Vireos Awake and Asleep 109 



young with great care, stepped in and began to brood, when 

 two downy heads popped up from under his breast. He 

 showed unmistakable signs of discomfort and uneasiness, 

 repeatedly erecting and lowering his crest, and puffing out his 

 throat. With mouth wide open he gazed keenly about him, 

 and after a few moments dashed off as if in pursuit of an enemy. 

 When a large grasshopper which had been given to a young 

 bird had made good its escape, the mother darted after it, 

 seized it before it had touched the ground, and you may be 

 sure that there was no possibility of escape this time. A 

 grasshopper was sometimes divided between the two young, but 



Fig. 64. Drawing back through timidity. 



usually a single bird only was fed at a time. The male warbled 

 his pleasant strains from a branch hard by, while the mother 

 hunted for insects in the grass below. A large brown locust 

 with yellow and black wings was soon brought in. The adult 

 Vireos glean most of their animal food from the foliage and, as 

 might be expected, are great caterpillar destroyers, but while 

 feeding their young I frequently saw them exploring the grass 

 as any Robin or Song Sparrow might do, snapping up every 

 insect which came in their path. 



