April in Berkeley, 



lithe-, delicate, active little bird in ex- 

 tremely sober attire, gleaning among 

 the trees for whatever insect life the new 

 leaves harbor. It is a western warbling 

 vireo, a slender creature with fine sensi- 

 bilities, I should imagine, modest and 

 J retiring, uttering its sweet warble as it 

 flits among the branches. Its cloak is of 

 olive-green and gray above, and yellow- 

 ish white below, with a faint, scarcely 

 perceptible line of white over the eye. 

 Despite its dull colors I am especially 

 fond of this little vireo for its winning 

 ways^nd gentle disposition. Our Cali- 

 fornia variety is to be distinguished from 

 its eastern counterpart by the most 

 trivial differences only, being slightly 

 smaller and paler in color. The song 

 is the same — a sweet, liquid warble, 

 which may be heard at any time during 

 the early months of summer. The 

 call-note of the vireo is low, harsh and 

 peevish in quality, very different from 

 the sprightly song. As it flies it occa- 

 sionally utters a short check I Although 

 162 



