General

Yellow-throated Vireo: Large vireo with olive-gray upperparts and gray rump. Throat and breast are bright yellow, belly is white. Eyes are dark. Spectacles are pale yellow. Wings are dark with two white bars. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Yellow-throated Vireo: Breeds from Manitoba, Minnesota, Ontario, and central New England south to Gulf Coast states. Spends winters in tropics, with a few in southern Florida. Inhabits live oak hammocks, mature pine forests, or mixed turkey oak and pine woodlands. Also occurs in cypress swamps or mixed forests along rivers. Sometimes found in residential areas with mature trees.

Breeding and Nesting

Yellow-throated Vireo: Three to five white to light pink eggs with brown spots at larger end are laid in a cup-shaped nest made of grass and lichens, and suspended from a tree limb 3 to 60 feet above the ground. Both parents incubate eggs for 14 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Yellow-throated Vireo: Diet is composed of insects, mostly caterpillars; also eats spiders and fruits.

Vocalization

Yellow-throated Vireo: Song is a series of 2 to 3 note phrases with long pauses between them, "three-EIGHT, three-EIGHT, three-EIGHT." Call is a harsh, nasal, accelerating, rapid series of "cheh, cheh, cheh" notes.

Similar Species

Yellow-throated Vireo: Pine Warbler is smaller, lacks spectacles, has thinner bill, faintly streaked sides, and white tail spots.