Hutton's Vireo

Hutton's Vireo on territory, ssp. huttoni, Channel Islands, CA, 13 June 2004.

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Reproduction
9. Conservation Status
10. Other Names

A small, active bird of western forests, the Hutton's Vireo is particularly common amongst live oaks. Its appearance and actions more closely resemble those of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet than other vireos.

Cool Facts

• The range of the Hutton's Vireo is broken up into distinct areas separated by wide desert. As a result, up to 12 subspecies have been described, varying in size and slight differences in plumage. A genetic study found the coastal and interior forms to be different enough to consider them separate species.

Description

• Size: 13-12 cm (5-5 in)
• Weight: 9-15 g (0.32-0.53 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Greenish gray above and below.
• Whitish eyering, broken above eye.
• Two whitish wingbars.
• Small bill.
• Short tail.

• Pale lores (in front of eyes).
• Outer edges of wing and tail feathers edged yellowish.
• Bill blackish above, paler below.
• Legs dark gray.
• Eyes dark brown.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but wingbars less distinct.

Similar Species

• Very similar to Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but kinglet has thinner bill, a complete and bolder eyering, and a darker wing.

Sound

Monotonous and unmusical series of scratchy two-note phrases, "zu-wee, zu-wee, zu-wee."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Resident from southern British Columbia southward through Pacific states to Mexico, and in southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Winter Range

Mostly resident, but some show erratic winter movements.

Habitat

Evergreen forests, especially with live oaks.

Food

Insects and spiders.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Open cup suspended by rim from a fork near ends of horizontal tree branches. Woven of lichens, spiderweb, plant down, bark shreds, fine grasses, small green leaves, and moss. Inner lining of grasses.

Egg Description

White with a few small brown dots.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless.

Conservation Status

Populations stable or slightly increasing.

Other Names

Viréo de Hutton (French)
Vireo reyezuelo común, Vireo oliváceo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Davis, J. N. 1995. Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni). In The Birds of North America, No. 189 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.