Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 147 



245. Vireo griseus (Bodd.) White-eyed Vireo. 



This species is the most abundant of all the vireos that inhabit 

 the coast districts, and as it winters in small numbers it is a per- 

 manent resident. The birds which winter are not, I think, the 

 ones that breed, but migrants which have bred to the northward, 

 for they are always silent in the winter months. The White- 

 eyed Vireo inhabits high land where there are thickets of bushes 

 and vines, as well as the interior of the densest swamps; in fact 

 it is common everywhere in wooded land. It subsists upon the 

 berries of the tallow tree (Stillingia sebifera L.) as long as they 

 are to be obtained in the winter. The song period commences 

 about March 4, and continues until late in July. 



The nest is built in the fork of a low bush or small tree, generally 

 from two to eight feet from the ground, and is constructed of 

 bits of decayed wood, grasses, caterpillar silk, and a few lichens. 

 It is firmly attached to the limb by caterpillar silk and I have 

 known nests to remain where they were built for more than a year. 

 Although I have found nests containing eggs as early as April 11, 

 the majority do not have full complements of eggs before the 24th 

 of the month. The eggs, which are generally four in number, 

 are white, finely speckled with brown, and measure .75X-55. 

 Two and perhaps three broods are raised, both sexes assisting 

 in building the nests, and in incubating. 



The White-eyed Vireo winters from South Carolina to Central 

 America. 



FAMILY MNIOTILTID,E: WOOD WARBLERS. 



246. Mniotilta varia (Linn.). Black and White Warbler. 



Audubon 1 quotes Dr. Bachman as saying that this bird "ar- 

 rives in South Carolina early in April, remains until about the 

 10th of May, and has been seen on its return as early as the 1st 

 of September." 



I have seen this species near Charleston as early as the middle 

 of March; the exact date I cannot state as the record has been 

 misplaced. It generally arrives, however, towards the last of 

 March, the 27th and 28th being about the normal dates, and it 

 remains until the 15th of May. On its return migration the bird 

 has been observed in numbers as early as July 8, and it remains 



1 Birds of America, II, 106. 



