Black-whiskered Vireo

Overview

Black-whiskered Vireo: Large vireo with olive-green upperparts and olive-buff washed white underparts. The head has gray crown, dark whiskers (moustache stripe) along sides of throat, white eyebrow with black border, and red-brown eyes. The bill is black, straight, and slightly hooked.

Range and Habitat

Black-whiskered Vireo: Breeds in southern Florida and West Indies. Spends winters in tropics. Preferred habitats include mangroves, thick scrub, and shade trees.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Florida race V. a. barbatulus is shorter-billed by 15% than the northern Caribbean subspecies V. a. bonairensis.
The latter form has occurred in the USA as a vagrant to Florida and Louisiana.
This bird suffers from nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird in its US range, and Shiny Cowbird further south.
A group of vireos are collectively known as a "call" of vireos.

The Black-whiskered Vireo is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Florida, the West Indies, and some offshore Venezuelan islands. These breeding habitats consist of Florida mangroves and open, deciduous forests. Black-whiskered Vireos are partial migrants, with the northernmost populations moving to Greater Antilles, northern South America and Costa Rica in winter months. This species gleans vegetation in search for food, including insects and sometimes berries. It may also at times hover over the area it is gleaning while feeding. The Black-whiskered Vireo is threatened by nest parasitism of the Brown-headed Cowbird and Shiny Cowbird, but has a current conservation rating of Least Concern.