A medium gray vireo of western forest habitats.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
Cassin's vireo is a small North American songbird, ranging from southern British Columbia in Canada through the western coastal states of the United States, including California, Oregon, and Washington. The Cassin's Vireo moves down Western United States forests in its migration. During its migration in early spring and late fall, it spends the winter in regions from southern Arizona to southern Mexico, including parts of Baja California and the Pacific coast of Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia — Cassin's vireo Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Gray head with white 'spectacles', an olive-gray back, two white wing bars, and a faint yellow wash on the flanks. Intermediate between the crisp Blue-headed and the gray Plumbeous.
Similar species. Blue-headed Vireo is brighter with a bluer head and more yellow; Plumbeous is gray and white with no yellow. Cassin's is the dull-intermediate western bird.
Voice. A burry, deliberate series of slurred phrases with pauses, huskier than Blue-headed.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Caterpillars and other insects, occasional berries.
Behavior. A vireo of western dry woodlands; forages methodically in the mid-canopy and was formerly lumped with Blue-headed and Plumbeous as the 'Solitary Vireo'.
§ Range
Western US, Canada
§ Habitat
Coniferous forests
§ Threats
Habitat loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the cassin's vireo is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support western forest conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Cassin's vireo
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Vireo cassinii
- IUCN Red List — search for Vireo cassinii
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Vireo cassinii
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
