#gray vireo

Fun Fact!

Blue-mountain: quite secretive and typically detected first by vocalization- which may be difficult, as this vireo's song sounds more like a frog or insect than a bird

Gray: Overwintering birds sometimes pair up and guard a territory, which is unusual for migratory birds

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For more information on these birds, check out these Species Features:

Blue-mountain Vireo | Gray Vireo

Photo: Charles Gates

"Few birds are as plain as the Gray Vireo, a drab summer resident of juniper woods and open brush in the Great Basin region. What it lacks in color, however, it makes up for with personality, hopping around actively in the scrub, singing, and flopping its tail about. Sometimes the bird seems unafraid, coming quite close to birders who stand still in its habitat."

Daily Bird: Gray Vireo

Range: mostly the Great Basin and surrounding areas, with some straggling into southeastern Colorado and southwest Texas

More information: here

It's my birthday so I'm doing a poll about me (sorta). I've worked with these birds in some form or capacity, whether it was for my live-capture pest removal job, nest searching and monitoring, or if they were just common birds to band at a station I've worked.

Fun Fact!

Cuban: the scientific name was given to honor zoologist Juan Gundlach, a German-born man who kickstarted the study of natural sciences in Puerto Rico and Cuba

Gray: Overwintering birds sometimes pair up and guard a territory, which is unusual for migratory birds

[image ID: a drab songbird, with a gray head and white eyering surrounding a dark eye. the bill is blue-gray. the throat and belly are white. end ID]

Song:

Scientific Name: Vireo vicinior

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Habitat & Location: found in pinyon-juniper, mesquite and oak scrub, and chaparral of the Southwest; overwinter in Sonora and Baja California Sur and a portion of western Texas

Fun Fact: Overwintering birds sometimes pair up and guard a territory, which is unusual for migrating birds

[image ID: a map of the Southwest United States and northern Mexico. colored red, which denotes breeding range, is a portion of the 4-corners, with most of that area in Arizona and New Mexico. other red portions are literal spots in California, Baja California, and Coahuila. the blue portion, denoting overwintering range, is in southern Arizona, Sonora, and Baja California Sur. there is a portion in Texas near Big Bend which is colored purple to show year-round residence. there is also a portion of blue to the west and a strip of red to the east near this section. end ID]

Fun Fact!

Warbling: their song has been described as "a happy drunk making a conversational point at a party"

Gray: Overwintering birds sometimes pair up and guard a territory, which is unusual for migratory birds.

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For more information on these birds, check out these Species Features:

Warbling Vireo | Gray Vireo