VIREOS 
On long summer days when most birds are silent, the red-eyed vireo 
keeps up an incessant song. This common bird is also known as “the 
preacher,” because of its method of delivery. It seems first to make a point 
in a few words and then to pause for the audience to reflect. One writer 
describes “the preacher” as repeating, with pauses between sentences: “You 
see it—you know it—you hear me—do you believe it?” Each phrase is 
ended with a rising inflection. 
The vireo lives on insects, which it laboriously digs from crevices 
in the bark of trees or picks from the undersurface of the leaves. It often 
sings as it works; sometimes it utters a plaintive, nasal note, sounding 
like whang. 
It can be recognized easily in shade trees or orchards, as well as in 
the woods, by its slaty gray cap, a white line bordered by black over the 
eye, and the red eyes which give it its name. Its general coloring is a dusky- 
olive. 
The vireo weaves its nest of dead sticks, strips of bark, paper and 
plant down, and hangs it, like a suspended cup, from forked branches. The 
inside is lined with finer strips of bark and plant tendrils. 
Three to four white eggs with a few black spots are laid. 
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