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A red-eyed vireo perches in a tree. Note the red eyes, olive green back, and white, gray and black head pattern. Photo by Randy Mitchell
A red-eyed vireo perches in a tree. Note the red eyes, olive green back, and white, gray and black head pattern. Photo by Randy Mitchell
They have red eyes!
Similar to last week’s featured creature, this week’s bird is probably heard more than it is seen.
The red-eyed vireo is a somewhat common summer resident, but it’s often overlooked, most likely due to its small size.
The red-eyed vireo is about the size of a warbler. In fact, it strongly resembles the Tennessee warbler, but the Tennessee warbler has a thinner bill and black eyes, not red.
In addition, the Tennessee warbler nests far north of Oklahoma, and winters far south. It does pass through the area in spring and fall, however.
I really can’t describe the songs and calls of red-eyed vireos, but once you know them, you'll notice these birds all the time in summer as they sing and call quite often.
If interested, I recommend searching for the bird on the internet, and clicking on the links for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “All About Birds” website, or the National Audubon Society’s website to hear the bird’s songs and calls.
I enjoy watching these birds every summer, and I miss them when they’re gone. Some people find the near-constant singing and chatter of these birds to be annoying, but I am not one.
Besides, they certainly aren’t as annoying as northern mockingbirds, the young males of which will sometimes babble on all night long.
That being said, I have a great admiration of mockingbirds as they are almost always excellent parents to their young.
Appearance
Red-eyed vireos measure about five inches in length. They are olive green above and white below, with a yellow vent. They have a crisp pattern of white, gray and black on the face and head. And, of course, they have red eyes.
However, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the irises of young birds are brown until the end of their first winter when they turn red.
Habitat
Wooded areas with shrubby understories.
Diet
Red-eyed vireos eat mostly insects during the summer, but their diet shifts to mostly fruit in the winter.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports that, during the summer, caterpillars can make up 50% of a red-eyed vireo’s diet. Insects taken include wasps, ants, moths, mosquitoes, flies, bugs, bees, cicadas and beetles. They will also eat small spiders.
Range
Red-eyed vireos can be found all around Oklahoma during the breeding season and spend the winter in northern South America. The breeding range runs from Texas northwest to Washington and includes all states east and much of Canada, eh.
Nesting
Nests are built in trees between 10 and 15 feet above ground. Females lay one to five eggs which are incubated for 11 to 15 days. Nestling period is from 10 to 12 days.
Odds and ends
- The Cornell Lab reports that there are several subspecies of this bird which
remain in South America year round.
- The Lab also reports that red-eyed vireos have a magnetic compass which
guides migration between continents. However, the Lab also reports that fat stores seem to influence migration paths when the birds encounter the Gulf of Mexico. Birds that are plumper will fly across the Gulf, while leaner birds will stay close to the coast, or even remain inland while migrating.
Editor’s Note: Randy Mitchell is a freelance writer and photographer. He has been an avid birdwatcher, nature enthusiast and photographer for more than 40 years. Reach him at rnw@usa.com.