Red-eyed Vireo

Overview

Red-eyed Vireo: Medium vireo with olive-brown upperparts and white underparts. Head has a gray cap, white eyebrow, black eyestripe, and red eyes. Blue-gray legs and feet. Alternates short glides with series of rapid wingbeats. May hover briefly to pick berries or insects from foliage.

Range and Habitat

Red-eyed Vireo: Breeds from British Columbia, Ontario, and Gulf of Saint Lawrence south to Oregon, Colorado, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Inhabits mature deciduous woodlands; also found in shade trees in residential areas.

INTERESTING FACTS

Red-eyed Vireos were once considered one of the three most abundant bird of the forests of Eastern North America.
The males are among the most persistent singers of all birds and have been recorded singing more than 10,000 songs a day in spring.
Vireos living year-round in South America may be a separate species.
A group of red-eyed vireos are collectively known as a "hangover" of vireos.

The Red-eyed Vireo has a large range, estimated globally at 12,000,000 square kilometers. Native to the Americas and nearby island nations, this bird prefers boreal, subtropical, or tropical forest ecosystems, though it can live on plantations or in degraded former forests. The global population of this bird is estimated at 140,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Red-eyed Vireo is Least Concern.