On June 20, 1959 I located one young 80 feet northeast of nest 2-a (1959), about five hours after it had left the nest. One parent was observed to feed it once. No young were seen thereafter from this or any other nest. Extreme agitation on the part of one or both parents on several occasions shortly thereafter, however, suggested the proximity of the young. Search in the immediate vicinity on each of these occasions proved fruitless. Three days after fledging their young, pair 2 (1959) was primarily occupied with courtship activities. Pair 1 (1959) was involved in courtship and nestbuilding one and one-half days after the apparent fledging of their young. Nolan (1960:238) indicates that the young remain within the territory and perhaps are fed by the parents up until an age of about 40 days. Sutton (1949:25) and Lawrence (1953:68) present contradictory reports on fledgling-parent relationships in the Red-eyed Vireo. Sutton concluded that the young quickly took leave of their parents whereas Lawrence reported a young bird being fed 35 days after fledging.

Second Broods

The curve based on 66 nesting records of the Bell Vireo representing the breeding activity in northeastern Kansas demonstrates a tendency toward double-broodedness (fig. 6). The peak of the breeding season is from May 20 to June 20. The large number (20) of replacement nests built in late May of 1960 tends to distort the curve of the breeding data; a second peak about 35 days after the first is evident.

I am of the opinion that the vast majority of vireos are single-brooded solely by virtue of the limited success of early nesting efforts, and that in "good" years most pairs would be double-brooded. Each of the four pairs that successfully raised one brood in my study area in 1959 renested within a day or two after the fledging of the young. I do not know the fate of these nests. Nolan (1960:237) reports at least one instance of a second brood in the course of his study. Nolan (op. cit.) notes that the literature, in general, indicates that vireos are double-brooded, but that his evidence, mentioned previously, is the only evidence based on banded birds.