PLATE XLIV. BLUE-HEADED VIREO (OR GREENLET). SOLI- 

 TARY VIREO (OR GREENLET.) 



Yireo solitarius. 



Above olive-green ; head and cheeks blue-gray ; a white line from 

 the nostrils to the eye and encircling it ; breast pale ash ; belly white ; 

 wings dark, with two white bars and many of the feathers edged with 

 white ; tail short, square, dark, the outermost feathers edged with white : 

 bill and feet dark. Length, 5.60 inches. 



Migratory. Arrives early in May, leaves early in October. Nests in bushes or low 

 trees. Like all of the Vireos, it is fearless and confiding towards man. 



Bradford Torrey relates an incident illustrative of this docility. He once found a 

 Solitary's nest, the female sitting at the time upon her eggs, and was allowed to approach 

 until he almost touched the bird. He made daily visits, bringing food, until finally the 

 little creature became so tame as to eat insects and other dainties from his hand, allowing 

 him meanwhile gently to smooth her feathers. 



The Solitary Vireo is not a rare bird though it is less common than the Red-eyed, the 



