Red-eyed vireo

“ Down through the thick alders and overhanging sprays of sambucus the red eyed vireo flits from water to twig and from twig to water, striking it with her wings, and sipping it as she flutters over the stream. I am inclined to believe that this may be the manner in which all birds belonging to this group perform their ablutions and quench their thirst. They are not groundlings, and shun the earth as the swallows do the foliage. ”

“ More common in my region than the jay or the cardinal is the red-eyed vireo. This creature moves industriously in and out among the leaves of our trees. It is persistently in motion, is nearly constant in song, and is a bird of fair size, being larger than our English sparrow, though smaller than a robin. Many a nature lover will recognize twenty-five or thirty birds at sight without any difficulty, and not know the vireo. Yet the vireo is more common than two-thirds of the birds he knows. ”

“ The common Red-eyed Vireo is an abundant species throughout Eastern North America, from Florida to Nova Scotia on the northeast, to Lake Winnepeg on the northwest, and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. It apparently breeds wherever found, and in especial abundance in the Central States. It is a familiar and fearless species, often found, like the Warbling Vireo, in the very midst of crowded cities, and making its lively and pleasant notes heard in their public squares and private gardens, amid the ruder sounds of the neighboring streets. ”

“ The red-eyed vireo (Vireosylva olivacea) loves solitude. During the nesting season it seeks some dense thicket, selects a fork on a drooping limb, and constructs its wonderful basket-shaped, pensile nest. Intertwining about the fork a silky material for the basis of the structure, they put together with grasses, lichens, and plant fibres a wonderful little home for their progeny. When working away at building they are very cheerful, [Pg 260] almost continually singing a sweet, pleasant warble, as though haranguing the dwellers of the silent places, hence their pseudonym, “preacher.” ”

“ Red-eyed Vireo had flown away for a little time, out she crept, inspected their nest, and, finding it to her taste, entered and deposited her egg. She felt sure, you see, that Mrs. Vireo had a kind heart and would hatch out the foundling with her own."
"And she did," sadly said Mr. Vireo, "she did."
"The company the tribe keeps is no better than themselves," said Mr. Wood Thrush. "During the breeding-season you will see the grackles, and red-winged blackbirds, and the cowbirds chattering and gossipping together, as they roost for the night. They are a lawless crew. ”

“ It is a very stoic among birds, and seems never surprised at anything, “even at the loud report of a gun, with the shot rattling about it in the branches, and, if uninjured, it will stand for a moment unconcerned, or move along, peering on every side amongst the foliage, warbling its tender, liquid strains.”
The nest of this species is like that of the Red-eyed Vireo—a strong, durable, basket-like fabric, made of bark strips, lined with fine grasses. It is suspended by the brim in slender, horizontal forks of branches, at a great height from the ground. ”

“ I know boys who can name a flock of ducks when they are mere specks twinkling in their rapid rush across the autumn sky; and girls who instantly recognise a goldfinch by its waving flight above the garden. The white band across the end of the kingbird's tail leads to his identification the minute some sharp young eyes perceive it. At a considerable distance, a little girl I know distinguished a white-eyed from a red-eyed vireo, not by the colour of the iris of either bird's eye, but by the yellowish white bars on the white-eyed vireo's wings which she had noticed at a glance. ”

“ The eggs of this Vireo vary greatly in size, according to the locality; the farther south the smaller they are found. One, marked on the shell East Tennessee, June 1, 1858, Alex. Gerhardt, measures .78 by .52 of an inch, while one from Halifax, Nova Scotia, measures .95 by .65. The ground-color of all is a clear crystal-white, and they are marked chiefly at the larger end with spots and finer dots of red-brown.
Mr. Robert Kennicott, in his notes, speaks of finding a nest of the Red-eyed Vireo at the Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, June 28. ”

“ The White-Eyed Vireo differs from his red-eyed cousin in being slightly smaller, in having a small patch of yellow around the eye, a white iris, and two wing-bars. His head is greener and his breast and sides are tinged with yellow.
He lives in thickets. He possesses in a marked degree the vireo habit of scolding. He has more power as a songster than his better-known relatives. ”

“ Lawrence (1953:53) , tells of a male Red-eyed Vireo singling out a female from a flock of migrants passing through his territory and violently driving her to the ground. Shortly after this attack the pair was seen searching for a nest site. But such an incident has not been reported for other vireos, nor have I witnessed such behavior myself.
Early courtship activities of the Bell Vireo are characteristically violent affairs, with the male directing strong aggressive attacks toward the female. Rapid, looping flights through the thickets occur, the female leading the male. ”

“ Their nests are not easy to find, although they do not always make a great deal of effort at concealment. Like all the vireo tribe, they suspend their tiny baskets from the fork or crotch of a horizontal twig. The nest is somewhat bulkier than the compact little cup of the red-eyed vireo, and is apt to be more carefully concealed in the foliage, although I have found more than one nest that was hung in plain sight. I remember one in particular. It was dangling from the outer twigs of a small bush by the side of the woodland path which I was pursuing. ”

“ A handsome Vireo found in localities such as are frequented by the Red-eyed species. Nowhere do they appear to be as abundant as that species, however; they are more abundant than many suppose, but the difficulty of clearly seeing the yellow breast when they are feeding in the tree tops, combined with the similarity of their songs, usually caused them to be passed by without inspection. ”

“ Red-eyed Vireo. Least Flycatcher.
86. BLUE-HEADED VIREO. 5-1/2 in. (Vireo solitarius. 629.)
Olive-green; ashy-blue head; pure white below, sides yellowish; line around the eye and to the bill, white; two white wing-bars; song, noteworthy. Yellow-throated Vireo. ”

“ One by one the vireo fledglings die and are carried from the nest by the mourning parents, and so the survivor [Pg 262] flourishes and grows fat, rocked in the cradle by the gentle breezes and under the care and protection of the little red-eyed vireos. The vireos are noted as good providers and protectors. During incubation they are fearless and loath to leave their eggs,—at times indeed, will permit you to approach the nest within two feet and photograph. ”

“ Nature is not often guilty of tautology. I yield therefore to the temptation to add a few chronicles made during the spring of 1893, which, I hope, will not destroy the unity of this article on bird nurseries. One day in June, while strolling through the woods, I heard the song of a red-eyed vireo. ”

“ At the time of my arrival, the most abundant bird was probably the Cardinal Grosbeak, it being no unusual sight to see several males at one time along the railroad track, picking up grain dropped from passing cars, while the swamp and surrounding woods were filled with their sweet but monotonous whistlings. Later in the season, however, other species became rather more numerous, it being difficult to decide between the Redstart and Red-eyed Vireo, as to first rank in point of numbers. ”

“ Red-eyed vireo. Vireo olivaceus. Rare summer resident; an eastern species, coming only to base of foothills; still, one was taken at 11,000 feet.
627. Warbling vireo. Vireo gilvus. Common summer resident; breeds sparingly on the plains; commonly in mountains up to 10,000.
629a. Cassin's vireo. Vireo solitarius cassinii. Rare or accidental summer visitor; not known to breed; a southwestern species.
629b. Plumbeous vireo. Vireo solitarius plumbeus. Summer resident; common; breeds in foothills and mountains up to over 9,000 feet. ”

“ The crows and jays and other enemies of the birds have learned to explore this belt pretty thoroughly. But the leaves and the protective coloring of most nests baffle them as effectually, no doubt as they do the professional oölogist. The nest of the red-eyed vireo is one of the most artfully placed in the wood. It is just beyond the point where the eye naturally pauses in its search ”

“ Of all the nearly eight hundred species of North American birds, the robin is without question the one most generally known. Its great commonness and wide distribution have something to do with this fact, but can hardly be said to account for it altogether. The red-eyed vireo has almost as extensive a range, and at least in New England is possibly more numerous; but except among ornithologists it remains a stranger, even to country-bred people. ”

“ Sexes alike. More deliberate in habit than the restless, flitting warblers that are chiefly seen darting about the ends of twigs. Vireos are more painstaking gleaners; they carefully explore the bark, turn their heads upward to investigate the under side of leaves, and usually keep well hidden among the foliage. Bill hooked at tip for holding worms and insects. Gifted songsters, superior to the warblers. This family is peculiar to America.
Red-eyed Vireo. ”

“ Mr. Red-eyed Vireo was saying, as I sauntered down to the orchard and seated myself beneath an apple tree, "we have stood the imposition long enough. Every year we meet and draw up resolutions, with many 'whereases' and 'wherefores,' and 'aforesaids'—resolutions with nothing resolute about them. To-day, I say, something must be done."
Mr. Wood-thrush, Mr. Towhee, Mr. Chipping Sparrow, Mr. Yellow-breasted Chat, Mr. Song Sparrow, and several Mr. Flycatchers, beside a number of other small birds, nodded their heads in unequivocal assent.
"We have enemies enough," continued Mr. ”

“ Very common resident in the Transition Life-zone. (D. A. 1413, Troy, Latah County, May 6, 1939.)
Vireo solitarius cassinii Xantus. Cassin Vireo. Common resident in the Transition Life-zone. The Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy has a specimen taken 3 mi. W Payette Lake, Adams County.
Vireo olivaceus (Linnaeus) . Red-eyed Vireo. Common resident. The Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy has a specimen of this vireo taken 4 mi. W Meadow Creek, Idaho County.
Vireo gilvus swainsonii Baird. Western Warbling Vireo. Very common resident. (Univ. Idaho No. 119, Moscow, Latah County, June 14, 1938.) ”

“ Nests found in upland thickets, southern exposure.
128. American Redstart. (R) . Breeds June 15th. Nests placed near roadsides.
135. Red eyed Vireo. (C) . Breeds June 10th to 20th. Nest found in woods of young trees, not over ten feet from the ground.
139. Warbling Vireo. (C) . Breeds June 10th to 20th. Nests placed in trees, generally 25 feet from the ground, or more.
143. White-eyed Vireo. (R) . Breeds June 10th to 20th. Nests placed in blackberry thickets, near the ground.
151. Cedar Waxwing. (C) . Breeds June 15th to 25th. Nests generally found in orchards. ”

“ A favorite substance used by some of the birds is the tough and flexible fibers of the inner bark of trees. Thoreau, speaking of this habit, says: “What a wonderful genius it is that leads the vireo to select the tough fiber of the inner bark instead of the more brittle grasses!”
The White-eyed Vireo has an extensive range, extending over the eastern United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the great plains and from Mexico and Guatemala, where it winters, northward to the borders of British America. It nests practically throughout its range within the United States. ”

“ The solitary vireo is heard only in the deep woods, while the white-eyed is still more local or restricted in its range, being found only in wet, bushy places, whence its vehement, varied, and brilliant song is sure to catch the dullest ear. ”

“ The White-eyed Vireo may usually be found in wild, swampy, open grounds, near the edges of woods, and where there are small thickets of smilax and other briers and wild vines, in the midst of which it often builds its pensile nest. These nests are rarely, if ever, more than three or four feet from the ground. Two nests of this bird, one from Neosho Falls, Kansas, [Pg 387] the other from Lynn, Mass., may be taken as characteristic of the species. They are almost exactly hemispherical in shape, their height and diameter being the same,—three inches. ”

“ Because I turned from all this sunset glory to find out what little bird was making the very big fuss near by, and because, parting the foliage of an arrow-wood bush, I looked with exquisite pleasure into the nest of a white-eyed vireo, does it mean that I am still unborn as to soul? For some reason it was a relief to look away from that west of vast and burning color to the delicately dotted eggs in the tiny cradle—the same relief felt in descending from a mountain-top to the valley ”

“ Still keeping among the unrecognized, the white-eyed vireo, or fly-catcher, deserves particular mention. The song of this bird is not particularly sweet and soft; on the contrary, it is a little hard and shrill, [27] like that of the indigo-bird or oriole; but for brightness, volubility, execution, and power of imitation, he is unsurpassed by any of our northern birds. ”

“ Two birds I have seen, which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner, while sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet canary."
The solitary vireo also builds a pensile nest, swung from the crotch of a branch, not so high from the ground as the yellow-throated vireos nor so exquisitely finished, but still a beautiful little structure of pine-needles, plant-fibre, dry leaves, and twigs, all lichen-lined and bound and rebound with coarse spiders' webs. ”