Yellow-throated Vireo
Encyclopedia
The Yellow-throated Vireo, Vireo flavifrons, is a small American
songbird
.
Adults are mainly olive on the head and upperparts with a yellow throat and white belly; they have dark eyes with yellow "spectacles". The tail and wings are dark with white wing bars. They have thick blue-grey legs and a stout bill.
Their breeding habitat is open deciduous
woods in southern Canada
and the eastern United States
.
These birds migrate
to the deep southern United States
, Mexico
and Central America
. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe
. There is one record from Britain
in Kenidjack Valley
Cornwall
September 20-27 1990. There is also a sight report from Germany
.
They forage for insect
s high in trees. They also eat berries
, especially before migration and in winter when they are occasionally seen feeding on Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) fruit. They make a thick cup nest attached to a fork in a tree branch.
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
songbird
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"...
.
Adults are mainly olive on the head and upperparts with a yellow throat and white belly; they have dark eyes with yellow "spectacles". The tail and wings are dark with white wing bars. They have thick blue-grey legs and a stout bill.
Their breeding habitat is open deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
woods in southern 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...
and the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
These birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the deep southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and 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...
. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. There is one record from Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in Kenidjack Valley
Kenidjack Valley
Kenidjack Valley is a steep-sided valley in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The Tregeseal River flows down the valley and discharges into the Atlantic a few hundred metres north of Cape Cornwall , half-a-mile north-east of the village of St Just.The valley was an important area of tin mining and the...
Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
September 20-27 1990. There is also a sight report from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
They forage for insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s high in trees. They also eat berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, especially before migration and in winter when they are occasionally seen feeding on Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) fruit. They make a thick cup nest attached to a fork in a tree branch.
External links
- Yellow-throated Vireo Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Yellow-throated Vireo Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Yellow-throated Vireo - Vireo flavifrons - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Yellow-throated Vireo Bird Sound