I found that nest myself, and I wanted very much to see how the birds live and bring up the little ones, so I was careful not to disturb anything. I hid myself a long way off, where I could see the nest with a field-glass, and where I thought the birds would not notice me. I sat there perfectly still for hours, till the eggs had time to get cold, and I saw another bird carry them off. No doubt they saw me, however, for they never came back to the nest.
FOOTNOTE:
[9] See [Appendix, 8].
XI
THE VIREO FAMILY
(Vireonidæ)[10]
The vireos are a small family, fifty species, found only in America. They are very quietly dressed in greenish olive hues, with hardly a bright color among them. They were once called greenlets.
They all live in trees and catch insects, going about over the twigs. They sing as they go, like the warblers, combining work and play. Some of them sing almost without stopping, and it gets to be rather tiresome after a while. One or two of them even sing on the nest, which hardly another bird does.