Red-Eyed Vireos. 



69 



down her bill, and after a few beetles had been taken, she appeared with a large black- 

 berry. Fruit was served to the young about half a dozen times in the course of four 

 hours during which watch was kept on this particular day, but I had not seen a single 

 berry brought to the young before this time. 



On the first two days of observation the young were fed on the average of once in 

 fifteen minutes, but upon the third day food was brought every nine minutes. 



Hitherto I had taken pains not to touch the nest, but as I approached for a final 

 look at the young at about two o'clock they immediately took alarm, and popped out one 

 at a time. The larger of the two disappeared, and was never seen again by me, and 

 although I replaced the smaller bird in its nest time after time, it positively refused to 

 stay. Like the young of so many wild birds, when once they have tasted the freedom of 

 the world, they seem to look with disdain upon their old home. Although these birds 

 could only flutter in their first 

 attempts at flight, they could 

 hop nimbly from branch to 

 branch, and thus ascend readily 

 to the tops of high bushes. 



Upon visiting the site of 

 this nest on the following day 

 one of the young birds was dis- 

 covered in the grass less than 

 two rods from its empty nest. 

 It was calling loudly for food, 

 and the old birds were tending 

 it. A few hours later I returned 

 in the nick of time to save its 

 life by the capture of a large 

 garter snake which in some way 

 had discovered its opportunity. 



During the past summer, 



a Vireo's nest was found on the twenty-eighth of June, when the female was incubat- 

 ing two eggs. Her plans were, however, suddenly interrupted, apparently through her 

 own carelessness. A storm soon ripped up the nest, the walls of which were unusually 

 weak and fragile, and the eggs were spilled. This nest was apparently the first of the 

 season, and might have represented the first attempt of a young bird. There is the 

 possibility, however, that this was really a second and hurried attempt at nest-building, 

 due to a former accident. 



The snow and storms of winter usually knock the bottom out of the Vireos' pendant 

 nests, but some remain whole for over a year. Wilson speaks of finding the nest of the 

 Yellow Warbler built inside of an old Vireo's nest. The deer mouse sometimes takes 

 possession of an abandoned nest in fall, and converts it into a snug globular house for 

 itself and young. I remember the feeling of astonishment which the discovery of one of 

 these converted nests gave me when a boy at school, and of wondering to what animal 

 those black lustrous eyes, which appeared at the entrance, could belong. In this case the 

 original framework was concealed by a symmetrical dome of thistle-down, a substance 



Fig- 57. Inspecting cautiously. Compare such attitudes with Figs. 50-53, 

 which express no fear. 



