Green shrike-vireo

Vireolanius pulchellus

Photo by Dominic Sherony (Wikipedia)

Common name:
green shrike-vireo (en); assobiador-verde (pt); smaragdan émeraude (fr); vireón esmeralda (es); smaragdvireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This species is found in Central America, from southern Mexico to Panama.

Size:
These birds are 13,5-14,5 cm long and weigh 22-30 g.

Habitat:
The green shrike-vireo is mostly found in the canopies of lowland rainforests, also using mountain rainforests, forest edges and second growths. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.800 m.

Diet:
They feed on various arthropods, such as caterpillars, also taking fruits, berries and seeds.

Breeding:
Green shrike-vireos breed in March-June. The nest is a mossy cup, possibly made by the female alone and placed high-up in the tree canopy. There is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 50.000-500.000 individuals. Current rates of habitat loss within its range, caused by agricultural clearing, cattle farming, road projects, and the growing human population, suggest this species may be declining.

Ashy-headed greenlet

Hylophilus pectoralis

Photo by Michel Giraud-Audine (Flickr)

Common name:
ashy-headed greenlet (en); vite-vite-de-cabeça-cinza (pt); viréon à tête cendrée (fr); verdillo cabecigrís (es); aschkopfvireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This South American species is found from eastern Venezuela and the Guyanas, into coastal north-eastern Brazil and also further inland along the Amazon basin almost as far as Manaus, and through Tocantins and Goiás into Mato Grosso, Rondônia and across the border into north-eastern Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh 11,5-12 g.

Habitat:
The ashy-headed greenlet is mostly found in lowland rainforests and mangroves, but also uses dry tropical forests, scrublands, second growths and rural gardens. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 600 m.

Diet:
They feed on insects and berries.

Breeding:
Ashy-headed greenlets nest in an deep cup woven with grasses and plant fibres, which is placed in  fork in a scrub or tree. There the female lays 2 eggs which are incubated by both parents. There is no information regarding the length of the incubation and fledgling periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population trend is currently unknown but the ashy-headed greenlet it is not believed to be declining significantly.

White-eyed vireo

Vireo griseus

Photo by Steve Patten (Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River)

Common name:
white-eyed vireo (en); juruviara-d'olho-branco (pt); viréo aux yeux blanc (fr); vireo ojiblanco (es); weißaugenvireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This species breeds in the eastern United States, from Idaho to Massachusetts and south to Florida and Texas, and also in eastern Mexico. The more southern populations are resident, but the northern ones migrate south to winter in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and the along the northern Caribbean.

Size:
These birds are 11-13 cm long and have a wingspan of 17-19 cm. They weigh 10-14 g.

Habitat:
The white-eyed vireo is mostly found in dry scrublands and savannas, as well as dense understorey of temperate and tropical forests, generally preferring areas near water. They also use mangroves and pastures and occur from sea level up to an altitude of 1.500 m.

Diet:
They are mostly insectivorous during the breeding season, taking caterpillars, flies, damselflies, mayflies, beetles, cockroaches, stink bugs, leafhoppers, lacewings, bees, ants, wasps, grasshoppers and also spiders. Outside the breeding season they feed on berries and small fruits.

Breeding:
White-eyed vireos breed in April-August. They are mostly monogamous and both sexes help build the nest, an open cup made of leaves, bark, plant fibres, rootlets, or bits of paper, held together with insect silk and spider webs, and decorated on the outside with lichens, moss or leaves. It is lined with rootlets, fine grass or hair, and placed on a fork in a small branch of a tree, usually near the ground. The female lays 3-5 white eggs with a few dark spots, which are incubated by both parents for 13-15 days. The chicks are raised by both parents and fledge 9-11 days after hatching, but only become fully independent 3-4 weeks later.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common to abundant. The population as undergone a small increase over the last 4 decades.

Bell's vireo

Vireo bellii

Photo by Paul L'Etoile (Mango Verde)

Common name:
Bell's vireo (en); juruviara-de-Bell (pt): viréo de Bell (fr); vireo de Bell (es); braunaugenvireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This species is found breeding in the central and southern United States, from North Dakota to Ohio, south to Louisiana and Texas and also in southern Arizona, New Mexico and California, and into northern Mexico. They migrate south to winter along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

Size:
These birds are 11-13 cm long and have a wingspan of 18 cm. They weigh 7-10 g.

Habitat:
The Bell's vireo is mostly found in low dense scrublands and woodlands, especially in riparian vegetation along rivers and streams, but also in dry scrublands, coastal chaparral and forest edges, from sea level up to an altitude of 2.000 m.

Diet:
They forage on low vegetation, mainly taking insects such as caterpillars, stink bugs, wasps, bees, beetles, grasshoppers and weevils, and also some spiders and a few berries.

Breeding:
Bell's vireos breed in April-July. They are monogamous, but may switch mates between successive nesting attempts within the same season and between years. The nest is an open cup made of stems, plant fibres, leaves, paper and strips of bark fastened with spider silk. The outside may be ornamented with spider cocoons and the inside is lined with fine grass. The nest is suspended from a low branch of a small tree or scrub. The female lays 3-5 white eggs with brown or black spots, which are incubated by both parents for 13-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-13 days after hatching, but only become independent 2 weeks later. They raise 1-2 broods per season.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and a global population estimated at 1,5 million individuals. The population has undergone a large decrease of 24% per decade over the last 4 decades, main caused by the loss of riparian habitats through agricultural, logging and housing developments.

Hutton's vireo

Vireo huttoni

Photo by Greg Gillson (Pacific NW Birder)

Common name:
Hutton's vireo (en); juruviara-de-Hutton (pt); viréo de Hutton (fr); vireo de Hutton (es); Hutton-vireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This species is found in western North America, in two distinct populations. One is found along the Pacific coast from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California in north-western Mexico. The other population is found from northern Mexico, Arizona and Texas to Guatemala, being separated from the former by the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh 9-15 g.

Habitat:
Hutton's vireos are mainly found in evergreen forests, preferring oak or pine-oak forests and tall chaparral, at altitudes of 900-3.500 m.

Diet:
They mainly glean caterpillars, beetles, crickets and spiders from the forest canopy, but will also take berries, small fruits and plant galls.

Breeding:

The Hutton's vireo nests in an open cup woven of lichens, spider webs, plant down, bark shreds, fine grasses, small green leaves, and moss, lined with grasses and placed in a fork in a branch, 2-8 m above the ground. There the female lays 3-5 white eggs with a few brown speckles, which are incubated by both parents for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-17 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and the population has undergone a large increase of 17% per decade over the last 4 decades.

Black-capped vireo

Vireo atricapillus

Photo by Cody Conway (Flickr)

Common name:
black-capped vireo (en); juruviara-de-barrete-preto (pt); viréo à tête noire (fr); vireo cabecinegro (es); schwarzkopfvireo (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae


Range:
This species is only found breeding in Texas and Oklahoma, in the southern United States, and across the border into northern Mexico. They migrate south to winter along the western coast of Mexico.


Size:
These birds are 11-12 cm long and have a wingspan of 18 cm. They weigh 8-10 g.


Habitat:
Black-capped vireos are found in sparse dry scrubland and open woodlands, in areas of rocky or eroded soils.


Diet:
These birds are insectivorous, taking adult and larval insects and sometimes also spiders.


Breeding:
Black-capped vireos breed in March-June. Both sexes help build the nest, a cup made of leaves, grasses, plant fibers and animal silk, lined with fine grass. The nest is placed in a fork in a branch up to 2 m above the ground. The female lays 2-5 white eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 14-17 days. The chicks are fed insects by both parents and fledge 10-12 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a relatively restricted breeding range and the global population is estimated at just 8.000 individuals. The population is undergoing a rapid decline caused by habitat loss and degradation through fire suppression, urban development, agricultural conversion and intensive grazing. The increase in the numbers of brown-headed cowbirds Molothrus ater has resulted in high rates of brood-parasitism and the rates of nest predation are high, primarily from snakes, fire ants and mammals.

Blue-headed vireo

Vireo solitarius

Photo by Brandon Holden (Ontario Field Ornithologists)

Common name:

blue-headed vireo (en); vite-vite-de-cabeça-azul (pt); viréo à tête bleue (fr); vireo anteojillo (es); graukopfvireo (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Vireonidae

Range:

This species breeds in Canada east of the Rockies and in the north-western United States. They migrate south to winter in the south-eastern United States, along eastern Mexico and through Central America as far south as Panama.

Size:

These birds are 13-15 cm long and have a wingspan of 20-24 cm. They weigh 13-19 g.

Habitat:

The blue-headed vireo breeds in open deciduous and coniferous forests. In winter they are mostly found in scrubland, brush and thicket.

Diet:

These birds are insectivorous, taking medium to large-sized insects. In winter they also eat some fruits.

Breeding:

Blue-headed vireos breed in May-August. Both sexes build the nest, a bulky cup suspended from a fork in tree branch. There the female lays 3-5 creamy white eggs with dark spots. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 13-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13-14 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 7 million individuals. This species has undergone a large increase over the last 4 decades, equating to a 58.1% increase per decade.

Red-eyed vireo

Vireo olivaceus

Photo by Brian Small (Brian E. Small Bird Photography)

Common name:

red-eyed vireo (en); juruviara (pt); viréo aux yeux rouges (fr); vireo ojirrojo (es); rotaugenvireo (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Vireonidae

Range:

Part of the population breeds across Canada and the eastern and north-western United States and migrates south to winter across most of the north and eastern portions of South America. There are also some resident populations in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Size:

The red-eyed vireo is 12-14 cm long and has a wingspan of 23-25 cm. These birds weigh up to 26 g.

Habitat:

They breed in deciduous and mixed deciduous forests, being specially abundant in the interior of the forests. They also live in urban areas and parks with large trees. They winter in virtually any wooded habitat within their range.

Diet:

The red-eyed vireo hunts for insects in tree foliage, favouring caterpillars and aphids. They also eat berries, especially before migration, and in the winter quarters, where trees bearing popular fruit like tamanqueiro Alchornea glandulosa or gumbo-limbo Bursera simaruba will even attract them to parks and gardens. The birds will often reach for the fruits acrobatically, even hanging upside down.

Breeding:

The nest is an open cup suspended from a forked tree branch, made of twigs, bark strips, grasses, pine needles, and lichen held together with spider web. Clutch size is typically 3-4 eggs, and incubation lasts for 11 to 14 days. Both the male and female feed the young for the 10 to 12 days before fledging. The female, and perhaps the male, continue to feed the young for up to two weeks after they leave the nest.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

With an estimated population of 140 million and an extremely large range, this species is not threatened at present.