Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Rob Curtis/Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Vireo philadelphicus
| Conservation status | Could be vulnerable to loss of habitat, especially on wintering grounds. Current populations seem stable. |
|---|---|
| Family | Vireos |
| Habitat | Second growth; poplars, willows, alders. Breeds in deciduous and mixed woodlands, especially near their edges, or in the young growth of overgrown pastures. Also nests in willows and alders along streams, lakes, and ponds. In winter in the tropics, often in fairly dry forest in lowlands and foothills. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly in deciduous trees and shrubs, moving about actively as it searches for insects. Often hovers to take items from foliage, or hangs upside down at the tips of twigs to take insects from underside. Sometimes flies out to catch insects in mid-air.
Eggs
4, sometimes 3-5. White with brown or black spots near large end. Incubation is by both parents, about 14 days. Young: Nestlings are fed by both parents. The young leave the nest about 12-14 days after hatching.
Young
Nestlings are fed by both parents. The young leave the nest about 12-14 days after hatching.
Diet
Mostly insects, some berries. Feeds mostly on insects, including caterpillars, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, ants, ichneumons, true bugs, and many others; also some spiders. Eats many berries in late summer and fall, including those of bayberry and dogwood.
Nesting
Male sings to defend nesting territory. In courtship display, male faces female and sways from side to side, fluffing plumage and spreading tail; both members of pair vibrate wings rapidly. Nest site is 10-90' above the ground in deciduous tree such as aspen, willow, alder, or maple. Nest is a compact, basket-like cup, its rim woven onto a horizontal forked twig. Nest (built by both sexes) made of grass, strips of birch bark, lichen, weeds, spiderwebs, and cocoons, lined with pine needles, grass, and feathers.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
Like the Red-eyed Vireo but higher and slower, See-me? Here-I-am! Up-here. See-me?How climate change could affect this bird's range
In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.
Read more: climate.audubon.org
Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
Philadelphia Vireo In the News More News
The Birdist’s Rules Of Birding
Birdist Rule #95: Learn the Red-Eyed Vireo's Song and Level-Up Your Birding
Knowing this species opens the door to a whole new world of birds.
