Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 4.7–5.5 in
12–14 cm - Weight
- 0.4–0.7 oz
12–20 g
Other Names
- Solitary Vireo (in part)
- Viréo plombé (French)
- Vireo plomizo (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Plumbeous Vireo is the middle form in the "Solitary Vireo" complex. Formerly considered one species, three species now are recognized. In appearance it is the dullest of the three, and it has the hoarsest song, which is very similar to that of the Yellow-throated Vireo.
- Although the Plumbeous Vireo used to be considered in the same species as Cassin's Vireo, and they both occur in the same area on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada of California, no cases of hybridization of the two are known.
Habitat
Forest
Montane coniferous and mixed forests, and riparian woodlands in arid intermontane basins.
Food
Insects
Insects, some fruit in winter.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Creamy white with sparse dark spots around larger end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and pink, with eyes closed.
Nest Description
Open cup suspended by rim from a fork of a branch of a tree or sapling. Woven of spider web, bark strips, grasses, rootlets, and hair, decorated with cocoons, lichens, moss, and catkins. Inner lining of grasses and fine rootlets.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Gleans insects from twigs and foliage. Forages in slow and deliberate manner. Some hovering and flycatching.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations stable or slightly increasing.
Credits
- Curson, D. R., and C. B. Goguen. 1998. Plumbeous Vireo (Vireo plumbeus). In The Birds of North America, No. 366 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.