Our book, Up North, declares “seldom seen, always heard” to describe the Red-Eyed Vireo. Gary and I have never seen this bird. Since it is the most common and widespread vireo, I think it is time to learn. This year I intend to make a concerted effort to find this bird. Status: from mid-May to late September or early October. Range: in Ontario all areas except extreme northwest. Winters in S.A.
Size: 15cm/5-6” or sparrow sized. Habitat: deciduous and mixed forests, especially among aspens or maple, with under-story shrubs and saplings, need 1+ acres of unbroken, suitable habitat for successful breeding. ID: greenish brown back, grey cap, throat and chest white, white streak over red eyes. Red eye is visible close up. Hops up and along branches in hunched stance, bodies move diagonally. Voice: sings high in canopy with mouth full of insects. Sings from a few hours after sunrise, continues all day. Females nest silently in under-story. Short, whistled phrases of 2-5 notes, over 40 different phrases, similar to a robin, but slower, repeated sometimes 30-60 times a minute. Also sharp, high, single notes. Most vireo songs been recorded in one day is 22,197. Song: look up, way up, tree top, see me, here I am.
Food: variety of insects, especially caterpillars; berries and fruit if insects are scarce. Often hovers. Nest: neat, deep, thin-walled of bark strips, usually birch; grass, cobwebs, covered with lichen. Hung on fragile branch out of reach of predators (hawks, raccoons, skunks), except red squirrels and chipmunks. Nest building by female. Conservation: least concern, population increasing. Danger from forest harvesting. Brown-headed Cowbirds are a major danger when they lay a single egg in a vireo nest. These eggs hatch first and aggressively elbow siblings out over food. PS: Correction of the title for my January column, should read Short-Eared Owl. Resources: Up North, Birds of Ontario, Lorimer, Audubon Bird Guides.