Hutton's vireo

Hutton's vireo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Vireonidae
Genus: Vireo
Species: V. huttoni
Binomial name
Vireo huttoni
Cassin, 1851

Hutton's vireo (Vireo huttoni) is a small songbird. It is approximately 5 inches (12–13 cm) in length, dull olive-gray above and below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint white wing bars. It closely resembles a ruby-crowned kinglet, but has a thicker bill and is slightly larger in size. Its most common song is a repeated chu-wee, or a chew, but will have other variations. Its call is a mewing chatter.

It is found from southern British Columbia in Canada to central Guatemala in Central America. Recent DNA studies suggest this species may be split into at least 2 different species, with coastal Pacific birds showing enough genetic variation when compared to interior ones.

This vireo makes a hanging cup nest suspended from a fork of a tree. The female lays 3-4 eggs. The eggs are mostly white in color, with scattered brown spotting. It prefers deciduous-mixed forests, and is particularly fond of live oak. It feeds by gleaning insects as it deliberately moves through the forest canopy.

Birds are mostly resident in year round, but there may be some altitudinal and short distance migration. Hutton's vireo may join a mixed species flock for the winter.

The scientific name commemorates the US surveyor William Rich Hutton.[2]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Vireo huttoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

External links

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