600 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Subgenus Vireo 
STEPHENS VIREO: Vireo huttoni stephensi Brewster 
Description. — Length: 4.9-5.2 inches, wing 2.5-2.6, tail 2.1-2.2, bill from 
nostril .2-.3, tarsus 1. Adults: Upperparts dull olive-gray becoming dull olive-green 
on rump; wings and tail dusky brownish gray with grayish and yellowish edgings; 
wings with two white bars; broad orbital ring and streak over lores , yellowish white; 
underparts dull yellowish white , shaded anteriorly with buffy. 1 oung: Similar, but 
grayer above, and paler below. 
Range. —In summer, mountains of southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico 
and western Texas south to Tamaulipas and Durango; in winter south to southern 
Mexico. 
State Records. —The type specimen of the Stephens Vireo was secured in the 
Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona close to the New Mexico boundary on March 14, 
1881, and the statement is also made that eggs of this subspecies had been taken in 
1876 at Fort Bayard (Stephens, in Brewster, 1882, p. 143). If this statement is 
correct, then either its occurrence there was accidental or it is an exceedingly rare 
inhabitant of that district, for there is probably no other place in New Mexico the 
bird life of which has been so thoroughly studied and by so many different collectors 
as the region around Silver City, and no one has found this form of vireo there since 
Stephens visited the place in 1876. During the summer of 1908, July 30-August 6, 
it was found in the Animas Mountains from 5,800 feet on Indian Creek to 8,100 feet 
near the top of Animas Peak (Goldman).—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —(One, described by F. C. Willard.) About 12 feet from the ground, 
hung in oak brush; yellowish,“composed of a framework of fine grass holding together 
a thick mat of oak down almost as compact as felt. The prongs of the fork are 
entirely covered with the down held on by cobwebs. There is a scanty lining of 
fine grass tops” (the seed removed). Eggs: 4, white, spotted with brown. 
General Habits. —Mr. Willard, who has photographed the beau¬ 
tiful nest of the Stephens Vireo in the Huachuca Mountains, says 
that, in speaking of the bird, “the first thought is always of its song, if 
it can be dignified by such a name. It is like the mewing of a very 
small and lonely kitten repeated with even more energy, frequency 
and persistence. At times the ‘me-ow’ is made more heart-rending, 
like a kitten in distress, the interval being slightly longer but the 
‘me-ow’ more drawn out and fuller in volume. The male will keep this 
up for minutes at a time, never pausing for breath. One was so per¬ 
sistent I timed him. This series lasted thirteen and one-half minutes 
at the rate of one every second. This seems incredible, but was actually 
timed by a watch. He sat still on the top of a madrone tree most 
of the time. The cadence scarcely varied at all. Twice he hopped to 
another perch, but did not let the movement interrupt his song. The 
female does not have the same note, but is restricted to the usual 
scolding note of the vireos and a peculiar chirp which I am unable to 
describe and which she shares in common with the male. This last 
note was heard only around the nest or when feeding the young” 
(1908, p. 232). 
