Hutton's Vireo
Encyclopedia
Hutton's Vireo is a small songbird
. It is approximately 5 inches (12-13 cm) in length, dull olive-gray above and below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint white wing bars. It closely resembles a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but has a thicker bill and is slightly larger in size. Its most common song is a repeated chu-wee, or a chew, but will have other variations. Its call is a mewing chatter.
It is found from southern British Columbia
in Canada
to central Guatemala
in Central America
. Recent DNA studies suggest this species may be split into at least 2 different species, with coastal Pacific birds showing enough genetic variation when compared to interior ones.
This vireo makes a hanging cup nest suspended from a fork of a tree. The female lays 3-4 eggs. The eggs are mostly white in color, with scattered brown spotting. It prefers deciduous-mixed forests, and is particularly fond of live oak
. It feeds by gleaning
insects as it deliberately moves through the forest canopy.
Birds are mostly resident in year round, but there may be some altitudinal and short distance migration. Hutton's Vireo may join a mixed species flock for the winter.
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
. It is approximately 5 inches (12-13 cm) in length, dull olive-gray above and below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint white wing bars. It closely resembles a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but has a thicker bill and is slightly larger in size. Its most common song is a repeated chu-wee, or a chew, but will have other variations. Its call is a mewing chatter.
It is found from southern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to central Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. Recent DNA studies suggest this species may be split into at least 2 different species, with coastal Pacific birds showing enough genetic variation when compared to interior ones.
This vireo makes a hanging cup nest suspended from a fork of a tree. The female lays 3-4 eggs. The eggs are mostly white in color, with scattered brown spotting. It prefers deciduous-mixed forests, and is particularly fond of live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
. It feeds by gleaning
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
insects as it deliberately moves through the forest canopy.
Birds are mostly resident in year round, but there may be some altitudinal and short distance migration. Hutton's Vireo may join a mixed species flock for the winter.
External links
- Hutton's Vireo Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Hutton's Vireo - Vireo huttoni - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Hutton's Vireo species account-E-Nature
- Hutton's Vireo photo gallery VIREO