Bell's Vireo

Vireo belliiOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Vireos (Vireonidae)

Bell's Vireo West Coast - The west coast Bell’s Vireo has gray upperparts and white underparts with a buff wash on the breast.

Bell's Vireo - The east coast Bell’s Vireo has gray-green upperparts and pale yellow underparts.

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Bell's Vireo

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.

● Song: "zheedle zheedle zheedle zhoo? (pause) zheedle zheedle zheedle zhee!"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bell's Vireo: Feeds on caterpillars, beetles, bees, wasps, and small spiders. Moves slowly, taking food from branches and leaves.

● Breeding & nesting: Bell's Vireo: Three to five white eggs, usually spotted black or brown, are laid in a small cup nest made of leaves, grass, bark, and spider webs, and lined with fine grass, coarse hairs, feathers, and wool. Nest is hung from a fork in a tree or shrub or suspended by rim between two limbs, 1 to 5 feet above the ground, rarely higher. Both parents incubate eggs for 14 days.

● Similar species: Bell's Vireo: Hutton's Vireo has broader wingbars and dull gray underparts. Gray Vireo has a longer tail and more subtle wingbars. White-eyed Vireo has yellow lores and white eyes. Warbling Vireo is larger and has a bolder stripe extending further behind the eye.

Flight Pattern

Rapid direct flight with shallow wing beats.

● Range & 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.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.3 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Bell's Vireo

Bell's Vireo

Flight Pattern