VIREONrD.E — TIIK VIKKOS. 3f)9 



ondarj' covorts aro ol)scui(:ly tiiipud with liji;lit Ipi'dwh, turiuiiij; two indistinct 

 liunils iici'Dss till) wing. 



A spci'inu'n (Nit. ,")4,l.'(lli) IVoni Oiizalia is, in jiositivdy iivi-ry rospcot, 

 exactly intenniMliuto Itetwci'n tliis spci'it's and l'. Juscji/hv of Custa Itica, 

 Ecuador, etc. (Sec footnote on jiaj^c IKKt.j The crown is brown, decidedly 

 darker than, and difl'orent in tint from, the liack, but less so than injo.scjili<r; 

 the back is less olive than in the hitter, and less gray than in the former. 

 The lower parts arc more yellow than in //i/ni.f, and less so than in jamplnv, 

 the superciliary stripe whiter and extending farther back than in the former, 

 and less pure white and shorter than hi the latter, etc. 



Habits. The Warbling Vireo has only a slightly less extended distribu- 

 tion than the Iicd-eyed, being found throughout all Kastcrn Xortli America, 

 as far ninth as Fort Simpson and Selkirk Settlement, and west to the Mis- 

 souri lliver, and breeding as far south as Louisiana. It is stated by Audu- 

 bon to be found on the t'olumbia lliver, but in this he probal)ly referred to 

 the Western race, V. sivninsoni. That writer never observed this species 

 in Louisiana or Kentucky, nor in the maritime part of (leorgia, and its man- 

 ner of entering the United States he was unable to ascertain. AVhere it 

 moves to in the \ 'tter is also unknown, none having been met with in the 

 West Indies, and only at a few jujints in ^lexico, Cordova, Oaxaca, and the 

 State of A'era ("ruz. It was, liowever, found breeding at Calcasieu, Lt)uis- 

 iana, by ^Ir. Wiirdemann. 



It breeds abnixlantly from Virginia to Xcn-a Scotia, and throughout the 

 Northwestern States. West of the Hocky Mountains it is replaced by a 

 closely allied S[)ecies, the V. .Hwaiitsoiii. This N'ireo, more than any other of 

 its genus, if not exclusively, is to a large extent a resident of villages, towns, 

 and even cities. It is by far the sweetest singer that ventures within tiieir 

 crowded streets and public .sipiares, — although Mr. ("assin gives his prefer- 

 ence to the notes of the lied-eyed, — and the melody of it.^ song is excjuis- 

 itely soft and beautiful. It is chielly to be found among the tall trees, in 

 the vicinity of dwellings, where it .seems to delight to stay, and from their 

 highest tops to suspend its pensile nest. It is especially abundant among 

 the elms on Boston Common, where at almost any hour of the day, from 

 early in the month of May until long after summer has gone, may be heard 

 the prolonged notes of this, one of the sweetest and most constant of our 

 singers. Its voice is not powerful, but its melody is tlute-like and tender. 

 Throughout the last of May, and in June and July, their charming song may 

 be heard amid the din of the city from esirliest dawn till nightfall, and rarely 

 ceases even in the noontide heat, when all other birds are silent. It is ever 

 in motion, while thus singing ; and its sweetest notes are given forth as it 

 moves among the tree-tops in search of insects. It is not only one of our 

 most constant singers, but it remains musical almost until its departure for 

 the South in October. 



The Warbling Vireo appears in the Middle States about the IStli of iVpril, 

 47 



