Song Birds and Water Fowl 



An interesting incident of the morning was a 

 long and intimate study of a species hitherto 

 quite unknown to me — the white-eyed vireo. It 

 is not often that one can come close enough to 

 a bird to see the whites of his eyes, even if he 

 has any whites, which commonly he has not ; 

 but this creature was apparently quite as curious 

 to study me, as I was to study him, and he 

 curtsied around me so closely that I can aver 

 he is well named the "white-eyed." This is 

 perhaps the handsomest of all the vireos (of 

 which there are six hereabouts), bright olive- 

 green above, almost golden on the crown, 

 white on the breast, and yellow on the sides. 

 But his chief claim to admiration is his unique 

 and voluble song, a sort of vocal jumping-jack, 

 uttered with a peculiar dash, which I am at a loss 

 how to describe, for it is a musical ejaculation 

 that is really indescribable — ^so rich, piquant, 

 and spasmodically humorous, that the snappy 

 little creature brought me to his feet — figura- 

 tively speaking — on the spot. And to think 

 that, until recently, scientists have grouped this 

 handsome, innocent, melodious, and jovial 

 spirit, with that harsh-voiced, gloomy-coated, 

 sullen-hearted bandit, the butcher-bird ! and 

 all because, forsooth, there happened to be 



