Warbling Vireo

Warbling Vireo

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A drab bird of riparian woodlands, the Warbling Vireo is more easily heard than seen. It has no distinctive fieldmarks, but its rapid warbling song with a accented, high-pitched last note is relatively easy to recognize.

Description

• Small drab songbird.
• Back grayish green.
• Underparts whitish, may have yellowish tinge to flanks.
• Eyebrow dull white.
• Grayish line through eye.
• No wingbars, tail spots, or eyering.

• Size: 12-13 cm (5-5 in)
• Wingspan: 22 cm (9 in)
• Weight: 10-16 g (0.35-0.56 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Sound

Song a rapid jumble of rising and falling notes, usually ending in an accented, higher-pitched note. "If I sees you, I will seize you, and I'll squeeze you till you squirt!" Call a nasal "eeah."

Conservation Status

Populations generally stable or slightly increasing, but may be decreasing in some areas, e.g., California.

Other Names

Viréo mélodieux (French)
Vireo gorjeador (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Warbling Vireo may be made up of two or three species. The eastern and western forms differ slightly in size, bill shape, genetics, molt strategies, wintering areas, and possibly voice. Western birds are slightly smaller, have smaller, darker bills, are more olive-green on the upperparts, and have a darker crown than the eastern birds.

Sources used to construct this page:

Gardali, T., and G. Ballard. 2000. Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus). In The Birds of North America, No. 551 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.