THE RED EYED VIRECX 



IWjED-EYED VIREO, Red-eyed 

 I ^S Greenlet, and Red-eyed Fly- 

 \ catcher are the names var- 

 . Jj? V^^, iously applied to this 

 pretty representative of 

 his family, of which there are about 

 fifty species. The Red-eye is an inhab- 

 itant of Central America and Mexico, 

 its northern limit being the lower Rio 

 Grande valley in Texas. 



The exquisite little creature is tinted 

 even more delicately than the Wax- 

 wing, but with much the same glossy 

 look and elegant air. The ruby -tinted 

 eye, and the conspicuous white line 

 above it, with its border, are good 

 characteristics by which to distinguish 

 it from its relatives. 



The Red-eyed Vireo is found alike 

 in the shade trees of lawns, in orchards 

 or woodlands, and is especially fond of 

 sycamore groves along streams. The 

 male is a tireless songster, and even at 

 noon-tide of a sultry summer-day, when 

 all other warblers are silent, his monot- 

 onous song will be heard. He-ha-wha, 

 or he, ha, whip, in rising inflection, and 

 he, ha, whee, in falling cadence. He 

 has also a chip, a chatter like a minia- 

 ture of the Oriole's scold, heard only 

 in the season of courtship, and a 

 peculiarly characteristic querulous note 

 which, like others, can not be described 

 with accuracy. 



" The Preacher," a name which 

 Wilson Flagg has given this Vireo, 

 exactly reflects the character of the 

 bird and its song. " His style of 

 preaching is not declamation," says 

 the writer. "Though constantly talk- 

 ing, he takes the part of a deliberate 

 orator who explains his subject in a 

 few words and then makes a pause for 

 his hearers to reflect upon it., We 

 might suppose him to be repeating 

 moderately, with a pause between each 

 sentence, ' You see it You know it 

 Do you hear me? Do you believe it ? ' 



All these strains are delivered with a 

 rising inflection at the close, and with 

 a pause, as if waiting for an answer." 



From morning till night this cheery 

 bird sings as he works, from May to 

 September. " His tender and pathetic 

 utterances," says Brewer, " are in strik- 

 ing contrast to the apparent indifference 

 or unconsciousness of the little vocalist 

 who, while thus delighting the ear of 

 the listener, seems to be all the while 

 bent on procuring its daily food, which 

 it pursues with unabated ardor." 



As noxious and destructive insects 

 constitute the Vireo's chief food he 

 may properly be classed among the 

 beneficent birds. Seeking for these 

 is his constant occupation, as he hops 

 along a branch, now peering into some 

 crevice of the bark or nook among the 

 foliage, ever uttering his pretty song 

 during the interval between swallowing 

 the last worm and finding the next. 



The nest of the Red-eye is built in a 

 horizontal branch of a tree, usually in 

 a small sapling that responds to all the 

 caprices of the wind, thus acting as a 

 cradle for the little ones within. The 

 nest is cup-like in shape, and always 

 dependent from small twigs, around 

 which its upper edges are firmly bound, 

 with a canopy of leaves overhead. It 

 is woven of a variety of materials, fine 

 strips of bark, fibres of vegetables, and 

 webs of spiders and caterpillars. It is 

 said that two nests of the same species 

 are rarely found alike. Some are buislt 

 of paper fibres, and bits of hornets' 

 nests, and another may be a perfect col- 

 lection of scraps of all sorts. 



The eggs are three or four, white 

 with a few black or umber specks 

 about the larger end. 



It was in the nest of the Red-eyed 

 Vireo that Hamilton Gibson found 

 twisted a bit of newspaper, whose 

 single legible sentence read : " * * * 

 have in view the will of God."* 



