White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Point Pelee, Ontario May 2005.

Warbler-sized, the White-eyed Vireo is just 5″/13 cm long. It breeds from Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, southeastern New York, and central New England south to eastern Texas and southern Florida, and winters from the Gulf Coast and Florida southward to the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize Honduras, parts of the Bahamas, and parts of the Caribbean. Severe winters may cause high mortality in southern and gulf coastal United States.

While most vireos inhabit tall trees, this species is usually found in thickets and often at eye-level, where its presence is most easily detected by its loud and distinctive song - an explosive series of notes, “chip-a-wheeoo-chip” or “Quick, give me a rain check”. The species is a foliage gleaner, and it forages deliberately with short hops or flights. Most of the food is taken from leaves, and after a food capture, the bird will usually perch and swallow. An interesting behavior is the repeated flogging of large caterpillars on a branch before eating. A patient observer can usually get a good look at a White-eyed Vireo by standing quietly and waiting for the bird’s curiosity to bring it into view. Unfortunately, the brood-parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird regularly targets this vireo’s nest for its own eggs.

An identification tip worth noting is that while the adult have white eyes those of the immatures are dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photographs © Charlie Moores