The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. The family contains 62 species and is divided into eight genera. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the female golden oriole, possibly the European greenfinch.
They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from the Chocó vireo, dwarf vireo, and lesser greenlet, all at around and , to the peppershrikes and shrike-vireos at up to and .
Distribution and habitat Most species are found in Middle America and northern South America. Thirteen species of true vireos occur farther north, in the United States, BermudaWhite-eyed vireo , Audubon Society of Bermuda and Canada; of these, all but Hutton's vireo are migratory. Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration.Salaman, Paul & Barlow, Jon C. 2003. Vireos. Pp. 478–479 in; Perrins, C. ed. The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books, Oxford. They inhabit forest environments, with different species preferring forest canopies, undergrowth, or mangrove swamps.
A few species in the genus Vireo have appeared on the eastern side of the Atlantic as vagrants to the Western Palearctic.
Behaviour The resident species occur in pairs or family groups that maintain territories all year (except Hutton's vireo, which joins mixed feeding flocks). Most of the migrants defend winter territories against conspecifics. The exceptions are the complex comprising the red-eyed vireo, yellow-green vireo, black-whiskered vireo, and Yucatan vireo, which winter in small, wandering flocks.
Voice
Males of most species are persistent singers. Songs are usually rather simple, monotonous in some species of the Caribbean littoral and islands, and most elaborate and pleasant to human ears in the Chocó vireo and the peppershrikes.
Breeding The nests of many tropical species are unknown. Of those that are known, all build a cup-shaped nest that hangs from branches. The female does most of the incubation, spelled by the male except in the red-eyed vireo complex.
Feeding All members of the family eat some fruit, but mostly insects and other arthropods. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos also flycatch, and the gray vireo takes 5% of its prey from the ground.
Systematics
The family Vireonidae is related to the crow-like birds in family Corvidae and the shrikes in family Laniidae as part of superfamily Corvoidea. As currently circumscribed, the family is made up of eight genera.
Traditionally, the family was considered to include four New World genera containing the true vireos (Vireo), the greenlets (Hylophilus), the shrike-vireos (Vireolanius), and the peppershrikes (Cyclarhis). However, phylogenetic studies found Hylophilus to be polyphyletic, with the greenlets split into three distinct groups - the "scrub" greenlets in a restricted Hylophilus, the "canopy" greenlets in resurrected genus Pachysylvia, and the tawny-crowned greenlet in new genus Tunchiornis.
In addition, biochemical studies have identified two babbler genera (Pteruthius and Erpornis), which may be Old World members of this family. Observers have commented on the vireo-like behaviour of the Pteruthius shrike-babblers, but apparently no one suspected the biogeographically unlikely possibility of vireo relatives in Asia. Some recent taxonomic treatements, such as the IOC taxonomy followed here, include Pteruthius and Erpornis in the Vireionidae, whereas others place them in their own families Pteruthidae and Erpornidae.
Species in taxonomic order Image Genus Species Pteruthius - shrike-babblers Green shrike-babbler, Pteruthius xanthochlorus Black-eared shrike-babbler, Pteruthius melanotis Black-headed shrike-babbler, Pteruthius rufiventer White-browed shrike-babbler, Pteruthius aeralatus Pied shrike-babbler, Pteruthius flaviscapis Clicking shrike-babbler, Pteruthius intermedius Trilling shrike-babbler, Pteruthius aenobarbus Erpornis Supporting information White-bellied erpornis or white-bellied "yuhina", Erpornis zantholeuca Cyclarhis , the peppershrikes Rufous-browed peppershrike, Cyclarhis gujanensis Black-billed peppershrike Cyclarhis nigrirostris Vireolanius , the shrike-vireos Chestnut-sided shrike-vireo, Vireolanius melitophrys Green shrike-vireo, Vireolanius pulchellus Yellow-browed shrike-vireo, Vireolanius eximius Slaty-capped shrike-vireo, Vireolanius leucotis Hylophilus Grey-eyed greenlet, Hylophilus amaurocephalus Rufous-crowned greenlet, Hylophilus poicilotis Olivaceous greenlet, Hylophilus olivaceus Ashy-headed greenlet, Hylophilus pectoralis Brown-headed greenlet, Hylophilus brunneiceps Lemon-chested greenlet, Hylophilus thoracicus Scrub greenlet, Hylophilus flavipes Grey-chested greenlet, Hylophilus semicinereus Tunchiornis Ochre-crowned greenlet, Tunchiornis ochraceiceps Rufous-fronted greenlet, Tunchiornis ferrugineifrons Guianan greenlet, Tunchiornis luteifrons Para greenlet, Tunchiornis rubrifronsPachysylvia Lesser greenlet, Pachysylvia decurtata Dusky-capped greenlet, Pachysylvia hypoxantha Buff-cheeked greenlet, Pachysylvia muscicapina Golden-fronted greenlet, Pachysylvia aurantiifrons Rufous-naped greenlet, Pachysylvia semibrunnea Vireo , the true vireos. The "hypochryseus" group Golden vireo, Vireo hypochryseus The "olivaceous" group. Yellow-green vireo, Vireo flavoviridis (sometimes included in V. olivaceus) Red-eyed vireo, Vireo olivaceus Yucatan vireo, Vireo magister Black-whiskered vireo, Vireo altiloquus Chivi vireo, Vireo chivi Noronha vireo, Vireo gracilirostris The "gilvus" group. Tepui vireo, Vireo sclateri Philadelphia vireo, Vireo philadelphicus Warbling vireo, Vireo gilvus Brown-capped vireo, Vireo leucophrys The "eye-ringed" group. Hutton's vireo, Vireo huttoni Gray vireo, Vireo vicinior Yellow-throated vireo, Vireo flavifrons Yellow-winged vireo, Vireo carmioli Choco vireo, Vireo masteri Blue-headed vireo, Vireo solitarius Cassin's vireo, Vireo cassinii Plumbeous vireo, Vireo plumbeus Blue Mountain vireo, Vireo osburni Flat-billed vireo, Vireo nanus Mangrove vireo, Vireo pallens Providencia vireo, Vireo approximans Cozumel vireo, Vireo bairdi San Andres vireo, Vireo caribaeus White-eyed vireo, Vireo griseus Thick-billed vireo, Vireo crassirostris Jamaican vireo, Vireo modestus Cuban vireo, Vireo gundlachii Bell's vireo, Vireo bellii Puerto Rican vireo, Vireo latimeri Black-capped vireo, Vireo atricapilla Dwarf vireo, Vireo nelsoni Slaty vireo, Vireo brevipennis
References
External links
Vireos (Vireonidae) information, including 33 species with videos and 40 with photographs at the Internet Bird Collection