160 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



(F) NOVEBORACENSIS. White-eyed Vireo. "Politician" 



(In southern New England a rather common summer-resi- 

 dent, though very locally distributed.) 



(a). About five inches long. Above, bright olive-green; 

 below, white. Sides of the body, eye-ring, wing-bars, etc., 

 (bright) yellow. Iris white. 



(6). The nest is almost invariably placed in a low tree, bush, 

 or vine, two or three feet from the ground, generally, but not 

 always, in the woods, whether dry or wet. It is pensile, and es- 

 sentially like that of the " Red-eye," though prettier and often 

 characterized by being largely composed of newspaper, or 

 paper from wasps' and hornets' nests. The eggs, moreover, 

 are strongly like those of the Red-eyed Vireo, but are gener- 

 ally a little smaller, and longer in shape. They are laid, near 

 Boston, about the first of June. 



(c). The White-eyed Vireos differ from their relatives in 

 several respects. They are summer-residents in Eastern Mas- 

 sachusetts, but are so locally distributed as to be extremely rare 

 or wanting in some places, though quite common in others. 

 To the westward of the Connecticut River, in New England, 

 they are so uncommon that the few specimens obtained may 

 almost be considered stragglers. They reach the neighborhood 

 of Boston, at least those who breed here, in the second week 

 of May ; but as to their general distribution and migrations I 

 have not clearly made up my mind. Massachusetts has been 

 generally considered their northern limit, but I feel quite con- 

 fident of having seen them, in past years, apparently migrating 

 through this State, in April and October. I have once or twice 

 seen the Solitary Vireos in the latter month, when they were 

 obliged to feed upon berries, as the " Red-eyes" do in Septem- 

 ber, and I find in my note-book that I observed a "White-eye" 

 (or a species, hitherto undescribed, much resembling it) on the 

 18th of October, traveling with many other birds in a "wave." 



These "bird-waves" are extremely interesting, and, to show 

 their nature, I shall quote from my Journal : 



"Nov. 15th, 1873. This morning, while wandering about 



