the eggs. We were particularly elated at our good fortune because the eggs 
had not yet been taken within the limits of the State. When we had watched 
the mild-eyed mother for ten minutes, and had lessened the distance to five 
feet, we began to suspect young; but when she flitted, we found nothing at all. 
She was only fooling. 
No. 139. 
WESTERN WARBLING VIREO. 
A. O. U. No. 627a. Vireosylva gilva swainsonii (Baird). 
Description.—Adult: Above, dull ashy, almost fuscous, tinged with oliva- 
ceous, same on pileum,—the last-named color brightest on interscapulars, rump, 
and edgings of secondaries and rectrices; wings and tail fuscous, the primaries 
with faint whitish edgings; no wing-bars; first primary spurious,—only about a 
third as long as the others; point of wing formed by third, fourth, and fifth 
primaries; second shorter than sixth; below white with slight tinges on sides,— 
buffy on sides of head and neck, olive-fuscous on sides of breast, sulphur-yellow 
on sides of belly and flanks, and sometimes vaguely on breast; lores and space 
about eye whitish, enclosing obscure dusky line thru eye; bill dusky above, 
lighter below; feet blackish. Length 5.00-6.00 (127-152.4); wing 2.64 (67) ; 
tail 1.94 (49.3); bill .39 (10); tarsus .69 (17.5). 
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; general absence of positive characteris- 
tics,—altogether the plainest-colored bird of the American avifauna. 
Nesting.—WNest: a pensile pouch of bark-strips, grasses, vegetable fibers, and 
trash, carefully lined with plant-down; hung usually from fork of small limb, at 
any height. Eggs: 3 or 4, white, sparingly and distinctly dotted or spotted, or, 
rarely, blotched with black, umber, or reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. 
Av. size .75X.55 (19x 13.9). Season: June 1-20; one brood. 
General Range.—Western United States and Canada (British Columbia, 
Alberta and Athabasca), breeding south to southern border of United States 
and southern extremity of Lower California; south in winter thru Mexico to 
Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. 
Range in Washington.—Summer resident thruout the State in deciduous 
timber, chiefly at lower levels. 
Migrations——S pring: Yakima, May 6, 1900; Seattle, May 5, 1905; 
Yakima, May 4, 1906; Tacoma, May 5, 1907; Seattle, May 3, 1908. 
