Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ White-eyed Vireo

Vireo griseus

(Boddaert, 1783)

White-eyed Vireo

G5Secure Found in 20 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103052
Element CodeABPBW01020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyVireonidae
GenusVireo
Other Common Names
Viréo aux yeux blancs (FR) Vireo Ojo Blanco (ES) white-eyed vireo (EN)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Puebla and Veracruz populations often have been recognized as a distinct species, V. PERQUISITOR (Veracruz Vireo) (AOU 1983). Species boundaries in the white-eyed vireo complex (GRISEUS, CRASSIROSTRIS, PALLENS, BAIRDI, CARIBAEUS, MODESTUS, GUNDLACHII, LATIMERI, and NANUS) are poorly understood (AOU 1998). See Johnson et al. (1988) and Murray et al. (1994) for analyses of the phylogenetic relationships among vireos.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-10
Change Date1996-12-03
Edition AuthorsPALIS, J.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: central Iowa, southeastern Minnesota (rarely), southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, extreme southern Ontario, southern New York, and southern Massachusetts, south to southern Mexico (San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo), southern Texas, Gulf Coast, southern Florida and west to eastern Nebraska (formerly), eastern Kansas, central Oklahoma, west-central Texas, and Coahuila (AOU 1998). NON-BREEDING: central Texas, the Gulf states, and extreme southeastern Virginia (Dismal Swamp) south to Guatemala, Belize, and northwestern Honduras (casually to western Panama); also in Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and St. John (Hopp et al. 1995, AOU 1998). RESIDENT: Bermuda (subspecies BERMUDIANUS) (Hopp et al. 1995). Casual north to North Dakota, southern Manitoba, southern Minnesota, northern Michigan, southern Quebec, Maine, and Nova Scotia, west to California, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, southern New Mexico, Chihuahua, and south to Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico (including Mona Island) and the Virgin Islands (St. John); sight report for Socorro (Revillagigedo Islands) (AOU 1998).
Threat Impact Comments
PREDATION: Potential predators of nests and fledglings include snakes (e.g. Rat Snakes, ELAPHE OBSOLETA), Blue Jays (CYANOCITTA CRISTATA), mice (PEROMYSCUS sp.), Eastern Chipmunks (TAMIAS STRIATUS), Raccoons (PROCYON LOTOR), Virginia Opossums (DIDELPHIS MARSUPIALIS), and Striped Skunks (MEPHITIS MEPHITIS). Short-tailed Hawks (BUTEO BRACHYURUS) are confirmed predators (Ogden 1974). In Bermuda, fledglings sometimes get entangled in golden-silk spider webs (NEPHILA CLAVIPES; Forbush and May 1939 cited in Hopp et al. 1995). NEST PARASITISM: Observed rates of Brown-headed Cowbird nest parasitism vary from 40% in Louisiana (Goertz 1977), to 48.9% in Virginia (Hopp et al. 1995), to 83% in Illinois (Graber et al. 1985). Parasitized host nests typically fledge only cowbird young (Hopp et al. 1995). OTHER: During migration, large numbers are sometimes killed during severe weather. An estimated 1800 individuals were killed by thunderstorms and a tornado in Louisiana during spring migration (Weidenfeld and Weidenfeld 1995). Migrating individuals are killed by colliding with towers (Crawford 1978, Taylor and Anderson 1973, Taylor and Kershner 1986).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

BREEDING: Inhabits early-late successional, shrubby habitats such as deciduous scrub, old fields, abandoned pastures, regenerating clearcuts or other heavily logged areas, drainage and streamside thickets, forest edges, reclaimed strip mines, and mangrove swamps (Bent 1950, Bradley 1980, Graber et al. 1985, Hopp et al. 1995, Mumford and Keller 1984, Palmer-Ball 1996). In east Texas, positively associated with high shrub density and species diversity, and foliage density (Conner et al. 1983). In Virginia, prefers habitats with extensive undergrowth, shrubs, and tree saplings interspersed with widely spaced taller trees (Hopp et al. 1995). Birds inhabiting the Atlantic coastal region of Georgia and the Carolinas prefer scrub lacking an overstory, whereas birds ranging from Alabama to Louisiana appear to prefer edge habitat (S. L. Hopp, pers. comm.). Nest is typically placed in a Y-shaped horizontal branch of a deciduous tree or shrub, 0.3-2.11 m above the ground (Hopp et al. 1995).

NON-BREEDING: Considered a habitat generalist on the wintering grounds. Observed in all habitat types surveyed on the Yucatan Peninsula, including field, pasture, acahual (shrubby, early successional habitat), semi-deciduous forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist tropical forest, mangrove forest and coastal scrub (Lynch 1989). In a habitat-use study of three habitat types on the Yucatan Peninsula (pasture, acahual and subtropical dry forest), observed most frequently in the latter (Greenberg 1992). Captured most frequently in pine savanna and early successional scrub in Belize (Petit et al. 1992). In Veracruz, Mexico, occupied young (1-10 m tall) and old (10-20 m tall) second-growth forest, as well as undisturbed evergreen tropical forest (Rappole and Warner 1980).

Ecology

DENSITY/TERRITORIALITY: Territorial during the breeding season; size of breeding territories vary with habitat quality. Territory size varied from 0.13 hectares in a swamp thicket to 1.4 hectares in a forest edge in Illinois (Graber et al. 1985), and averaged 1.3 hectares in Florida (Bradley 1980). Also territorial on wintering grounds (Greenberg et al. 1993, Rappole and Warner 1980). Average size of winter territory on the Yucatan Peninsula is approximately 0.5 hectares (Greenberg et al. 1993). Density during the breeding season has been reported to be 1.2 pairs/10 hectares in Chestnut Oak (QUERCUS PRINUS) forest in the Smoky Mountains (Wilcove 1988), 18 birds/40.5 hectares in bottomland forests of Arkansas (James and Neal 1986), and to vary from <1-24 birds/40.5 hectares in Illinois, with lowest densities occurring in forested habitats and highest in shrub and forest edge habitats (Graber et al. 1985).

SITE FIDELITY: Exhibits strong breeding site fidelity. In Virginia, 97% of returning males re-occupied their previously held territories. Females returned to the study area, but not to the same territory; none paired with the same male as the previous year (Hopp et al. 1999). Also exhibits site fidelity to wintering sites. Banded individuals have returned to the same wintering site in consecutive years in Veracruz, Mexico (Rappole and Warner 1980).

POPULATION PARAMETERS: Lives to be at least 9 years old (Hopp et al. 1999).

PARASITES: Known ectoparasites include lice (PHILOPTERUS SUBFLAVESCENS and RICINUS sp.) and louse-flies (ORNITHOMYA ANCHINEURIA). Can also be infected with encephalitis (Hopp et al. 1995).

Reproduction

Three to five eggs are laid from early April through late May, although renesting can extend into late July (Bent 1950, Hopp et al. 1995). Known to produce two broods per season, and attempt to nest up to four times. The average clutch size of 103 sets of eggs collected from throughout the range was 3.74 eggs. One egg is laid per day until the clutch is complete; incubation begins after the penultimate or ultimate egg is laid. Both sexes incubate the eggs (13-15 days), and brood and feed the young. Young leave the nest 9-11 days after hatching at which time they are capable of short-distance flight. In Virginia, 29.8% of nests observed over a seven-year period fledged young. Successful nests produced 3.2 young per nest; whereas all nests (including unsuccessful) produced an average of 0.96 young/nest (Hopp et al. 1995).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodWoodland - HardwoodShrubland/chaparralOld field
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN1B
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS1BYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS5BYes
AlabamaS5B,S3NYes
North CarolinaS5B,S1NYes
FloridaS4Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
LouisianaS5BYes
MichiganS4Yes
OhioS5Yes
KentuckyS5BYes
TennesseeS4Yes
MissouriSNRBYes
VirginiaS5Yes
MassachusettsS2B,S4NYes
MarylandS5BYes
Rhode IslandS4BYes
DelawareS5BYes
ConnecticutS5BYes
District of ColumbiaS1B,S3NYes
MississippiS5B,S5NYes
IowaS2B,S3NYes
New YorkS4BYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
TexasS5BYes
IndianaS4BYes
West VirginiaS5BYes
PennsylvaniaS4BYes
OklahomaSNRBYes
New JerseyS4B,S4NYes
KansasS3BYes
WisconsinSNAYes
ArkansasS4B,S4NYes
ColoradoSNAYes
Roadless Areas (20)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Reed BrakeTalladega National Forest621
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
California (1)
AreaForestAcres
Dry LakesLos Padres National Forest17,043
Florida (3)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Farles PrairieOcala National Forest1,901
Impassable BayOsceola National Forest2,789
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Catfish Lake NorthCroatan National Forest11,299
Laurel MountainPisgah National Forest5,683
Oklahoma (1)
AreaForestAcres
Beech CreekOuachita National Forest8,303
Tennessee (2)
AreaForestAcres
Bald River Gorge AdditionCherokee National Forest1,728
Sycamore CreekCherokee National Forest6,984
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Virginia (7)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
Brush MountainJefferson National Forest6,002
Peters Mountain Addition BJefferson National Forest2,909
Raccoon BranchJefferson National Forest4,388
Seng MountainJefferson National Forest6,428
Shawvers Run AdditionJefferson National Forest1,927
Southern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest11,985
References (67)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Anderson, S. H., K. Mann, and H. H. Shugart, Jr. 1977. The effect of transmission-line corridors on bird populations. American Midland Naturalist 97:216-221.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. Barlow, J.C. 1980. Patterns of ecological interactions among migrant and resident vireos on the wintering grounds. Pages 79-107 in A. Keast and E.S. Morton, editors. Migrant birds in the neotropics: ecology, distribution, and conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  6. Bent, A.C. 1950. Life histories of North American wagtails, shrikes, vireos, and their allies. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 197. Washington, D.C.
  7. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  8. Blake, J. G. and J. R. Karr. 1987. Breeding birds of isolated woodlots: area and habitat relationships. Ecology 68:1724-1734.
  9. Bradley, R. A. 1980. Vocal and territorial behavior in the White-eyed Vireo. Wilson Bulletin 92:302-311.
  10. Brown, A. C. and N. Collier. 2006. First records of White-eyed Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, and Blue-winged Warbler × Golden-winged Warbler hybrid for St. Martin. Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 18:69-71.
  11. Conner, R.N., J.G. Dickson, B.A. Locke, and C.A. Segelquist. 1983. Vegetation characteristics important to common songbirds in East Texas. Wilson Bulletin 95:349-361.
  12. Crawford, R. L. 1978. Autumn bird casualties at a northwest Florida TV tower. Wilson Bulletin 90:335-345.
  13. Engstrom, R. T., R. L. Crawford, and W. W. Baker. 1984. Breeding bird populations in relation to changing forest structure following fire exclusion: a 15-year study. Wilson Bull. 96:437-450.
  14. Forbush, E. H. 1939. Natural history of the birds of eastern and central North America. J. B. May (reviser). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 554 pp.
  15. Freemark, K., and B. Collins. 1992. Landscape ecology of birds breeding in temperate forest fragments. Pages 443-454 in Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds, J.M. Hagan III and D.W. Johnston, editors. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  16. Goertz, J. W. 1977. Additional records of Brown-headed Cowbird nest parasitism in Louisiana. Auk 94:386-389.
  17. Graber, J. W., R. R. Graber, and E. L. Kirk. 1985. Illinois birds: vireos. Illinois Natural History Survey Biological Notes No. 124, Champaign.
  18. Greenberg, R. 1992. Forest migrants in non-forest habitats on the Yucatan Peninsula. Pages 273-286 IN Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds (J. M. Hagan and D. W. Johnston, Eds.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  19. Greenberg, R., D.K. Niven, S. Hopp, and C. Boone. 1993. Frugivory and coexistence in a resident and migratory vireo on the Yucatan peninsula. Condor 95:990-999.
  20. Hagan, J. M., III, and D. W. Johnston, editors. 1992. Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. xiii + 609 pp.
  21. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  22. Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp.
  23. Hodges, M. F., Jr. and D. G. Krementz. 1996. Neotropical migratory breeding bird communities in riparian forests of different widths along the Altamaha River, Georgia. Wilson Bulletin 108:496-506.
  24. Hopp, S.L., A. Kirby, and C.A. Boone. 1995. White-eyed Vireo (<i>Vireo griseus</i>). In A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The Birds of North America, No. 168. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 20 pp.
  25. Hopp, S. L., A. Kirby, and C. A. Boone. 1999. Banding returns, arrival pattern, and site-fidelity of White-eyed Vireos. Wilson Bulletin 111:46-55.
  26. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  27. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  28. James, D. A. and J. C. Neal. 1986. Arkansas Birds - Their Distribution and Abundance. The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
  29. Johnson, N. K., R. M. Zink, and J. A. Marten. 1988. Genetic evidence for relationships in the avian family Vireonidae. Condor 90:428-445.
  30. Keast, A., and E.S. Morton. 1980. Migrant birds in the neotropics: ecology, distribution, and conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  31. Keller, C. M. E., C. S. Robbins, and J. S. Hatfield. 1993. Avian communities in riparian forests of different widths in Maryland and Delaware. Wetlands 13:137-144.
  32. Kellner, C. 1996. Influence of clearcut age on avian species composition, abundance, and reproductive success. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 50:237-245.
  33. Kilgo, J. C., R. A. Sargent, B. R. Chapman, and K. V. Miller. 1998. Effect of stand width and adjacent habitat on breeding bird communities in bottomland hardwoods. Journal of Wildlife Management 62:72-83.
  34. Kilgo, J. C., R. A. Sargent, K. V. Miller, and B. R. Chapman. 1997. Landscape influences on breeding bird communities in hardwood fragments in South Carolina. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25:878-885.
  35. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  36. Lynch, J. F. 1989. Distribution of overwintering Nearctic migrants in the Yucatan Peninsula, I: general patterns of occurrence. Condor 91:515-544.
  37. Martin, A. C., H. S., Zim, and A. L. Nelson. 1951. American Wildlife and Plants, a Guide to Wildlife Food Habits, reprint edition. Dover Publications, Garden City, New York. 500 pp.
  38. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  39. Mumford, R. E., and C. E. Keller, 1984. The birds of Indiana. Indiana University Press.
  40. Murray, B.W., W.B. McGillivray, and J.C. Barlow. 1994. The use of cytochrome B sequence variation in estimation of phylogeny in the Vireonidae. Condor 96(4):1037-1054.
  41. Nolan, V., Jr. and D. P. Wooldridge. 1962. Food habits and feeding behavior of the White-eyed Vireo. Wilson Bulletin 74:68-73.
  42. Ogden, J. C. 1974. The short-tailed hawk in Florida. I: migration, habitat, hunting techniques, and food habits. Auk 91:95-110.
  43. Palmer-Ball, B.L., Jr. 1996. The Kentucky Breeding Bird Atlas. The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington.
  44. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  45. Petit, D. R., L. J. Petit, and K. G. Smith. 1992. Habitat associations of migratory birds overwinterning in Belize, Central America. Pages 247-56 in J. M. Hagan III, and D. W. Johnston (editors). Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  46. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  47. Raffaele, H. A. 1989a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Revised edition. Princeton Univ. Press. 220 pp.
  48. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  49. Rappole, J. H., and D. W. Warner. 1980. Ecological aspects of migrant bird behavior in Veracruz, Mexico. Pages 353-393 in A. Keast and E.S. Morton, editors. Migrant birds in the neotropics: ecology, distribution, and conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  50. Rich, A. C., D. S. Dobkin, and L. J. Niles. 1994. Defining forest fragmentation by corridor width: the influence of narrow forest-dividing corridors on forest-nesting birds in southern New Jersey. Conser. Biol. 8:1109-21.
  51. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  52. Robinson, W.D., and S.K. Robinson. 1999. Effects of selective logging on forest bird populations in a fragmented landscape. Conservation Biology 13(1):58-66.
  53. Rogers, D. T., Jr., B. J. Garcia, and R. B. Antonio. 1986. Additions to records of North American avifauna in Yucatan, Mexico. Wilson Bulletin 98:163-167.
  54. Sauer, J.R., and S. Droege. 1992. Geographical patterns in population trends of Neotropical migrants in North America. Pages 26-42 in J.M. Hagan, III, and D.W. Johnston, editors. Ecology and conservation of Neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  55. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, I. Thomas, J. Fallon, and G. Gough. 1999. The North American Breeding Bird Survey: Results and Analysis 1966 - 1998. Version 98.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. December 3-last update. Online. Available: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbs.html.
  56. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  57. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  58. Taylor, W. K. and B. H. Anderson. 1973. Nocturnal migrants killed at a central Florida TV tower; autumns 1969-1971. Wilson Bulletin 85:42-51.
  59. Taylor, W. K. and M. A. Kershner. 1986. Migrant birds killed at the vehicle assembly building (VAB), John F. Kennedy Space Center. Journal of Field Ornithology 57:142-154.
  60. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  61. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  62. Weidenfeld, D. A. and M. G. Weidenfeld. 1995. Large kill of neotropical migrants by tornado and storm in Louisiana, April 1993. Journal of Field Ornithology 66:70-80.
  63. Wilcove, D. S. 1988. Changes in the avifauna of the Great Smoky Mountains: 1947-1983. Wilson Bulletin 100:256-271.
  64. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  65. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  66. Winker, K., R. J. Oehlenschlager, M. A. Ramos, R. M. Zink, J. H. Rappole, and D. W. Warner. 1992. Avian distribution and abundance records for the Sierra de la Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico. Wilson Bulletin 104:699-718.
  67. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.