Yellow-throated Vireo Similar Species Comparison
Similar Species
Pine Warbler
Adult male
Pine Warblers have smaller, thinner bills than Yellow-throated Vireos. They usually have streaks on the breast or sides, which Yellow-throated Vireos lack.
© Ryan Schain | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, April 30, 2017Similar Species
Pine Warbler
Adult female
Pine Warblers move more quickly through foliage than Yellow-throated Vireos. Their streaky yellow breast merges into a dingy whitish belly, whereas in Yellow-throated, the uniformly yellow breast meets a clean white belly.
© Ryan Schain | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 09, 2016Similar Species
Yellow-breasted Chat
Adult
Yellow-breasted Chats are larger than Yellow-throated Vireos with longer tails and bigger bills. Chats occur in scrubby tangles rather than in treetops. Chats lack wingbars and have a white-on-gray face pattern, unlike the vireo's yellow spectacles.
© Brooke Miller | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, June 16, 2014Main Species
Yellow-throated Vireo
Adult
Brightly colored vireo with a thick bill. Note the bright yellow eyering and lores ("spectacles"), and unstreaked yellow throat. The belly and undertail coverts are white while the head is olive-green
© Todd Fellenbaum | Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 08, 2017Adult
Brightly colored vireo with bright-yellow spectacles, yellow throat, and white belly and undertail coverts. Typically seen in treetops.
© Mike Tucker | Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, May 11, 2020Adult
Song is a slow-paced series of rising and falling notes with a burry tone.
© Benjamin Clock | Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 05, 2011Not all videos have sound
Adult
Typically forages in treetops. Chunky, short-tailed appearance with a thick bill. Note the unstreaked yellow throat.
© Sheila Bremer | Macaulay LibraryOhio, September 15, 2019© Brian Smith | Macaulay LibraryVirginia, May 06, 2018
Adult
Nests in a cup made of bark strips, dry grass, and pine needles, suspended in a horizontal fork of slender branches or twigs.
© Benjamin Clock | Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 25, 2008Not all videos have sound
Adult
Brightly colored vireo with a thick, hooked bill. Gray wings with two white wingbars; unstreaked yellow throat; white belly and undertail.
© Nicole Desnoyers | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, June 02, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Vireonidae)
Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.