How to Identify aWarbling Vireo
Vireo gilvus · 4.7–5.5 in (12–14 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Dull grayish-olive above, dingy white below with a faint yellow wash on the flanks, and a soft pale eyebrow. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Rhododendrites / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Second photo: Paul Danese / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Field marks
- No wingbars and no bold face pattern
- Soft pale eyebrow with no dark border
- Thick, slightly hooked vireo bill
- Overall lack of any distinctive mark
Similar species
What it sounds like
A long, rolling, cheerful warble that rises to an emphatic note at the very end.
Behaviour that gives it away
Sings almost continuously through the day, including while sitting on the nest.
Habitat & range
Deciduous woodland, streamside cottonwoods, orchards and shade trees across most of the continent.
When you'll see it
A summer visitor that arrives to breed in North America.
What it eats
Caterpillars and other insects gleaned from leaves, plus berries in late summer.
Did you know?
Its rambling warble is often remembered by the phrase "if I sees you, I will seize you, and I will squeeze you till you squirt".
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