OF NEW ENGLAND. 157 
hunger, and they are certainly diligent in the care of their 
young. They are very affectionate toward one another, and 
are fond of returning to the same spot year after year. It is 
pleasant to observe this attachment to their summer-homes, 
and to know where to welcome them as old friends, when they 
return in the spring. 
(ad). Their song consists of a few notes, which are warbled 
again and again with little intermission or variety (and which 
are sometimes interrupted now and then by a low whistle). 
This music would be monotonous, were it not for its wonderful 
cheerfulness, energy, and animation, in these qualities resem- 
bling the Robin’s song. The ‘‘Red-eyes” have also a chip, a 
chatter like a miniature of the Oriole’s scold (and to be heard 
in the season of courtship), and a peculiarly characteristic 
querulous note, which, like others, cannot be described accur- 
ately, whence the advantage of studying birds through nature, 
- and not through books. 
The Red-eyed Vireos are deservedly popular on account of 
their cheerful disposition, and enlivening song, which is kept 
up (less steadily, however, in the latter part of the season) 
from the time of their arrival until they leave us for the South, 
when the autumnal frosts become too severe, and the weather 
too cold, to admit of a sufficiency of the insect-food upon 
which they depend. 
(D) aitvus. Warbling Vireo. 
(A common summer-resident in Massachusetts, but very 
much less abundant than the ‘‘ Red-eye.”) 
(a). About five inches long. Above, a dull olive-green, 
which approaches mouse-color. Crown, ashy-tinged. Rump, 
brighter ; wings darker and browner; and sides of the head 
paler. Superciliary line, dull white. Under parts, white —dis- 
tinctly shaded on the sides (but feebly on the breast) with the 
color of the back, or light olive-green. 
(b). The nest is usually placed at a considerable height 
above the ground (from twenty to sixty feet), and rarely else- 
‘where than in an elm, poplar, or button-wood tree. It is 
