Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/325

Rh until dusk, and going to roost together at nightfall. I do not recollect ever having seen one of them on the ground.

Like the true Flycatchers, these birds eject small pellets formed of the hard crusts of the abdomen, legs, and other parts of insects. I have but very seldom seen them feeding on berries of any kind, although in Loui- siana I have observed them pecking at ripe figs.

The nest of the Red-eyed Vireo is small, and extremely neat. It is generally suspended, at a moderate height, from the slender twigs form- ing the fork at the end of a branch. I have found some situated so low that I could easily look into them, while others were hung thirty feet over head. Dog-wood trees seem to be preferred by them, although I have found the nests on oaks, beeches, and sugar-maples, as well as on tall grasses. The male bird frequently leads you to the discovery of the nest, by its great anxiety about the safety of its mate. The outer parts are firmly attached to the twigs, the fibres being warped around them in various directions. The materials are usually the bark of the grape- vine, the silk of large cocoons, some lichens, particles of hornets' or wasps' nests, and decayed worm-eaten leaves. The lining, which is beautifully disposed, consists of fibrous roots, grasses, and now and then the hair of various quadrupeds, especially the grey squirrel and racoon. The nest, however, differs greatly in different latitudes ; for, in the Middle States, they often use the leaves of the pine, cedar, and hemlock, which they glue together apparently with their saliva. The eggs are from four to six, pure white, sparingly spotted at the larger end with reddish-brown or blackish dots. They are laid in Pennsylvania about the first of June, and later in more northern parts.

The eyes of the Young are of an umber colour, and do not become red until the following spring. Those of some shot in the Floridas in January, had not changed their colour. In February I shot two, each of which had a red and a brown eye.

This species, as well as the White-eyed Vireo, is often called to nurse the young of the Cow Bird, which deposits its egg in the nests of either species, assured that it will be properly treated. No difference exists in the plumage, or even size of the sexes.

Wilson, who was a most excellent observer, was quite correct, as well as Dr Barton of Philadelphia, in alluding to another species of Vireo, which, although nearly allied to this, is quite distinct. It is smaller, has brown eyes at all times of its life, sings sweetly, lives in low thickets,