Bell's Vireo
| Vireo bellii |
Order PASSERIFORMES - Family VIREONIDAE |
Menu
- Description
- Sound
- Conservation Status
- Other Names
- Cool Facts
- Full detailed species account
A small insectivorous bird of the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico, the Bell's Vireo is drably colored and indistinctly marked. Its distinctive song can be heard coming from the dense vegetation of scrubby woodlands, old fields, or mesquite brushlands.
Description
- Small songbird.
- Drab gray to greenish above.
- White to yellow below.
- One prominent wingbar and a more faint one above it.
- Faint white eyering.
- Size: 11-12 cm (4-5 in)
- Wingspan: 18 cm (7 in)
- Weight: 7-10 g (0.25-0.35 ounces)
Sex Differences
Sexes look alike.
Sound
Song a loud, jerky, unmusical set of phrases, first ending on ascending note, then descending note. "Cheedle-cheedle-cheedle-chee, cheedle-cheedle-cheedle-chew."
»listen to songs of this species
Conservation Status
"Least" Bell's Vireo of California considered endangered, primarily from loss of riparian habitat and cowbird parasitism. Populations declining throughout range.
Other Names
Viréo de Bell (French)
Vireo Aceitunado, Vireo Oliva, Vireo de Bell (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Bell's Vireo is the most yellow in the
easternmost part of its range, and it gets progressively grayer to the west.
The "Least" Bell's Vireo of California and northern Baja California is the
grayest, with little yellow or green in its plumage.
- A pair of Bell's Vireos may forage together at times
during the breeding season, progressing upward in a spiral, gleaning insects
from the vegetation.
- The Bell's Vireo has not been observed drinking
water. It may be able to obtain all that it needs from its food.
Sources used to construct this page:
Brown, B. T. 1993. Bell?s Vireo (Vireo bellii). In The Birds of North America, No. 35 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists? Union.
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