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Warbling Vireo

Silhouette VireosVireos
Warbling VireoVireo gilvus
  • ORDER: Passeriformes
  • FAMILY: Vireonidae

Basic Description

The rich song of the Warbling Vireo is a common sound in many parts of central and northern North America during summer. It’s a great bird to learn by ear, because its fast, rollicking song is its most distinctive feature. Otherwise, Warbling Vireos are fairly plain birds with gray-olive upperparts and white underparts washed with faint yellow. They have a mild face pattern with a whitish stripe over the eye. They stay high in deciduous treetops, where they move methodically among the leaves hunting for caterpillars.

More ID Info
image of range map for Warbling Vireo
Year-roundBreedingMigrationNonbreeding
Range map provided by Birds of the World
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Find This Bird

In the eastern part of their breeding range, you can likely find Warbling Vireos in almost any sizable deciduous woodland. They are fairly drab and tend to stay high in trees, so find them by listening for their loud, caroling song. Because of their habitually slow foraging speed, you can often track down the singer fairly easily. In the West, particularly in mountains where coniferous trees are common, Warbling Vireos are harder to find. Look for them in aspen forests and in woodland (often cottonwood) along streams, where they are a common breeder. Again, you will find them most readily by listening for their distinctive song.

Other Names

  • Vireo Gorjeador (Spanish)
  • Viréo mélodieux (French)
  • Cool Facts