BIRDS OF MINNESOTA. 367 
he might escape me, I asked him in ‘‘collector’s dialect” to 
come down, and he responded so quickly that his throat must 
have been full of notes on his coming. 
Any attempt to describe his song by letter, syllables or by 
words would be idle, but it was a most exquisite, clear, liquid 
utterance of a rather brief strain, often repeated, the very soul 
of bird-song. Little pellets of sound transformed into a 
mystery of song. In every instance in which I have heard it, 
I have more deeply regretted the impossibility of fixing it in 
expressible characters. Itis eminently a bird of the forest, 
and so far as I have been able to ascertain, seldom if ever 
sings except quite ait in the morning, or very near sunset 
at evening. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
No spurious quill; the first and fourth equal. From bill to 
middle of back, sides of head, neck and fore part of breast 
olive green; beneath from bill to middle of belly, with a ring 
around the eye, sulphur yellow, lores dusky; rest of under 
parts white; of upper ashy blue, tinged with green. Two 
white bands on the wing; tertiaries edged with white, other 
quills with greenish; outer tail feathers edged with yellowish 
white; the outer web of first feather entirely of this color, ex- 
cept near the end. 
Length, 6.00; wing, 3.20. 
ee iat eastern United States, south in winter to Costa 
ica. 
VIREO SOLITARIUS (Witson). (629.) 
BLUE-HEADED VIREO. : 
Some years the Solitary Vireo is quite common in migration, 
but there have been others when none were observed after the 
most careful scrutiny of its favorite migratory haunts. 
The first individual that ever fell under my notice was ob- 
tained by Mr. George McMullen of Minneapolis, on the 11th 
of May, 1876. Within five days following I met with many 
and secured several skins, They remained but a short time 
when they seemed to move further northward, yetI cannot 
help thinking a few remained in the forests near by, or did not 
go much farther northward to breed. Iam led to this impres- 
sion by their conjugal manners while under my observation. 
They were far from shy or solitary in their habits, indeed were 
exceptionally tame and unsuspicious. I have found them 
usually in the tamarack groves near the streams or lakes, 
and actively engaged in feeding. I know nothing of their 
