Vireo Totally Explained

Everything about Vireonidae totally explained

ť For the record label, see Vireo Records

The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills.

Systematics

The four genera of these birds make up the family Vireonidae, and are believed to be related to the crow-like birds in family Corvidae and the shrikes in family Laniidae. Recent biochemical studies have identified two babbler genera (Pteruthius and Erpornis) which may be Old World members of this family. Observers have commented on the vireo-like behaviour of the Pteruthius shrike-babblers, but apparently no-one suspected the biogeographically unlikely possibility of vireo relatives in Asia.
The family can be conveniently categorised by genus as the true vireos, the greenlets, the shrike-vireos and the peppershrikes.

Feeding

All members of the family eat some fruit but mostly insects and other arthropods. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos also flycatch, and the Gray Vireo takes 5 percent of its prey from the ground (Salaman & Barlow 2003).

Range and territorial behavior

Most species are found in Middle America and northern South America. Thirteen species of true vireos occur farther north, in the United States and Canada; of these all but Hutton's Vireo are migratory. Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration (Salaman & Barlow 2003).
The resident species occur in pairs or family groups that maintain territories all year (except Hutton's Vireo, which joins mixed feeding flocks). Most of the migrants defend winter territories against conspecifics. The exceptions are the complex comprising the Red-eyed Vireo, the Yellow-green Vireo, the Black-whiskered Vireo, and the Yucatan Vireo, which winter in small wandering flocks (Salaman & Barlow 2003).

Voice and breeding

Males of most species are persistent singers. Songs are usually rather simple, monotonous in some species of the Caribbean littoral and islands, and most elaborate and pleasant to human ears in the Chocó Vireo and the peppershrikes (Salaman & Barlow 2003).
The nests of many tropical species are unknown. Of those that are known, all build a cup-shaped nest that hangs from branches. The female does most of the incubation, spelled by the male except in the Red-eyed Vireo complex (Salaman & Barlow 2003).

Species

Genus Vireo, the true vireos (the name is Latin for "I am green")

Black-whiskered Vireo, Vireo altiloquus
Black-capped Vireo, Vireo atricapillus
Cozumel Vireo, Vireo bairdi
Bell's Vireo, Vireo bellii
Slaty Vireo, Vireo brevipennis
St. Andrew Vireo, Vireo caribaeus
Yellow-winged Vireo, Vireo carmioli
Cassin's Vireo, Vireo cassinii
Thick-billed Vireo, Vireo crassirostris
Yellow-throated Vireo, Vireo flavifrons
Yellow-green Vireo, Vireo flavoviridis
Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus
Noronha Vireo, Vireo gracilirostris
White-eyed Vireo, Vireo griseus
Cuban Vireo, Vireo gundlachii
Hutton's Vireo, Vireo huttoni
Golden Vireo, Vireo hypochryseus
Puerto Rican Vireo, Vireo latimeri
Brown-capped Vireo, Vireo leucophrys
Yucatan Vireo, Vireo magister
Choco Vireo, Vireo masteri
Jamaican Vireo, Vireo modestus
Flat-billed Vireo, Vireo nanus
Dwarf Vireo, Vireo nelsoni
Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus
Blue Mountain Vireo, Vireo osburni
Mangrove Vireo, Vireo pallens
Philadelphia Vireo, Vireo philadelphicus
Plumbeous Vireo, Vireo plumbeus
Blue-headed Vireo, Vireo solitarius
Gray Vireo, Vireo vicinior

Genus Hylophilus, the greenlets

Gray-eyed Greenlet, Hylophilus amaurocephalus
Golden-fronted Greenlet, Hylophilus aurantiifrons
Brown-headed Greenlet, Hylophilus brunneiceps
Lesser Greenlet, Hylophilus decurtatus
Scrub Greenlet, Hylophilus flavipes
Dusky-capped Greenlet, Hylophilus hypoxanthus
Buff-cheeked Greenlet, Hylophilus muscicapinus
Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Hylophilus ochraceiceps
Olivaceous Greenlet, Hylophilus olivaceus
Ashy-headed Greenlet, Hylophilus pectoralis
Rufous-crowned Greenlet, Hylophilus poicilotis
Tepui Greenlet, Hylophilus sclateri
Rufous-naped Greenlet, Hylophilus semibrunneus
Gray-chested Greenlet, Hylophilus semicinereus
Lemon-chested Greenlet, Hylophilus thoracicus

Genus Vireolanius, the shrike-vireos

Yellow-browed Shrike-vireo, Vireolanius eximius
Slaty-capped Shrike-vireo, Vireolanius leucotis
Chestnut-sided Shrike-vireo, Vireolanius melitophrys
Green Shrike-vireo, Vireolanius pulchellus

Genus Cyclarhis, the peppershrikes

Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Cyclarhis gujanensis
Black-billed Peppershrike Cyclarhis nigrirostris

Possible candidates for relocation to this family

Genus Erpornis - see (Barker et al. 2004)

White-bellied Erpornis or White-bellied "Yuhina", Erpornis zantholeuca - formerly in Yuhina (Cibois et al. 2002)

Genus Pteruthius - shrike-babblers - see (Reddy & Cracraft, in press)

Chestnut-fronted Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius aenobarbus
White-browed Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius flaviscapis
Black-eared Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius melanotis
Black-headed Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius rufiventer
Green Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius xanthochlorus

Further Information

Get more info on 'Vireonidae'.

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