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Home/Species/ Gray Vireo

Vireo vicinior

Coues, 1866

Gray Vireo

G5Secure Found in 16 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101771
Element CodeABPBW01140
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
gray vireo (EN) Vireo Gris (ES) Viréo gris (FR)
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
See Johnson et al. (1988) and Murray et al. (1994) for analyses of the phylogenetic relationships among vireos.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2015-08-12
Change Date2015-08-12
Edition Date2015-08-12
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Fairly large range in southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico; population size estimated at around 400,000; apparently stable or perhaps slowly increasing; no major threats, but potentially/locally affected by livestock grazing, changes in fire regime, and cowbird parasitism; breeding range is projected to increase with ongoing climate change.
Range Extent Comments
This species breeds lfrom southern California, southern Nevada, central Utah, southwestern and southeastern Colorado, and north-central New Mexico south to northwestern Baja California, southeastern Arizona, southeastern New Mexico, western Texas, and northwestern Coahuila (AOU 1998; C. Rustay, pers. comm.). Center of abundance during the breeding season, based on North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), is in northern Arizona and southern Utah (Sauer et al. 1997). Nonbreeding range includes central and southern Baja California, southwestern Arizona (rarely), Sonora (including Tiburón and San Esteban islands), and (rarely) western Texas (Big Bend region) (AOU 1998). Winter range extent is smaller than breeding range extent.
Occurrences Comments
Number of distinct occurrences has not been determined using standardized criteria, but this species is represented by a large number of recent observation sites (e.g., see eBird data) and locations (as defined by IUCN).
Threat Impact Comments
Pinyon-juniper woodland habitat of this species is subject to grazing and clearing to increase grassland (livestock grazing habitat), mesquite and desert scrub habitats are grazed and cleared for development, and chaparral habitats have undergone extensive conversion in urban areas of southern California.

Habitat fragmentation or the presence of livestock may facilitate brown-headed cowbird brood parasitism and presumably are detrimental (USDA Forest Service 1994). This species is regarded as a common host for the cowbird, but rates of parasitism and impacts on productivity are unknown. Some authors have suggested that declines in California and Arizona resulted from brood parasitism (DeSante and George 1994) as the cowbird was originally limited to the Great Plains until it expanded west with the spread of domestic livestock. However, Breeding Bird Survey data (increasing trend) suggest that gray viroes are not now being detrimentally affected by cowbird parasitism to any significant degree.

This species may be negatively affected by livestock grazing where shrub cover is diminished or removed. Wauer (1977) noted that gray vireo abundance increased after grazing ceased and woody plants gradually increased in Big Bend National Park. On the other hand, the species may benefit to some degree from increases in arid scrubland resulting from overgrazing of livestock in areas previously dominated by grasslands (Raitt and Pimm 1978).

Changes in fire regime that bring about an increase in fire extent or frequency may be detrimental by reducing or degrading habitat (USDA Forest Service 1994). Such changes potentially may result from ongoing climate change and other factors.

According to van Riper et al. (2014), the breeding range is projected to increase by 58-71 percent between 2010 and 2099 as a result of ongoing climate.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Breeding habitats include warm/hot, semi-arid, shrubby habitats, especially mesquite and brushy pinyon-juniper woodlands; also chaparral and desert scrub. Thorn scrub, oak-juniper woodland, pinyon-juniper, juniper-cholla, mesquite, dry chaparral (Bent 1950, AOU 1983). Builds cup nest suspended from forked twig in a shrub or tree 0.5 to 2 meters tall (Ehrlich et al. 1988); nest usually 0.5-3.5 meters above ground.

In New Mexico, breeding occurs in rocky hills covered with sparse bushes and scrub, in juniper, hackberry (Celtis spp.) and Grave's oak (Q. gravesi; Bailey 1935, Barlow 1977). In northwestern New Mexico, found at elevations from 5800 - 7200 feet in broad-bottomed canyons (flat or gently sloped valleys) below or near ridge-top/rock outcrop/cliff head walls of canyons or gently sloped bowls in pinyon-juniper woodland (Reeves 1998). The pinyon-juniper is sometimes dense canopied woods and at other times widely-spaced trees creating parkland. Trees are generally mature ranging from 12 to 25 feett in height. Other shrubs species include Utah Serviceberry (Amelanchier utahensis) and Antelope brittlebrush (Purshia tridentata). There is often considerable bare soil between herbaceous plants forming ground cover. At the upper elevation, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is sparsely situated among pinyons and junipers (Reeves 1998).

In Arizona, gray vireos frequent juniper (Juniperus spp.) habitats of Upper Sonoran Zone, also mesquite (Prosopis spp.); usually they prefer large juniper or chaparral with scattered trees (Phillips 1964). In southern Nevada, these birds occur in pinyon, juniper and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) with additions of mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), Mexican manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens), squaw apple (PERAPHYLLUM RAMOSISSIMUM), and cliffrose (COWANIA STANSBURYANA; Johnson 1972, cited in USDA Forest Service 1994). In Big Bend National Park, Texas, gray vireos occur in lower chaparral between 1219 and 1676 meters (4000 to 5500 feet elevation); they nest in Gregg's ash (FRAXINUS GREGGII) and evergreen sumac (RHUS VIRENS; Barlow 1977, Wauer 1977). In Joshua Tree National Monument and eastern Mojave Desert, California, they occurred in pinyon-juniper or pinyon-juniper mixed with sagebrush. In southern California (San Jacinto area), habitat includes chaparral dominated by chamise (ADENOSTOMA FASCICULATUM) or redshanks (A. SPARSIFOLIUM); also scrub oak, manzanita (ARCTOSTAPHYLOS spp.), CEONOTHUS, pinyon, and sagebrush. In Laguna Mountains, California, gray viroes were recorded in chamise and CEONOTHUS GREGGII (USDA Forest Service 1994).

In migration and winter, gray vireos occur in habitats to those used during the breeding season; also desert and arid scrub, chaparral, brushy scrub in pinyon-juniper woodland, semi-open areas with scattered scrub and semi-open arid brushland (AOU 1983, Terborgh 1989, Howell and Webb 1995). Winter range closely overlaps the range of one species of elephant tree, BURSERA MICROPHYLLA, throughout the coastal deserts surrounding the Gulf of California. A study in Sonora, Mexico, found heavy dependence on B. MICROPHYLLA fruits, which are available in quantity from September through April. Only one disjunct wintering population occurs outside the range of B. MICROPHYLLA (Bates 1992a), in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, in habitat dominated by Texas persimmon (DIOSPYROS TEXANA) mixed with honey mesquite (PROSOPIS JULIFLORA), whitethorn acacia (ACACIA CONSTRICTA) and other shrubs (Barlow and Wauer 1971).

Ecology

Territories observed by Barlow (1977) ranged from 2.4 to 8 hectares in the northern Chihuahuan Desert and in Yavapai County, central Arizona. Barlow (1997) noted a singing male every 300 meters over a distance of 15 kilometers.

May be a principle seed disperser for B. MICROPHYLLA, and the close overlap between their ranges suggests a possible mutualism (Bates 1992a). Feeds on its fruit which are available in quantity from September through April. Both males and females defend territories in winter, and individuals will return to the same winter territory in successive years; nine territories were 0.3-1.4 hectares (mean 0.9 hectares; Bates 1992b).

Reproduction

Clutch size is 3-5 (usually 4; Bailey 1928; Terres 1980). Both sexes incubate and tend young; incubation takes 13-14 days; young fledge in 13-14 days (Ehrlich et al. 1988).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralDesert
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5B
ProvinceRankNative
ColoradoS2BYes
Navajo NationS4BYes
CaliforniaS2Yes
UtahS3Yes
ArizonaS4Yes
NevadaS3BYes
WyomingS1BYes
TexasS4BYes
New MexicoS4B,S3NYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentNegligible (<1%)——
2 - Agriculture & aquaculturePervasive - largeSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
3 - Energy production & miningNegligible (<1%)—High (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridorsNegligible (<1%)—High (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useNegligible (<1%)——
6 - Human intrusions & disturbance—Negligible or <1% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases—Negligible or <1% pop. decline—
9 - Pollution—Negligible or <1% pop. decline—
10 - Geological eventsNegligible (<1%)——
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)Neutral or Potential BenefitHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (16)
Arizona (7)
AreaForestAcres
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Cimarron HillsCoconino National Forest5,303
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Upper Rincon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,991
Walker MountainCoconino National Forest6,382
Willis CanyonKaibab National Forest9,688
California (4)
AreaForestAcres
Cactus Springs BSan Bernardino National Forest3,106
Granite PeakSan Bernardino National Forest450
Heartbreak RidgeSan Bernardino National Forest4,455
Soldier CanyonInyo National Forest40,589
Nevada (1)
AreaForestAcres
Angel Peak SouthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest6,540
New Mexico (3)
AreaForestAcres
Scott MesaCibola National Forest39,515
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
Virgin CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,068
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
418022Uinta National Forest17,289
References (46)
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