Ornithological Reminiscences. 
Probably every naturalist has experienced to 
some extent the wonderful effect which the 
songs of certain birds have on the mind of the 
hearer. Thus a certain note of the songster 
now under consideration— “ cheep-chu-twenty” 
— the last syllable delivered with a peculiar 
slide, has a most pleasing and enlivening effect 
on my mind. If I am dull it brightens me up, 
if 1 feel a little lazy, it tells me to get up and go 
to work, and every time l hear it, a streak of 
mirth comes over me, and i feel like repeating 
it after him, to let him know I hear and ap- 
preciate his effort. 
Besides his own unique and pleasing powers 
of song, this Vireo is a most wonderful mimic. 
Several times have I been deceived by him, 
thinking a certain tree contained several 
different members of the feathered tribe, all 
delivering their notes or songs at once, but I 
failed to discover anything but a little White- 
eyed Vireo. In one instance, I distinguished 
in this rapidly uttered medley the notes of 
seven of his associates. The “ meow” of the 
Catbird, the chatter of the Wren, the Golden 
Woodpecker’s “ cheo-ah,” the “pib-pib” of the 
Eobin, the (too familiar) “chirp” of the 
English Sparrow, the “ pip” of the Song 
Sparrow, and the “ cu-cu” of the Wood Thrush, 
were all present and quite distinctly uttered. 
+ HR. Oju. J*. 1 7 < 7 - 
ABTHUK H. HOWELL. 
Mr. Langille has truthfully said, “ To the 
student of nature, the identification of even the 
most established facts is ever a fresh surprise. 
No matter how fully Wilson, Audubon, or the 
more recent ornithologists may have reported 
our birds, my acquaintance with each species 
has been almost as delightful a novelty as if 1 
had been the first to discover and describe it.” 
Though as yet only a young ornithologist, 1 
have spent many a pleasant hour with “ our 
birds in their haunts,” and a few reminiscences 
of my acquaintance with some of them may be 
of interest. 
One which has puzzled me some, interested 
me exceedingly, and now that f know his 
character, has become one of my favorites, is 
the White-eyed Vireo. Jumping about in a 
swamp near Cauarsie, L. I., in 1887, we were 
finding Yellow Warbler’s nests in profusion. 
My companion noticed (as we supposed) one 
near the (ground and pensile, but which, on 
looking in for him, 1 found was no Warbler's 
nest at all, for it contained one pure white egg, 
spotted sparingly with black. 
The owner soon appeared, scolding vehement- 
ly, but having no gun, we failed to identify it. 
Visiting the spot a few days later, (May 25) my 
friend took the nest with a set of four eggs, and 
obtained a better view of the bird, but not 
being acquainted with the species, we were in 
doubt as to its identity. Of course we knew it 
was a Vireo and were inclined to label it as the 
Blue-headed (V. solitarlus). 
In the summer of the same year, at Lak< 
Grove, in the middle of the Island, I found tin 
species (known by its song and general appear, 
anee) to be abundant and very familiar, leaving 
the swamps and thickets, and coming even inti 
the door yard to deliver his song. I shot one 
which had the markings of the White-eyed, but 
a slate-colored iris. This puzzled me still more, 
and it was not until this spring (1888) when I 
shot a typical White-eye and found a nest which 
I identified fully, that I concluded that the 
species was Vireo nov eboraqq p.sis. 
The nests were almost precisely alike in 
structure and poition, except that one was in 
a swamp and the other on high ground — in a 
eatbrier hedge along the side of a public road, 
hung pensile, three feet from the ground, 
woven on to a horizontal fork of a small twig, 
they are made of shreds of bark and a few very 
fine straws, held together in the former case by 
red and white down (from the swamp) and in 
the latter case by green moss and spider’s nests. 
Each was lined with a few horsehairs. The 
shreds of bark, which hang loosely on the out- 
side, give them a whitish and rough appear- 
ance, quite different from the compact, reddish- 
colored nest of the Bed-eye. 
But that which pre-eminently distinguishes 
this species, is its song, so wholly different from 
that of any of the rest of its family, that one 
would never suspect the relationship. 
It is usually translated as chick-a-re’r-chick,” 
but is subject to much variation. I should 
; write it, “ ch-baa’-ch-re-chick,” and I have 
heard it with three notes added, like “ ehu-chu- 
chu,” in a so much lower and different tone 
that I could hardly believe it came from the 
same bird, only it followed the song instantly — • 
in the same breath. 
Bird Notes of Northern Ne-w Jersey 
Henry Hales. ¥ ' 
Bird Notes of Northern New Jersey. 
I have never noticed any record of birds 
singing on their nests. One of our best Held 
ornithologists, and a great observer- of nature, i 
says no birds sing on their nests. Throe years 
ago I heard the sweet song of the White-eyed 
A irey. It often proceeded from one tree that 
I frequently peeped under. As it sounded 
from one particular spot X stopped several 
times to discover the vocalist. I was rewarded 
by seeing its nest about thirteen feet from the 
ground, on an outer branch of the maple, well 
concealed by loaves. It happened that the 
nest was just below an upper window of a 
barn; by taking a place by the window I could 
see plainly into the nest. I took the position 
at the window several days, an hour at a time. 
1 saw the male Vireo singing the entire time 
he was on the nest with his full song. 
Another singular trait I noticed was the rest- 
lessness of the pair; for they changed posi- 
tion at the incubating duties every fifteen or 
twenty minutes, the male singing- almost 
continuously, whether on or off the nest. 1 
watched them feed their young, and only took 
their nest alter the family had moved out. 
0.& O. Vol. 17, Mar. 1892 p; 38 
