is hidden from view by the foliaj^e. 

 Then, too, it does not attract attention 

 for its dress is not at all conspicuous. 

 Though trees are its habitat, it is only 

 very rarely seen in our deeper forests. 

 The pensile nests of the Warbling 

 Vireos are generally constructed in 

 tall trees where they are suspended 

 from forked twigs near the extremities 

 of the branches. While they are usual- 

 ly built at an elevation of from thirty 

 to fifty feet above the ground, they 

 are not infrequently located much 

 lower. The eminent ornithologist Au- 

 dubon has given us a most interesting- 

 account of the building of a nest by 

 a pair of these Vireos. It was con- 

 structed in a poplar tree, near his win- 

 dow, in Camden, New Jersey. He 

 says : "One morning I observed both 

 of them at work: They had already 

 attached some slender blades of grass 

 to the knots of the branch and the 

 bark of the trunk, and had given them 

 a circular disposition. They continued 

 working downward and outward until 

 the structure exhibited the form of 

 their delicate tenement. Before the 

 end of the second day, bits of hornet's 

 nests and particles of-corn husks had 

 been attached to it by pushing them 

 between the rows of grass, and fixing 

 them with silky substances. On the 

 third day the birds were absent. * * 

 * On the fourth morning, however, 

 their notes attracted my attention be- 

 fore I arose; and I had the pleasure 

 of finding them at their labors. The 

 materials which they now used con- 

 sisted chiefly of extremely slender 

 grasses, which the birds worked in a 

 circular form, within the frame which 

 they had previously made. The little 

 creatures were absent nearly an hour 

 at a time, and returned together, bring- 

 ing the grass, which I concluded they 



found at a considerabk distance." That 

 the Vireos are particular about the 

 materials they use in the construction 

 of their nests is well illustrated by 

 the fact that Mr. Audubon followed 

 the birds and was slowly led out of the 

 village to a meadow where they ob- 

 tained the dried grass they had se- 

 lected from a hay stack. 'Two other 

 days were consumed in traveling for 

 the same kind of grass. On the sev- 

 enth, I saw only the female at work, 

 using wood and horsehair: the eighth 

 was almost entirely spent by both in 

 smoothing the inside. They would en- 

 ter the nest, sit in it, turn around, and 

 press the lining." During the following 

 five days one egg was laid each day. 



The nests of these Vireos though 

 they resemble those of the other spe- 

 cies of the genus are nevertheless more 

 carefully and compactly built. They 

 are pretty and cozy ^'r-ictures and 

 usually so placed that they are pro- 

 tected by a leafy canopy from storms 

 and the sun. They are not easily seen 

 or reached by their enemies. The 

 Warbling Vireos are excellent parents 

 and both the male and female cheer- 

 fully assist in the duties of incubation. 

 The male possesses such a happy dis- 

 position that it is said to even sing, 

 at times, while sitting upon 'the eggs. 

 They show no fear while defending 

 their home and young; and after their 

 young have appeared, their sharp, 

 scolding notes seem to replace for 

 awhile their happy warbling notes. In 

 fact they are so watchful of their 

 homes and so anxious regarding their 

 young that they seemingly, scold when 

 there is no apparent reason for their 

 harsh notes of anjer. After the male 

 is relieved of family cares his sweet 

 song is again heard and the scolding 

 notes disappear. 



125 



