VIREOS. 



331 



689. TireoSOlltariiiaC n'tV*.). RLCE-nKAnEn Vmeo. (Sec Fit;. 52.) 

 All. — Top und ^iilf» ol'the hi-uil bluixh gray ; eye-riii>j and lores white ; bm-k 

 olive-jjreen ; jfreuter and muldlu wing-coverts tipped with white, forming 

 two diHtinet winK-lmrw; outer web of inner Beconduries white; under purta 

 white; aides washed with greenish yellow. L., 5"C1 ; W., 2%; T., 215; B. 

 from N., -28. 



lietnarks. — Thin species may he known by its white lores and eye-ring, and 

 bluish-gray chfei-n und crown. 



lidnye. — Eastern Nortli America; breeds from Connecticut (und south- 

 wurd ulong the crest of tlic Alleghunies) northward to Mew Brunswick and 

 Manitoba; winters from Florida southward. 



Washington, common T. V., Apl. 10 to May 10; Sept. to Oct. 26. Sing 

 Sing, tolerably common T. V., Apl. 23 to May 14; Sept. 8 to Oct. 20. Cani- 

 bridgc, common T. V., rather rare S. R., Apl. 25 to Oct. 5. 



Ne»t, pensile, of pine needles, plant down, etc., firmly interwoven, sus- 

 pended from a forked branch five to ten feet up. Eggx, three to four, wliitc, 

 with u few specks or spots of black, umber, or rufous-brown, ehiefiy at the 

 larger end, '80 x -53. 



This large and handsome Viroo — a bird of the woods — is the first 

 of its family to reach the Northern Stales in the spring and the last 

 to depart in the autumn. Like its conge , but unlike birds in gen- 

 eral, it sings at its work. In form its music resembles the Red-eye's, 

 the Philadelphia's, and the Yellow-throat's ; but to me it is more varied 

 and beautiful than any of these, though some listeners may prefer the 

 Yellow-throat for the richness and fullness of its " organ tone." The 

 Solitary's song is matchless for the tenderness of its cadence, while in 

 peculiarly happy moments the bird indulges in a continuous warble 

 that is really enchanting. It has, too, in common with the Yellow- 

 throat, a musical chatter— suggestive of the Baltimore Oriole's — and a 

 pretty trilled whistle. Its most winning trait is its lameness. Wood 

 bird as it is, it will sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two 

 birds I have seen which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest 

 manner while sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as 

 readily as any pet canary; but I have seen others that complained 

 loudly whenever I approached their tree. Perhaps they had hud sad 

 experiences. Bradford Torrky. 



A single specimen of the Pn'MnEors Viueo {62Dh. V. s. plumhevs), a wc.<*t- 

 crn species, luia been taken at Peterboro, X. Y. (Miller, .\uk, xi, 1894, p. 79). 



629c« V. S. alticoUb Brew»t. MorNT.vtx Somtahv Vireo.— Similar 

 to the preceding, but with a mu(h larger l>ill, and tlie buck generally with 

 more or less sluty blue. W., .3-15; T., 225; B. from N., -35; depth of B. at 

 N., -20. 



Range. — Higher portions of tlio Alleghunies in North and South Carolina; 

 southward in winter to Florida. 



