WHITE-EYED VIREO. 303 
abundant in the Carolinian than elsewhere.” In Wisconsin it is very rare. In the West 
it is occasionally found to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. Its winter home 
extends from Florida and Texas southward. 
I have nowhere found this bird in such large numbers as in south-eastern Texas, 
west to Austin. Near Houston it appeared not more numerous than Bell’s Vireo, but 
along the West Yegua, in Lee County, it was more numerous than all the other Vireos 
together, in fact, it was one of the most abundant birds. Being very unevenly 
distributed, it is numerous in one locality, and scarcely or not at all to be found in 
another, to all appearance equally eligible. In its haunts this bird is easily found. Unlike 
almost all the Vireos, described in the preceding pages, this species prefers the low 
shrubbery and tangled thickets. In such places on the outer branches often hang the 
well concealed, purse-shaped nests two to four feet above the ground. The bird is easily 
detected by its peculiar call-note sounding like chickty-beaver, which is heard almost 
all day long and from all sides, when the pair is breeding. According to Mr. Robert 
Ridgway, who studied the habits of this bird in southern Illinois, ‘‘the White-eyed Vireo 
—popularly known usually as the ‘Little Green Hanging-bird,’ or ‘Chickty-beaver,’ is an 
abundant species in suitable localities, which comprise hazel thickets, blackberry patches, 
bushy swamps, etc., where its presence is made known by its vociferous notes, which in 
loudness. appear out of all proportion to the size of the little creature which produces 
them. These notes are remarkable for their oddity as well as for their strength. In 
Bermuda they are interpreted as ginger-beer,-quick, while in Illinois the writer has 
heard them translated by boys into chickty-beaver,-lim'ber, stick, with emphasis on 
the first syllable of each word.” 
The haunts of this Vireo are vociferously enlivened not only by this bird, but also 
by its many neighbors, all of whom live in these thickets in remarkable peace, showing 
even a kind of interest in each other. If a Catbird utters its mewing note, numbers of its 
feathered neighbors congregate at once, apparently asking for the cause. If a pair of 
White-eyed Vireos have their nest near by, they will surely attend such a meeting. “Like 
the Wrens and Titmice—like various birds, in fa¢t, which live habitually in shrubbery, 
where they have to peer and pry about to see well—these Vireos show a good deal of 
curiosity and inquisitiveness when anything is going on that they do not quite under- 
stand; and if we take care not to frighten them into a flutter of excitement, they 
frequently come almost within arms’ reach by slow and devious approaches, poising 
curiously on one twig after another, and soliloquizing the while in their quaint fashion. 
Their uneasiness, however, is chiefly exhibited during the breeding season, and all their 
vehemence is but the excess of their concern for their little families, which, as they seem 
to be aware, are peculiarly exposed to danger in their lowly homes; their ardor exhausts 
itself when the occasion is past, and what had been excessive solicitude gives way to 
the simple sprightliness and vivacity, which then appears as an agreeable trait. In the 
spring time they rival their relatives in brilliancy and versatility of song, which must 
be heard to be appreciated; it is a curious medley, delivered with great earnestness and 
almost endless variations, scarcely to be described in words, though several authors 
have made the attempt.” (Dr. Elliott Coues.) 
The borders of thickets more than their deeper mazes are the favorite dwelling 
