These Tanagers are truly tropical in their appearance. They are animated touches of color that seem somehow to be foreign to our Northern woods.
The Scarlet Tanager—7½ inches
RED-EYED VIREO
Except for the Catbird, the most talkative bird that we know is the Red-eyed Vireo. He is first to be seen in late April. When October has come, the Red-eye travels Southward. All through the warm days of spring and summer, this persistent little bird sings and sings. Mr. Wilson Flagg has called him “The Preacher Bird.” This title is indeed well earned for he seems to say, over and over—“You see me—I see you—do you hear me? Do you believe me?”
Nest: The pendant nest of the Red-eyed Vireo hangs from a forked branch. It is made of small bits of dead wood, plant down, paper and strips of thin bark all very neatly interwoven to form a tiny bird basket. The eggs, three to four in number, are of a white color with a few specks of brown or umber upon the larger end. Frequently the Cowbird leaves her egg in this little bird’s nest. This poem by Faith C. Lee, in Bird-Lore, gives one person’s opinion of the Cowbird.
Red-Eyed Vireo
“When overhead you hear a bird
Who talks, or rather chatters,
Of all the latest woodland news,