Guide to North American Birds

The Red-eyed Vireo is one of the most numerous summer birds in eastern woods. It is not the most often seen, because it tends to stay out of sight in the leafy treetops, searching methodically among the foliage for insects. However, its song — a series of short, monotonous phrases, as if it were endlessly asking and answering the same question — can be heard constantly during the nesting season, even on hot summer afternoons.

The Blue-headed Vireo is common in summer in mixed forest, where conifers and deciduous trees grow together. When feeding, it works rather deliberately along branches, searching for insects. Its nest, a bulky cup suspended in the fork of a twig, is often easy to find. This bird was formerly lumped with the western Plumbeous Vireo and Cassin's Vireo under the name Solitary Vireo.

When it is glimpsed in low brushy thickets of the Midwest or Southwest, the Bell's Vireo looks totally nondescript. When it is heard, however, it is easy to recognize, singing a jumbled clinking song, as if it had a mouthful of marbles. The species has become less common in recent years in many parts of its range, partly because it is a frequent victim of Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism; many Bell's Vireo pairs succeed in raising only Brown-headed Cowbirds, not their own young.

In leafy eastern forests, especially among the tall oaks, the slow, husky phrases of the Yellow-throated Vireo can be heard in spring and summer. More colorful than most vireos, it is not any easier to see, usually remaining out of sight in the foliage. However, the male sings throughout the breeding season, as late as August and September.

A busy bird of the thickets, most common in the southeastern United States. Although the White-eyed Vireo usually stays in dense cover, it is not always hard to see; it will come up to examine and scold a birder who stands near the bushes and makes squeaking sounds. Even when it remains out of sight, its snappy song is distinctive. In Bermuda, where the bird is common, it is widely known as 'chick-of-the-village,' a good rendition of the song.

The Yellow-green Vireo enters the United States mainly as a rare summer visitor to southern Texas. It is a close relative of the Red-eyed Vireo, and at one time the two were considered to belong to the same species. Yellow-green Vireos nest mostly in tropical areas, from Mexico to Panama, where the climate would seem to be suitable for songbirds all year; despite this, they are strongly migratory, traveling south to the Amazon Basin for the winter.

In woods of the Pacific Coast and the Southwest, this little vireo hops about actively in the oaks. The Hutton's Vireo bears a surprising resemblance to the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (which is often more common in the same woods in winter); it even twitches its wings in kinglet style when it is excited. The Hutton's Vireo has the most monotonous song of all the vireos, a single note repeated over and over.

Few birds are as plain as the Gray Vireo, a drab summer resident of juniper woods and open brush in the Great Basin region. What it lacks in color, however, it makes up for with personality, hopping around actively in the scrub, singing, and flopping its tail about. Sometimes the bird seems unafraid, coming quite close to birders who stand still in its habitat.