is discovered, as there are usually only 

 one or two points from which a view of 

 it can be obtained and a single leaf will 

 sometimes quite conceal it. Possibly there 

 are circumstances in the life of a redeyed 

 vireo which, if known, would account 

 for his irritability and egotistical belief 

 that all eyes are upon him with evil in- 

 tent; but our eyes are dull, and one 

 could wish at times that his trials, what- 

 ever they may be, might sweeten his tem- 

 per. I do know, at least, that redeyed 

 vireos are much tormented by that plague 

 of bird life, the cowbunting, which de- 

 lights in laying her eggs in the redeye's 

 nest; and nowhere could they be placed 

 where they would cause more discom- 

 fort, for the vireo's nest is a delicate 

 structure and none too large for its own 

 nestlings. I think the cowbird often 

 injures the nest when she lays her egg, 

 as she probably gets in and out of it 

 with more or less baste, being hurried by 

 the agrieved owners, for not only do the 

 young vireos fall out 6f the nest, but 

 even the interloping cowbird . ometimes 

 falls out before he is able to fly and meets 

 his death by a tumble before he is pre- 

 pared to leave the nest. 



One summer I was watching a hawk's 

 nest and was always greeted by the angry 

 cries of the redeyed vireos, who' never 

 ceased to scold at me and the hawk, 

 and so upset a nervous, but well meaning 

 at least, flycatcher that it, too, joined in 

 the abuse. Sometimes when the hawk 

 flew away the vireos would follow him 

 for quite a distance through the trees, 

 scolding in the most dismal manner and 

 showing little fear of the great, fierce 

 creature, who they seemed to know 

 could not catch them among the thick 

 branches of the trees. But one day I 

 was amazed to see a redeyed vireo actu- 

 ally on the lower part of the hawk's nest. 

 To be sure the hawk was absent, but he 

 had a swift and silent way of returning 

 that made it seem a rather dangerous 

 bit of bravado. The redeye often has 

 a most uncomfortable habit not only of 

 quarreling with any neighbor that will 

 quarrel but also of squabbling with each 

 other even during the time that they are 

 engaged in caring for the young. One 

 summer a pair of them, having a nest 

 in a tree near the house, were so quar- 



relsome and kept up such a persistent 

 clatter that they became really tiresome. 

 It must be admitted, however, that in 

 this particular case they had cause for 

 being irritable, for they were trying to 

 bring up a cowbunting besides their own 

 family, and perhaps each thought the 

 other was to blame for the misfortune. 

 Indeed it took little imagination to think 

 that their perpetual squabbles were 

 caused by mutual "recriminations in re- 

 gard to their voracious foster nestling. 

 Poor vireos ! They fought with each 

 other and everyone else, but particularly 

 with a phoebe which had a nest near by, 

 and was also' tired and fretful from over- 

 work and perhaps fond of a row him- 

 self, for he had an aggravating habit of 

 coming into a little tree just below the 

 vireos' nest and twitching his tail in the 

 rather inane manner peculiar to phoebes, 

 and that was all that was needed to throw 

 the vireos into a perfect fume, and they 

 responded instantly, flying at him wrath- 

 fully and were promptly met by a kindred 

 spirit. It was a most unreasonable busi- 

 ness, as neither wanted anything that 

 the other had, and seemed to prove that 

 all they needed was an excuse to show 

 their ill temper. These same vireos had 

 a very real cause for rage and fear in 

 the presence of the red squirrels, and 

 they never failed to pursue and scold 

 one the moment it appeared. Their whole 

 life seemed so uncomfortable and their 

 perpetual fussing was so wearisome that 

 it was difliicult to feel proper sympathy 

 for them when their affairs ended trag- 

 ically. But they were most devoted 

 parents, and as such must have credit, 

 though their domestic arrangements 

 seemed squalidly inharmonious and were 

 so pronounced that no one living in the 

 vicinity could help knowing all about 

 them. 



Thistle birds, like the vireos, are very 

 apt to appear in response to any call of 

 alarm or annoyance from their neighbors, 

 but their interest seems to have a sweet 

 and kindly spirit, very different to the 

 acidulated attitude of the redeyed vireo. 

 In truth the most marked characteristic 

 of these little beauties is a peculiar love- 

 ableness and their gentle cheeriness 

 makes them ideal companions. They 

 have a delightful habit of appearing in 



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