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 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.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.