Black-whiskered Vireo
Vireo altiloquus
Large vireo, nearly identical in plumage to Red-eyed Vireo but slightly duller and browner. Drab olive-greenish above and white below with gray cap, white eyebrow, and brown eye. Telltale black whisker mark often difficult to see, but is diagnostic. Hooked bill is rather long for a vireo. Primarily a Caribbean species; exact extent of wintering range in South America is poorly known. Limited range in U.S.; breeds in scrubby mangrove forests in Florida. Can be difficult to spot in dense foliage, but listen for song: repeated two- or three-parted chirping phrases that are vaguely reminiscent of a more musical House Sparrow.
Identification
This vireo is 14–15 cm in length, has a 25 cm wingspan and weighs 17–19 g. It has thick blue-grey legs and a stout bill.<p>The adult black-whiskered vireo has dull olive-green upperparts and white underparts, with yellowish on the flanks and under the tail. It has red eyes and a grey-brown crown with faint dusky edges. There is a dark line through the eyes and a white eyebrow stripe. There is a distinctive black line (the "whisker") on the neck sides. Juvenile birds are similar, but have brown-red eyes.<p>This species is similar to red-eyed vireo, but is duller and browner above, and is best distinguished by the black whisker mark. The song is a three-syllable whip, Tom Kelly, more abrupt than that of red-eyed vireo.<p>The Florida race V. a. barbatulus is shorter-billed by 15% than the northern Caribbean subspecies V. a. bonairensis. The latter form has occurred in the US as a vagrant to Florida and Louisiana.
Taxonomy
Genus: Vireo; Family: Vireonidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Vireo altiloquus
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1808)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Vireonidae
- Genus
- Vireo
Range and habitat
The breeding habitat is open deciduous wooded areas and cultivation, and in Florida also mangroves. The black-whiskered vireo builds a cup nest in a fork of a tree branch, and lays 2-3 white eggs.
- Breeding range
- NA : se USA and West Indies
- Non-breeding range
- SA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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