2 28 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



cerned the utility which a nest composed of such 

 materials would secure in a conservative point of 

 view? ' It is true our smaller species have invet- 

 erate foes which are ever on the qui 'vive to gratify 

 their rapacity, and it behooves them to encircle 

 themselves with such guards as best conduce to 

 their preservation. ' Birds of prey having been 

 frequently deceived by masses of the kind, which 

 they at first probably regarded as nests, would 

 cease to regard them in such a light and pass 

 them by. It therefore follows as a logical 

 sequence, that the utilization of such substances 

 in the manner of nests, from their fancied resem- 

 blance to loose clusters of catkins, are best 

 adapted to the security- and well-being of the 

 species, and now constitute in certain localities the 

 typical structure. 



Its song differs from that of any other Vireo. 

 It is a protracted and peculiar ditty which is heard 

 at irregular intervals^ and begins with an animated 

 warble, which gradually increases in sound until 

 a certain pitch is attaine'd, when it breaks down to 

 a falsetto note, then rises again, and ultimately 

 ceases. 



The eggs are five in number, oblong-oval, and 

 slightly pointed at one end; the ground-color is- a 

 transparent white, flesh-colored in unblown speci- 

 mens, and chiefly marked with reddish-brown 

 spots about the larger end. They, measure .']'] 

 inches in length and .52 in breadth. 



