The Solitary Vireos 
commentary on life, very pleasant to the ear ,—Wee ee-tsiweeoo-tsoo psooi- 
petewer-ptir-sewtrs-piti-wee-sueee-pisooor. But our schoolboy does not fully 
express himself in music so staid and delicate. He has at command a rasp¬ 
ing, nerve-grating war-cry, possibly intended by Nature as a defense against 
cats, but also used, on occasion, when the bird is in particularly line spirits. 
The note in question, which I call the nutmeg-grater note, may perhaps 
be more fitly likened to 
the violent shaking of a 
pepper box,—a rattling, 
rubbing, shaking note, 
of three or more vibra¬ 
tions, ending in a little 
vocal flourish. 
This startling vocal¬ 
ization proves to be the 
master call of the woods. 
When it is sounded, 
other birds leave their 
nests and hasten to the 
scene of conflict. At a 
time when a Cassin 
Vireo’s nest was threat¬ 
ened, I have seen Black- 
throated Gray, Hermit 
and Lutescent Warb¬ 
lers, Creepers, Western 
Flycatchers, Pine Sis¬ 
kins, Juncoes, and Western Winter Wrens among those present. The 
parent birds resent all such intrusion upon their privacy, and they 
divide their time between scolding and driving fiercely at the invading 
neighbors. At such a time, also, I have seen the female keep up an 
incessant delivery of the nutmeg-grater notes, in spite of a beakful 
of worms. The male’s most characteristic utterance on this occasion 
was a low, buzzing, or purring sound, having not above one-fourth 
the volume of his mate’s cry. For the rest, he gave a thin, interrogatory 
squeak,—a roguish sound, obviously not intended as humor—and out¬ 
bursts of song. Curiously enough, the bird sang during his most pas¬ 
sionate anxiety; and although he broke off now and again to dash at 
my head, the notes themselves could express naught but pure serenity. 
These Vireos swing a bulky basket from the lower or middle heights 
of oak trees, fir trees, alders, or saplings of various sorts. Usually 
no dependence is placed in cover, save that the ornamented nest cor- 
Taken in Washington 
Photo by Bowles and Dawson 
A DECORATED NEST 
573 
