It nests late in May, hanging its cup-shaped basket to a crotch usually five to ten feet above the ground. The eggs are white with a few black or brown spots.
The Mountain Solitary Vireo (L. s. alticola) has a slightly larger bill and bluer back. It nests in the mountains from Maryland to Georgia and winters southward to Florida.
WHITE-EYED VIREO
Vireo griseus griseus. [Case 6], Fig. 67
White or yellowish white eyes; whitish underparts, washed with yellow on the sides. L. 5¼.
Range. Nests from Florida and Texas to Wisconsin and Massachusetts; winters from South Carolina to the tropics.
Washington, common S.R., Apl. 18-Oct. 19. Ossining, common S.R., Apl. 29-Oct. 3. Cambridge, rare S.R., May 8-Sept. 20; formerly common. Glen Ellyn, rare, spring only, May 24-June 5.
An inhabitant of bushy undergrowths whose snappy calls possess almost the character of human speech, so clearly and emphatically are the syllables enunciated. One's presence seems to excite both his curiosity and his disapproval, for he looks one over from this side and that all the while giving expression to remarks which sound far from complimentary. The nest is hung from a crotch, rarely more than 6 feet from the ground. The eggs laid in April, in the South, in May in the North, are white with a few blackish spots.
The Key West Vireo (V. g. maynardi) has a longer bill and is somewhat paler below than the White-eye. It is resident in southern Florida and the Keys.
BELL'S VIREO
Vireo belli belli. [Case 6], Fig. 65
Smallest of our Vireos; crown ashy, lores and eye-ring whitish. L. 4¾.