Overview

Bell's Vireo: Small vireo, faint, broken eye-ring, thick, slightly flattened hooked bill, one or two faint wing bars. Upperparts are gray and underparts are white with pale yellow wash on sides. Eastern race has gray-green upperparts and distinct yellow wash on underparts. Legs and feet are gray.

Bell's Vireo: Breeds from southern California, Colorado, Dakotas, and Indiana southward. Absent from eastern third of the U.S. Spends winters along the Pacific coast from northern Mexico south to northern Nicaragua. Preferred habitats include forest undergrowth, streamside thickets, woodland edges, and brushy fields.

Voice Text

"zheedle zheedle zheedle zhoo? (pause) zheedle zheedle zheedle zhee!"

• Bell's Vireos have become less common in areas where the riparian vegetation has been reduced.
• If cowbird eggs are deposited in a nest prior to vireo egg-laying, nests are usually abandoned. If vireo eggs are removed by cowbirds, the nest may also be abandoned.
• The subspecies found in California, the Least Bell's Vireo, is endangered.
• A group of bell's vireos are collectively known as a "peal" and a "tintinabulation" of vireos.

• White-eyed Vireo

Vireos (Vireonidae)

ORDER

The vireos are one of the one hundred eighteen families of birds in the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez); a large taxonomic order that also includes the bulbuls, dippers, and gnatcatchers.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

A family mostly restricted to the New World, the Vireonidae (pronounced vir-eh-ON-uh-dee) is composed of fifty-nine species of vireos in six genera.

NORTH AMERICA

Thirty-seven species of vireos in four genera occur in North America. In addition to various vireo species, the Neotropical peppershrikes and greenlets are also members of this family.

KNOWN FOR

Like most members of the Vireonidae, the Red-eyed Vireo is known for its habit of constantly singing throughout the day during the breeding season.

PHYSICAL

Vireos are small birds with rather stocky heads, medium length tails, and fairly long wings. They have medium length legs and feet, and rather strong medium length bills with a small hook at the tip.

COLORATION

Members of the vireo family show green, brown, or gray upperparts, and white or yellow underparts. All show facial markings such as spectacles, eyebrows, and eyelines on gray or bluish heads, and some species have light-colored wingbars.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

Various members of the Vireonidae occupy most types of forest and scrub habitats in North America including pinyon-juniper forest (the Gray and Plumbeous Vireos), desert riparian zones (the Warbling Vireo), and mangroves of southern Florida (Black-whiskered Vireo). Members of the family either occur high up in the trees, or low down in thick scrubby vegetation.

MIGRATION

Most vireos are long distance migrants to Central and South America.

HABITS

Vireos do not form flocks, nor do they nest in colonies, although they readily join mixed species flocks during migration and on their wintering grounds. Vireos typically forage by slowly moving through the vegetation to glean larvae and other invertebrates from the leaves and branches, often smacking a prey item on a branch to kill it. Birds that sing slow phrases generally forage high up in the trees, while those that sing rapid chattering songs skulk in the low, thick vegetation.

CONSERVATION

Although no vireo species in North America is endangered, a distinct subspecies, the “Western Warbling Vireo” has declined due to destruction of the southwestern riparian habitats in which it lives.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Cassin’s, Plumbeous, and Blue-headed Vireos were at one time thought to be distinct subspecies of the same species, the Solitary Vireo. They were split after studies demonstrated that their plumages, songs, and habitat use differed enough to rank them as separate species.

Author

Artist

Michael Oberhofer