Bell's Vireo

Overview

Bell's Vireo: Small vireo, faint, broken eye-ring, thick, slightly flattened hooked bill, one or two faint wing bars. Upperparts are gray and underparts are white with pale yellow wash on sides. Eastern race has gray-green upperparts and distinct yellow wash on underparts. Legs and feet are gray.

Range and Habitat

Bell's Vireo: Breeds from southern California, Colorado, Dakotas, and Indiana southward. Absent from eastern third of the U.S. Spends winters along the Pacific coast from northern Mexico south to northern Nicaragua. Preferred habitats include forest undergrowth, streamside thickets, woodland edges, and brushy fields.

INTERESTING FACTS

Bell's Vireos have become less common in areas where the riparian vegetation has been reduced.
If cowbird eggs are deposited in a nest prior to vireo egg-laying, nests are usually abandoned. If vireo eggs are removed by cowbirds, the nest may also be abandoned.
The subspecies found in California, the Least Bell's Vireo, is endangered. A group of bell's vireos are collectively known as a "peal" and a "tintinabulation" of vireos.

The Bell's Vireo is currently rated as Near Threatened. This is an upgraded concern rating from Lower Risk in 2000. This bird is known to spend it summers in the southwestern and central regions of the United States as well as northern Mexico. The Bell's Vireo winters in Mexico as well as portions of Central America. It is native to the United States, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and el Salvador. Since 1966, the population of this species has shown a decline. The primary threat to this bird is loss of habitat.