Western Warbling Vireo Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesWestern Warbling Vireo
A small, chunky songbird with a thick, straight, slightly hooked bill. Medium-sized for a vireo, with a fairly round head and medium-length bill and tail.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 25, 2019Forages by plucking insects from twigs and leaves.
© Michael Stubblefield / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 26, 2022Adult
A mid-sized, gray-and-white vireo. Moves slowly through small branches, looking around carefully for insects. Note fairly thick bill and dark line through eye that fades out before it meets the bill.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 01, 2005Extremely similar to Eastern Warbling Vireo and best separated by voice. Western Warbling Vireos often have a darker, smaller bill and a longer white supercilium (stripe over the eye), but no single character holds for separating all Eastern and Western Warbling Vireos.
© Bryan Calk / Macaulay LibraryNew Mexico, August 15, 2017Grayish above and whitish below, with some yellow on the sides.
© John F. Gatchet / Macaulay LibraryArizona, March 07, 2017Adult
Often best located and identified by its complex warbling song.
© Anonymous / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 04, 2022Feeds mostly on insects but also eats some small fruits, especially during the nonbreeding season.
© Rachel Hudson / Macaulay LibraryWashington, September 14, 2019Breeds in deciduous or mixed woodlands and uses a wide array of scrubby and wooded habitats the rest of the year.
© Barry Rowan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 16, 2023Similar SpeciesEastern Warbling Vireo
Adult
Western and Eastern Warbling Vireos look very similar and are best distinguished by voice. In areas where they overlap, silent individuals may not be identifiable to species. Eastern Warbling Vireo tends to have a thicker bill that is paler at the base and a shorter white supercilium (stripe over the eye), but no single character is reliable for all individuals.
© Bradley Kane / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 03, 2024Similar SpeciesRed-eyed Vireo
Adult
Red-eyed Vireos are larger than Western Warbling Vireos, with a stronger face pattern in which the white eyebrow stripe is bordered above and below by black lines.
© James Hully / Macaulay LibraryIllinois, September 02, 2016Similar SpeciesPhiladelphia Vireo
Adult
Philadelphia Vireos often have extensively yellow underparts. However, some Philadelphia Vireos have limited yellow below. These paler Philadelphia Vireos are best distinguished from Western Warbling Vireos by Philadelphia’s concentration of yellow on the throat and breast (versus flanks in Western Warbling) and an eyeline that is darkest in front of the eye (an area that is pale in Western Warbling Vireo).
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, September 22, 2011Similar SpeciesTennessee Warbler
Breeding male
Tennessee Warblers are daintier, move more quickly, and have thinner, sharper bills than Western Warbling Vireos. Breeding males usually have contrasting gray heads and olive-green backs.
© Maurice Raymond / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 27, 2017Similar SpeciesBell's Vireo
Adult (Arizona)
Bell's Vireos are grayer than Western Warbling Vireos. They have a less distinct face pattern, with a faint dark line through a partial eyering, instead of Western Warbling Vireo's pale eyebrow.
© James Hully / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 26, 2016Search species and articles
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