A small vireo with distinctive black cap and white spectacles. Federally endangered until recently delisted.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The black-capped vireo is a small bird native to the United States and Mexico. It was listed as an endangered species in the United States in 1987. It is the only Vireo that is sexually dichromatic. Recovery of the species' population contributed to its delisting in 2018. The IUCN lists the species as "near threatened."
Source: Wikipedia — Black-capped vireo Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Small vireo with bold white "spectacles" (eye rings connected by a white forehead band) on a black cap (males) or slate-gray cap (females). Olive back; white below.
Similar species. White-eyed Vireo (yellow flanks). Other vireos lack the bold black cap with white spectacles.
Voice. Hurried jumbled phrases — among the most varied vireo songs.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Caterpillars, beetles, spiders, other small invertebrates gleaned from leaves.
Behavior. Federally listed as endangered in 1987; recovered enough to be delisted in 2018 — a major conservation success story. Recovery driven by intensive cowbird control and prescribed-fire management of oak-juniper scrub. Texas Hill Country, Oklahoma, and central Mexico are the entire range.
§ Range
Texas Hill Country (federal recovery)
§ Habitat
Oak-juniper woodlands
§ Threats
Habitat loss, brown-headed cowbird parasitism.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the black-capped vireo is currently classified as Endangered.
§ What helps
Support Texas Hill Country conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Black-capped vireo
- www.fws.gov — authoritative profile of Vireo atricapilla
- IUCN Red List · taxon 22705164
- iNaturalist · taxon 12969
- eBird · bkcvir1
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Vireo atricapilla
§ Sources cited
- USFWS Black-capped Vireo Delisting
- Texas Parks and Wildlife
- Fort Hood Endangered Species Program
- IUCN Red List 2018
