Thick-billed Vireo

Vireo crassirostrisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Vireos (Vireonidae)

Codes: Common Name: TBVI Scientific Name: VIRCRA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179028

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Overview

Thick-billed Vireo: Medium vireo, olive-green upperparts, brown or gray-brown iris, broken dull white spectacles, pale yellow underparts shading to white undertail. Wings brown with two white bars. Large, gray bill. Most often heard, not seen. Frequents dense undergrowth and thickets.

Range and Habitat

Thick-billed Vireo: Accidental or casual in southeastern Florida and the Florida Keys; common in the Caribbean. Preferred habitats include thickets and dense undergrowth.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Voice Text

"chip-chip-WEEEoo-chip", "waaa, waaa, waaa"

Interesting Facts

The Thick-billed Vireo was first described by Henry Bryant, an American physician and naturalist in 1859.

Its song is a variable and rapid six to seven note phrase, starting and ending with a sharp "chick".

The diet of this species consists almost exclusively of insects.

A group of vireos are collectively known as a "call" of vireos.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Thick-billed Vireo

● Song: "chip-chip-WEEEoo-chip", "waaa, waaa, waaa"

● Foraging & Feeding: Thick-billed Vireo: Eats insects, spiders, small fruits, and berries. Forages low, mostly from 2 to 12 feet above the ground, in shrubbery, thickets, dense undergrowth, and trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Thick-billed Vireo: Two to three white or light pink eggs marked faintly with black or red spots are laid in a nest made of grass, covered on the outside with moss, bark, and bits of paper or rag, and lined with soft plant fibers, down, and grass; nest is usually built near the end of a tree branch. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Thick-billed Vireo: White-eyed Vireo is smaller with smaller black bill, white iris, olive-gray upperparts, gray head and nape, white underparts with yellow wash on sides and flanks, and complete yellow spectacles.

Flight Pattern

Relatively rapid direct flight on short rounded wings.

Thick-billed Vireo Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Thick-billed Vireo: Accidental or casual in southeastern Florida and the Florida Keys; common in the Caribbean. Preferred habitats include thickets and dense undergrowth.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationAccidental to casual

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America