"A bird with red eyes! look, mamma," said Bobby. "How funny!"
"And how beautiful," replied his mamma. "Not plainly dressed, like his
cousin, the Warbling Vireo, whose picture you saw in the October number
of BIRDS."
"The Yellow-Throated, in the June number," said Bobbie, who has a
remarkable memory, "was a lovely bird, too, mamma. Can Mr. Red-eye
sing?"
"No, you can't call his note a song; it is more like a chatter, which he
keeps up from morning till night."
"Like some children," said Bobbie, with a sage nod of the head, "who
talk all day long."
"Yes," smiled his mamma, "without saying very much, either. But this
little bird works while he chatters."
"I reckon he stops at noon time," said Bobbie, "as other birds do."
"No, even then the silence of the woods is broken by the Red-eyed
Vireo's voice. He is such a busy little fellow, he can't find time for a
nap."
"Hm!" remarked Bobbie; "the other birds must find him a tiresome fellow,
I think.
"Has he any other names, mamma?"
"Yes, he is called the Red-eyed Greenlet or Red-eyed Fly-catcher. One
gentleman calls him 'The Preacher.' To him the bird seems to say, '_You
see it; you know it; do you hear me? do you believe it?_'"
"I'm going to look out for that red-eyed preacher next summer," said
Bobby, with a laugh.
"One lady who makes a study of birds thinks he says, '_I know it! would
you think it? musn't touch it; you'll rue it!_' He makes a pause, as you
see, after each sentence."
"Tell me something about their nests?" said Bobbie, deeply interested.
"They are made of bark fibers, cobwebs, bits of paper, and scraps of
hornets' nests, in the form of a little pocket. This is suspended from
the fork of two or more twigs high up in the tree, making a sort of
cradle for the little ones."
"Rock-a-by, baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock."
hummed Bobby. "How jolly!"
"Yes," said mamma; "and they take care that it is under some green
leaves, which act as an umbrella to keep the sun out of the mother's
eyes while she sits on the four pretty white eggs."
"And out of the little ones' red eyes, too," laughed Bobbie. "How
cute!"
[Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
RED-EYED VIREO.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1898, Chicago.]