Vireo (genus)
| Vireos | |
|---|---|
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| Bell's vireo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Vireonidae |
| Genus: |
Vireo Vieillot, 1808 |
| Species | |
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Vireo is a genus of small passerine birds restricted to the New World. Vireos typically have dull greenish plumage (hence the name, from Latin virere, "to be green"), but some are brown or gray on the back and some have bright yellow underparts. They resemble wood warblers apart from their slightly larger size and heavier bills, which in most species have a very small hook at the tip. The legs are stout.
Most species fall into two plumage groups: one with wing-bars and yellow or white eye-rings, and one with unmarked wings and eye-stripes; however, the Chocó vireo has both wing-bars and eye-stripes.
Sexes are alike in all species except for the black-capped vireo, in which the male's crown is black and the female's is gray.
All members of the genus mostly eat insects and other arthropods, but also eat some fruit. A common pattern is arthropods in summer and fruit in winter. Vireos take prey from leaves and branches and in midair, and the gray vireo takes 5 percent of its prey from the ground.
Most species are found in Central America and northern South America. Thirteen species occur farther north, in the United States and Canada; of these, all but Hutton's vireo are migratory. Vireos seldom fly long distances except in migration.
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.
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