Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.
Even as our cloudy fancies take
Suddenly shape in some divine expression,
Even as the troubled heart doth make
In the white countenance confession,
The troubled sky reveals
The grief it feels.
This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
O wonderful world of white!
When trees are hung with lace,
And the rough winds chide,
And snowflakes hide
Each break unsheltered place;
When birds and brooks are dumb,—what then?
O, round we go to the green again!
—G. Cooper, “’Round the Year.”
THE WHITE-EYED VIREO.
(_Vireo noveboracensis._)
“And then the wren and vireo
Begin with song to overflow.”
—Thomas Hill—“Sunrise.”
The vireos form a peculiar and interesting family—the Vireonidæ, which
includes about fifty species. All are strictly American and the larger
number inhabit only the forest or shrubby regions of Central and South
America. The name vireo signifies a green finch and is from the Latin
word meaning “to be green.” The body color of nearly all the species is
more or less olive green.
About fifteen species frequent the United States. These are all members
of the genus Vireo, and some of them have a wide range, only equaled in
extent by some of the warblers.
Dr. Coues has said of these birds: “Next after the warblers the
greenlets (vireos) are the most delightful of our forest birds, though
their charms address the ear and not the eye. Clad in simple tints that
harmonize with the verdure, these gentle songsters warble their lays
unseen, while the foliage itself seems stirred to music. In the quaint
and curious ditty of the white-eye, in the earnest, voluble strains of
the red-eye, in the tender secret that the warbling vireo confides in
whispers to the passing breeze, he is insensible who does not hear the
echo of thoughts he never clothes in words.”
The vireos are strikingly alike. In habit, in color, in structure, in
size and in their home-building peculiarities they resemble each other.
Their eggs are similar and “fashioned almost as from the same mold, and
colored as if by the same brush.”
The vireos build pensile nests that are ingeniously concealed under the
surrounding foliage. They are in the form of a rather deep cup, which is
suspended from two or more converging twigs. The materials used in the
construction are similar in all cases, though they vary somewhat
according to the locality and the abundance of desirable textiles. A
favorite substance used by some of the birds is the tough and flexible
fibers of the inner bark of trees. Thoreau, speaking of this habit,
says: “What a wonderful genius it is that leads the vireo to select the
tough fiber of the inner bark instead of the more brittle grasses!”
The White-eyed Vireo has an extensive range, extending over the eastern
United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the great plains and from
Mexico and Guatemala, where it winters, northward to the borders of
British America. It nests practically throughout its range within the
United States.
This pert and trim little bird is known by other suggestive names.
Because of the character of its nest it is called the “little green
hanging bird.” Its song, as translated by boys, has given it the name
“chickty-bearer,” or “chickity.” Except when nesting this vireo is
unsuspecting and will permit a near approach. Dr. Brewer says that “when
whistled to it will often stop and eye you with marked curiosity, and
even approach a little nearer, as if to obtain a better view, entirely
unconscious of any danger.” Impertinent at all times, they are
especially so when the nest is approached. At such times it exhibits
great uneasiness, and even its expressive eyes seem to flash.
Continually scolding the intruder, it utters “a hoarse mewing that is
very peculiar.”
[Illustration: WHITE-EYED VIREO.
(Vireo noveboracensis.)
About Life-size.
FROM COL. F. M. WOODRUFF.]
The nest of the White-eyed Vireo is a beautiful structure. It is
artistic, durable and a wonderfully pretty home for its beautiful
architect. It is seldom placed higher than five feet from the ground.
Dr. Brewer thus describes one of these nests. It was “composed of a
singular medley of various materials, among which may be noticed broken
fragments of dry leaves, bits of decayed wood and bark, coarse blades of
grass, various fibers, lichens, fragments of insects, mosses, straws,
stems, etc. These were all wrapped round and firmly bound together with
strong hempen fibers of vegetables. Within this outer envelope was an
inner nest, made of the finer stems of grasses and dry needles of the
white pine, firmly interwoven.” There are usually either three or four
eggs, which are white and speckled at the larger end, with black or some
shade of brown.
Mr. Chapman says: “I have always regretted that the manners of this
vireo have been a bar to our better acquaintance, for he is a bird of
marked character and with unusual vocal talents. He is a capital mimic,
and in the retirement of his home sometimes amuses himself by combining
the songs of other birds in an intricate potpourri.”