Puerto Rican Vireo
Vireo latimeri
A small, noisy inhabitant of woodlands including mangrove swamps and shade coffee plantations; often feeds low, near ground. This relatively plain species has a grayish head and chest that contrasts with a yellow-washed belly. The White-eyed Vireo looks passingly similar, but has bold white wingbars and a yellow spot in front of the eyes. The Caribbean Elaenia has whitish wingbars and is usually found perched upright or flycatching. Puerto Rican Vireos sing “chuwee-chuweech-you,” “Chewee-wit-weee,” or variations therein. Its calls include a plaintive “zhe, zhe, zhe…” and an emphatic “djuh.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Vireo latimeri
- Authority
- Baird, SF, 1866
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Vireonidae
- Genus
- Vireo
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Canyon Canastero
Asthenes pudibunda
Fairly common but local and easily overlooked in the Andes, mainly in canyons and on rocky slopes with fairly dense bushes and scrub. Usually rather skulking; keeps low in bushes and creeps in vegetation, but often sings from atop a bush. Plumage rather plain but relatively dark brownish above with chestnut wings and a dark-centered chestnut tail. Compare with Cordilleran Canastero, of more open habitats; also note differences in song and calls.
Blue-throated Bee-eater
Merops viridis
A bright green insect hunter with a long bill and triangular starling-like wings. Adult has a bright blue throat, orange-brown crown and nape, and long trailing central tail feathers. Sexes are alike. Juveniles have a paler blue throat, no orange-brown coloration, and no long tail extensions. Often hunts from exposed perches such as telephone lines or snags, on which it rubs its venomous quarry so as to disarm it. Call is a bright, inflected “chileep.”
Yellow-rumped Siskin
Spinus uropygialis
Fairly common locally in the Andes, often near bogs or other areas with water. Often in flocks, feeding on the ground or in low bushes. Plumage is distinctive, with blackish head and breast, dark back, and bright yellow underparts. Namesake yellow rump usually concealed at rest. Sexes similar, but male averages blacker above. Juvenile looks very different, with greenish head and upperparts, and an orangish bill. No similar species in range, but sometimes associates with Thick-billed and Black Siskins.
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