Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)

Identification & Behavior: ~12-14 cm (4.7-5.5 in). The Red-eyed Vireo has yellow-olive upperparts and tail. The underparts are generally whitish with yellow on the sides of the breast. It has a gray cap bordered by blackish stripes. It has white superciliary, dusky lores and an iris that vary from red to brown. All forms have yellow undertail coverts. The Red-eyed Vireo forages in the canopy and sub-canopy of the forest in Amazonia, semi-deciduous forest, and montane forest and Andean scrub. It is very similar to the Yellow-Green Vireo but is distinguished by smaller size, less yellow on the underparts, and little or no black bordering on the crown. Also, see Brown-capped Vireo.

Status: The geographic range of the Red-eyed Vireo includes an intricate pattern of resident forms, Boreal, and Austral migrants. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Víreo de Ojo Rojo.

Sub-species: Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus olivaceus), (Linnaeus), 1766.  breeds Canada (except NW & N) and NW, C & E USA; migrates to N South America.
(Vireo olivaceus griseobarbatus), (Berlepsch and Taczanowski), 1884.  W Ecuador and NW Peru.
(Vireo olivaceus pectoralis), J. T. Zimmer, 1941.  W Ecuador and NW Peru.
(Vireo olivaceus solimoensis), Todd, 1931.  E Ecuador, NE Peru, and W Brazil (E to lower R Negro, S to upper R Juruá and R Purús).
(Vireo olivaceus chivi), (Vieillot), 1817.  C Peru, WC Brazil, E Bolivia, W Paraguay, and NE Argentina (S to San Luis, Córdoba, Santa Fe and N Buenos Aires); non-breeding E Colombia, S Venezuela and NC Brazil (S of R Amazon).

Meaning of Name: Vireo : L. virere= to be green; vireo, vireonis= small green bird. olivaceus: Mod. L. olivaceus= olive-green.

See more of the Family Vireonidae