A small western vireo. Often mistaken for kinglets due to size and coloration.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
Hutton's vireo is a small songbird in the family Vireonidae, the vireos, greenlets, and shrike-babblers. It is found from southwestern Canada to Guatemala.
Source: Wikipedia — Hutton's vireo Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Small, plump grayish-olive vireo with a pale eye ring broken above the eye, two pale wing bars, and a stout, slightly hooked bill.
Similar species. Ruby-crowned Kinglet is very similar but smaller, more active, with a thinner bill and a black bar below the rear wing bar; the vireo is stockier and slower.
Voice. A monotonous, repeated single note 'zu-wee' or 'chu-wee' over and over.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Caterpillars and other insects, occasional berries.
Behavior. A small, sluggish vireo of western oak and oak-conifer woodland; resident on territory year-round and easily mistaken for a kinglet.
§ Range
Pacific Coast
§ Habitat
Mixed evergreen forests
§ Threats
Forest loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the hutton's vireo is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support Pacific Coast forest conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Hutton's vireo
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Vireo huttoni
- IUCN Red List — search for Vireo huttoni
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Vireo huttoni
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
