No. 139.
WESTERN WARBLING VIREO.
A. O. U. No. 627 a. Vireosylva gilva swainsonii (Baird).
Description.—Adult: Above, dull ashy, almost fuscous, tinged with olivaceous, same on pileum,—the last-named color brightest on interscapulars, rump, and edgings of secondaries and rectrices; wings and tail fuscous, the primaries with faint whitish edgings; no wing-bars; first primary spurious,—only about a third as long as the others; point of wing formed by third, fourth, and fifth primaries; second shorter than sixth; below white with slight tinges on sides,—buffy on sides of head and neck, olive-fuscous on sides of breast, sulphur-yellow on sides of belly and flanks, and sometimes vaguely on breast; lores and space about eye whitish, enclosing obscure dusky line thru eye; bill dusky above, lighter below; feet blackish. Length 5.00-6.00 (127-152.4); wing 2.64 (67); tail 1.94 (49.3); bill .39 (10); tarsus .69 (17.5).
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; general absence of positive characteristics,—altogether the plainest-colored bird of the American avifauna.
Nesting.—Nest: a pensile pouch of bark-strips, grasses, vegetable fibers, and trash, carefully lined with plant-down; hung usually from fork of small limb, at any height. Eggs: 3 or 4, white, sparingly and distinctly dotted or spotted, or, rarely, blotched with black, umber, or reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. Av. size .75 × .55 (19 × 13.9). Season: June 1-20; one brood.
General Range.—Western United States and Canada (British Columbia, Alberta and Athabasca), breeding south to southern border of United States and southern extremity of Lower California; south in winter thru Mexico to Vera Cruz and Oaxaca.
Range in Washington.—Summer resident thruout the State in deciduous timber, chiefly at lower levels.
Migrations.—Spring: Yakima, May 6, 1900; Seattle, May 5, 1905; Yakima, May 4, 1906; Tacoma, May 5, 1907; Seattle, May 3, 1908.
Authorities.—? Vireo gilvus, Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VIII. 1839, p. 153 (Columbia River). Vireo gilvus (swainsonii proposed), Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv., IX. pt. II. 1858, 336. T. C&S. L. Rh. D¹. Ra. D². J. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. B. BN. E.
The old-fashioned name “Greenlet,” as applied to the Vireos, was a misnomer, if a description of plumage was intended; but if it was intended to memorialize the bird’s fondness for greenery, nothing could have been more apt. The Warbling Vireo’s surroundings must be not only green, but freshly green, for it frequents only deciduous trees in groves and riverside copses. It is not an abundant bird, therefore, in Washington, altho equally distributed, whether in the willows and birches which gather about some lonesome spring in the bunch-grass country, or among the crowded alders and maples of the turbid Nooksachk. Moreover, the bird is not so frequently found about parks and shade trees as in the East, altho it looks with strong favor upon the advent of orchards. And the orchardist may welcome him with open arms, for there is not among all his tenants a more indefatigable gleaner of bugs and worms.
Because he is clad in Quaker gray there is little need for the Vireo to show himself as he sings, and he remains for the most part concealed in the dense foliage, a vocal embodiment of the living green. Unlike the disconnected fragments which the Red-eye furnishes, the song of this bird is gushing and continuous, a rapid excursion over pleasant hills and valleys. Continuous, that is, unless the bright-eyed singer happens to spy a worm in medias res, in which event the song is instantly suspended, to be resumed a moment later when the wriggling tid-bit has been dispatched. The notes are flute-like, tender, and melodious, having, as Chapman says, “a singular alto undertone.” All hours of the day are recognized as appropriate to melody, and the song period lasts from the time of the bird’s arrival, early in May, until its departure in September, with only a brief hiatus in July.
Taken in Oregon. Photo by Bohlman and Finley.
WESTERN WARBLING VIREO AT NEST.
In sharp contrast with the beautiful canzonettes which the bird showers down from the tree-tops, come the harsh, wren-like scolding notes, which it often delivers when searching thru the bushes, and especially if it comes across a lurking cat.
The Warbling Vireo’s cradle is swung midway from the fork of some nearly horizontal branch in the depths of a shady tree. In height it may vary from fifteen to twenty-five feet above the ground; but I once found one in a peach tree without a shadow of protection, and within reach from the ground. The structure is a dainty basket of interwoven grasses, mosses, flower-stems, and the like. It is not, however, so durable as that of some other Vireos, since much of its thickness is due to an ornamental thatching of grass, bark-strips, green usnea moss, and cottonwood down, which dissolves before winter is over. The female is a close sitter, sticking to her post even tho nearly paralyzed with fear. The male is usually in close attendance, and knows no way of discouraging the inquisitive bird-man save by singing with redoubled energy. He takes his turn at the eggs when his wife needs a bit of an airing, and even, it is said, carries his song with him to the nest.
No. 140.
CASSIN’S VIREO.
A. O. U. No. 629 a. Lanivireo solitarius cassinii (Xantus).
Synonym.—Western Solitary Vireo.
Description.—Adult male: Crown and sides of head and neck deep olive-gray; a supraloral stripe and eye-ring whitish, the latter interrupted by dusky of lore; remaining upperparts olive-green overcast with gray, clearing, pure olive-green on rump and upper tail-coverts; wings and tail blackish with edging of light olive-green or yellowish (white on outer web of outer rectrices); tips of middle and greater coverts yellowish olive, forming two rather conspicuous bars; underparts white tinged with buffy, changing on sides and flanks to sulphur yellow or pale olive; under tail-coverts yellowish; bill grayish black above, paler below; feet dusky, iris brown. Adult female: Like male but duller, browner on head and neck, less purely white below. Immature: Head and neck more nearly like back; supraloral streak, orbital ring, and underparts washed with brownish buff. Length about 5.50 (139.7); wing 2.84 (72.2); tail 2.05 (52.2); bill .39 (10); tarsus .75 (19).
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; slaty gray head contrasting with olivaceous back; whitish eye-ring distinctive; voice has more of an edge than that of V. olivacea.
Nesting.—Nest: a semi-pensile basket of woven bark-strips, grasses, and vegetable fibers, variously ornamented externally with cherry petals, spider cases, bits of paper, etc., lashed to bark of horizontal or descending bough of sapling (oak, vine-maple, fir, etc.) at a height of from five to thirty feet; bulkier and of looser construction than that of other Vireos; measures 2¼ inches across by 1½ inches deep inside; walls often ¾ of an inch in thickness. Eggs: 3-5, usually 4, white or creamy white, sparingly marked with spots, which vary from rich red brown to almost black—but unmarked specimens are of record. Av. size .75 × .55 (19 × 13.9). Season: May 15-June 5; one brood.
General Range.—Pacific Coast district north to British Columbia, east to Idaho (Ft. Sherman; Ft. Lapwai), breeding from Los Angeles County, California, northward thruout its range; south in winter to western Mexico.
Range in Washington.—Common summer resident on both sides of the Cascades, found chiefly in timbered areas.
Migrations.—Spring: Seattle-Tacoma, c. April 15.
Authorities.—? Vireo solitarius, Ornithological Committee, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII. 1837, 193 (Columbia River). V. solitarius Vieillot, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv., IX. pt. II 1858, p. 340, part. (T). C&S. Rh. D¹. Ra. D². Ss². J. B. E.
Specimens.—(U. of W.) B. Prov. P¹.