The Western Warbling Vireo 
Taken in the Yosemite 
Photo by the Author 
“WILL LINE UP OBEDIENTLY ON A STICK” 
It is not an abundant bird, therefore, in California, although equally 
distributed, whether in the willows and cottonweeds which gather about 
some lonesome spring in the cattle country, or among the crowded alders 
and maples of the turbid McCloud. Moreover, the bird is not so fre¬ 
quently found about parks and shade trees as in the East, although it 
looks with strong favor upon the advent of orchards. And the orchardist 
may welcome him with open arms, for there is not among all his tenants 
a more indefatigable gleaner of bugs and worms. 
Because he is clad in Quaker gray there is little need for the Vireo 
to show himself as he sings, and he remains for the most part concealed in 
the dense foliage, a vocal embodiment of the living green. Unlike the dis¬ 
connected fragments which the Cassin furnishes, the song of this bird is 
gushing and continuous, a rapid excursion over pleasant hills and valleys. 
Continuous, that is, unless the bright-eyed singer happens to spy a worm 
in medias res, in which event the song is instantly suspended, to be resumed 
a moment later when the wriggling tid-bit has been dispatched. The 
notes are flute-like, tender, and melodious, having, as Chapman says, “a 
singular alto undertone.” All hours of the day are recognized as appro¬ 
priate to melody, and the song period lasts from the time of the bird’s 
arrival, early in May, until its departure in September, with only a brief 
hiatus in July. 
In sharp contrast with the beautiful canzonettes which the bird 
showers down from the treetops, come the harsh, wren-like scolding notes, 
which it often delivers when searching through the bushes, and especially 
if it comes across a lurking cat. 
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