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6 
NOTES ON THE NESTING HABITS OF THE YEL- 
LOW-THROATED VIREO ( LANIVIREO FLAV- 
I FRO NS). 
BY N. S. GOSS. 
Ok the 9th of May, 1877, ^ found In the timber near Neosho 
Falls, Kansas, a nest of this bird (a pendant one, as are all the 
Vireos’ nests I have found) attached to branches of a very small 
horizontal limb of a large hickory tree, about twenty feet from 
the ground, and ten feet below the limbs that formed the top of 
the tree. In the forks of the tree the Cooper’s Hawks were 
nesting, and I discovered the Vireo and its nest in watching the 
Hawks — or rather the man T had hired to climb the tree to the 
Hawk’s nest. The little bird at first flew off, but on his near 
approach returned and suffered him to bend the limb towards the 
tree and cover her with his hand on the nest. The twig was 
quickly broken and the bird and nest lowered by a line, in a 
small covered basket taken to collect the eggs of the Hawk. 
Such manifestations of courage and love, so rare and exceptional, 
touched me to the heart, and it was hard to make up my mind to 
rob and kill the bird and her mate, scolding in the tree-top. I 
can only offer in extenuation that they were the first I had met 
with in this State, and the strong desire to have them in my col- 
lection. The nest was made of, and fastened to the limb with, 
silk-like threads and bits of cotton from plants, fastened together 
by saliva and partially covered or dotted over with lichen, and 
lined with small stems of weeds and grass. The beautiful nest 
was in plain sight, therfe being nothing near to hide it from view. 
It contained three eggs and also one of the Cow Blackbird 
{Molothus ater). One of the eggs was broken by the bird in her 
struggle to escape from the collector’s grasp while in the nest. 
The color of the eggs was pure white, with a few scattering, small 
spots of reddish-brown towards the large end. They each mea- 
sure .79 X .58 "of an inch. Four taken from another nest (a full 
set) measure .78 X .57 ; -So X -58 ; .79 X .5S ; .78 X - 57 - 
I have since noticed these birds in the woodlands on several 
occasions, and on the iSth of May, 1883, while strolling along 
the south bank of the Kansas River, near Topeka, in the timber 
skirting the stream, I had the pleasure to find a pair of them 
building a nest in a honey locust, about sixteen feet from the 
ground, and eight feet from the body of the tree. The nest was 
fastened to the forks of a small horizontal branch. The frame 
of the nest appeared to be completed. The birds were busy at 
work, the female lining the nest with small hair-like stems, the 
male covering the outside with soft lint-like fibrous strips from 
plants (these closely resembling the limb and its surroundings), 
and dotting it over with lichen. Happy in the thought that he 
was not only beautifying the home of his lady bird, but protec- 
ting her from view by his artistic skill (notwithstanding the fact 
that she had selected an open and exposed position), he could 
not refrain from expressing his joy at intervals during the work 
in snatcnes of his sweetest notes. The female, more watchful, 
sighted me and gave notice of the intrusion. Quick as thought 
the birds were away. The male, alighting near the top of an 
adjoining tree, at once poured forth his song in loudest notes, no 
doubt thinking that by attracting my attention to him I would 
lose sight of the nest. Knowing it was now too late for 
concealment, and that any attempt to hide away would only 
increase their suspicions and stop or delay the work, I carelessly 
walked nearer, in order to have a better view, and lay down on 
my back in an open space. In a short time the female returned, 
hopped about in the tree, inspected me closely from the lower 
limbs, and then flew away and returned several times before 
bringing material or venturing to approach the nest. But the 
moment she did so, the song of the male ceased and the work of 
