THE WARBLING VIREO. 



( Vireo gilvus. ) 



Sweet little prattler, whom the morning sun 

 Found singing, and the livelong summer day 

 Keeps warbling still : here have I dreamed away 



Two bright and happy hours, that passed like one. 



Lulled by thy silvery converse, just begun 

 And never ended. 



— Archibald Lampman, "To the Warbling Vireo." 



Of the vireos Mr. Silloway has 

 well said that they, 'like the various 

 members of the flycatcher group, are 

 frequently confused by the general 

 observer, and hence they are not so 

 well known as their charming manners 

 and pleasing characteristics merit." The 

 Warbling Vireo is not only a beautiful 

 and interesting bird but it is also a 

 most useful one. It should be better 

 known than it is, for its economic 

 value cannot be overestimated. It is 

 exceedingly industrious in its search 

 after its insect food and is most per- 

 sistent and painstaking in its exam- 

 ination of the leaves and branches of 

 trees in search of the insect foes of 

 the foliage. In the Northern part of 

 its range it begins its work early in 

 the season, soon after the buds have 

 opened and before the fruit-trees of 

 our orchards have burst into blossom. 

 Its valuable work is continued until 

 about the time in the fall when the 

 foliage loses its value as a provider of 

 insect food. Its most useful service, 

 however, is its hab'it of examining the 

 young buds and branches for the larvae 

 which are so destructive to these ten- 

 der growths. Fortunately the range of 

 this little bird is an extensive one. It 

 covers North America from the Fur 

 Countries to Oaxaca, ]\texico, and it 

 breeds quite throughout its range. It 

 winters in the southern portion of the 

 United States and southward. 



There are few birds whose song is 

 more expressive and, to many persons, 

 sweeter than that of the XVarbling 

 Vireo. Its song is a rather prolonged 

 and continuous warble which has been 

 described by Mr. Chapman as posses- 

 sing a "singular alto undertone." It 



is a firm, rich and beautifully undulat- 

 ing melody. This Vireo does not need 

 to perch as it sings but, rather, de- 

 livers its touching notes while flitting 

 about in the foliage of trees in search 

 of its food. It is at such times that 

 its notes seern the sweetest. It sings 

 from early dawn until evening, and 

 during the heat of noontime, when 

 nearly all of our bird songsters are 

 silent. Excepting perhaps a short pe- 

 riod in July, its happy nature leads 

 it to sing from the time of its spring 

 arrival in the North until it departs 

 for its winter home in the South about 

 the first of October. Dr. Brewer has 

 spoken of the Warbling Vireo in the 

 following words : "This Vireo, more 

 than any other of its genus, if not ex- 

 clusively, is to a large extent a resident 

 of villages, towns, and even cities. 

 It is by far the sweetest singer that 

 ventures within their crowded streets 

 and public squares, and the melody of 

 its song is exquisitely soft and beauti- 

 ful. It is chiefly to be found among 

 the tall trees, in the vicinity of dwel- 

 lings, where it seems to delight to 

 stay, and from their highest tops to 

 suspend its pensile nest. It is espe- 

 cially 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 sum- 

 mer has gone, may be heard the pro- 

 longed notes of this, one of the sweet- 

 est and most constant of our singers." 

 Dr. Brewer also speaks of its melody 

 as being flute-like. Its song is perhaps 

 the best means of noting its presence, 

 for it is more often heard than seen as 

 it spends luost of its time among the 

 upper branches of the trees where it 



