SONG BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 2038 
lice and their eggs, house flies and other diptera, and a very 
few hymenopterous flies. I can only add to this the fact 
that I have seen this species feeding on the woolly apple tree 
aphis (Schizoneura lanigera) in late October and early No- 
vember, after all the birch plant lice, of which these birds 
are very fond, had disappeared. This apple tree aphis is a 
particularly destructive species, which has done great injury 
in the past. Young trees are frequently injured by these 
aphids, which also attack the roots and the new growth 
on older trees. As spring approaches, the Myrtle Warbler 
feeds less on berries and seed, but eagerly hunts the early 
flies, moths, and gnats that appear on warm days in sheltered 
swamps and along water courses. It now becomes of great 
service to orchard and woodland, for large flights of these 
birds move slowly northward through the State, feeding 
very largely on the tree pests that develop with the open- 
ing foliage. 
VIREOS. 
The Vireos all normally seek orchard, woodland, or swampy 
thicket. The three species, however, that breed commonly 
in the greater part of Massachusetts, have all learned to nest 
about the habitations of man. They perform an economic 
service similar to that rendered by the Warblers, except that 
during summer they feed to a greater extent upon wild fruits. 
They live mainly among the foliage, and in action much re- 
semble Warblers, except that, being heavier in build, their 
motions are usually more deliberate. The Solitary Vireo 
and the White-eyed Vireo breed here, but only uncommonly 
or locally. The latter is common in some places near the 
coast, but I have found it in only a few favored localities in 
the interior. The Solitary Vireo is regarded as rare in the 
breeding season, but it probably breeds in nearly all the 
counties in most seasons. It may be present in a certain 
piece of woods during one breeding season and absent the 
next, and is sometimes fairly common in considerable areas 
in some counties. . 
