THE RED-EYED VIREO. 157 



seldom seen them feeding on berries of any kind, although in Louisiana I 

 have observed them pecking at ripe figs. 



The nest of the Red-eyed Vireo is small, and extremely neat. It is gene- 

 rally suspended, at a moderate height, from the slender twigs forming the 

 fork at the end of a branch. I have found some situated so low that I could 

 easily look into them, while others were hung thirty feet over head. Dog- 

 wood trees seem to be preferred by them, although I have found the nests on 

 oaks, beeches, and sugar-maples, as well as on tall grasses. The male bird 

 frequently leads you to the discovery of the nest, by its great anxiety about 

 the safety of its mate. The outer parts are firmly attached to the twigs, the 

 fibres being warped around them in various directions. The materials are 

 usually the bark of the grape-vine, the silk of large cocoons, some lichens, 

 particles of hornets' or wasps' nests, and decayed worm-eaten leaves. The 

 lining, which is beautifully disposed, consists of fibrous roots, grasses, and 

 now and then the hair of various quadrupeds, especially the grey squirrel 

 and racoon. The nest, however, differs greatly in different latitudes; for, in 

 the Middle States, they often use the leaves of the pine, cedar, and hemlock, 

 which they glue together apparently with their saliva. The eggs are from 

 four to six, pure white, sparingly spotted at the larger end with reddish- 

 brown or blackish dots. They are laid in Pennsylvania about the first of 

 June, and later in more northern parts. 



The eyes of the young are of an umber colour, and do not become red 

 until the following spring. Those of some shot in the Floridas in January, 

 had not changed their colour. In February I shot two, each of which had 

 a red and a brown eye. 



This bird, as well as the White-eyed Vireo, is often called to nurse the 

 young of the Cow-bird, which deposits its egg in the nests of either species, 

 assured that it will be properly treated. No difference exists in the plumage, 

 or even size of the sexes. 



It appears that an individual of this species was procured at Cumberland 

 House, lat. 54° N., and a description of it is given in the Fauna Boreali- 

 Americana, but without a single word as to its times of appearance and 

 departure. My friend Dr. Thomas M. Brewer has sent me the following 

 curious notice respecting this species. "There is connected with the egg of 

 this bird which I sent you, a fact of some interest, both as displaying its kind 

 nature, and as establishing a fact in natural history. Mr. Ord says, in his paper 

 in Loudon's Magazine, that 'it is probable, that if the Cow-bird deposits her 

 egg in a nest wherein the owner has not yet begun to lay, the nest is either 

 abandoned forthwith, or the egg of the intruder is buried by the addition of 

 fresh materials, so that it becomes abortive!' Let us see if this be so. On 

 the 10th of June, 1836, I found the nest of the Red-eyed Vireo nearly 



