124 RED-EYED VIREO 



commonest and most beautiful. They are ex- 

 quisite little birch-bark hanging baskets, often 

 with pieces of wasp nest and bits of paper tucked 

 in. 



Aside from their beauty, the Vireos' nests are 

 particularly interesting to watch, as the confidence 

 of the birds is easily won, and if it is not abused 

 they will admit you to most intimate relations. 



A delightful episode occurred one spring in 

 Easthampton, Massachusetts. In an apple-tree 

 close beside a house, a pretty Red-eye quietly 

 hung her basket nest and had laid two eggs be- 

 fore she was observed by any of her human neigh- 

 bors. Then the motherly owner of the house 

 discovered her and was so pleased to find her 

 there that, as she went and came at her work in- 

 side, she would talk to the little creature brooding 

 her nest on the apple bough by the window. In 

 this way the two became such good comrades that 

 the woman soon thought she would like to feed 

 her pet. First she offered her a large cracker, 

 but this was so alarmingly big that the Vireo flew 

 away at sight of it ; when a small piece was handed 

 up to her at the end of a stick, however, she took 

 it gladly, and from that time on her friend fed 

 her every day. 



As the food would slip off the stick, the woman 

 nailed a mucilage-bottle cover to the end of it for 

 a cup, and in this way was able to serve boiled 

 egg and other dainties in the apple-tree. A glass 



