White-eyed Vireo

White-eyed Vireo, adult; Everglades NP, FL; March

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White-eyed Vireo, breeding adult; Chambers Co., TX; April

White-eyed Vireo on nest, NJ, 7 May

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

A small and secretive bird of shrubby areas of the eastern and southern United States, the White-eyed Vireo is more noticeable for its explosive song than its looks.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Olive-green upperparts.
• Yellow sides.
• Yellow spectacles.
• White throat.
• Two white wingbars.
• Eyes white.

• Size: 11-13 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 17 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 10-14 g (0.35-0.49 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

Song loud, short, rapid, and harsh, with sharp chips at beginning and end. Calls a short "zip" and a harsh "mew."

Conservation Status

Common. Populations appear stable.

Other Names

Vireo aux yeux blancs (French)
Vireo ojiblanco (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Both the male and the female White-eyed Vireo sing their primary song on the wintering grounds.
• The only fossil record in North America for the entire family Vireonidae is a wing bone of a White-eyed Vireo from the late Pleistocene of Florida, from approximately 400,000 years ago.

• The White-eyed Vireo bathes by rubbing against wet foliage.

Sources used to construct this page:

Hopp, S. L., A. Kirby, and C. A. Boone. 1995. White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus). In The Birds of North America, No. 168 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists? Union, Washington, D.C.