vireos

A Red-eyed Vireo was singing and feeding in the oaks on the north (or north east) side of the property this morning. This is a common woodland bird (in deciduous woods not pine dominated areas) but, as I've mentioned before, it never seems to succeed in nesting down here.

Vireos are birds known to and sought out by birdwatchers but are otherwise obscure and little-known to just folks, probably because they are plain looking and tend to hang out and feed in the tops of trees as they move quietly in and out of the leaves. This is a rare example of a common bird without a truly common name and, as a result, it is known by its scientific name. Vireo means "I am green" and green (or greenish-olive) is what they are with only an eye stripe (white bordered with black) and a dark crown to give it away. The eye is indeed red but rarely very easy to see. Fortunately, vireos are persistent singers even in hot weather when other birds shut up. I recently spent a week in Jamaica where a close relative -- the Black-whiskered Vireo -- may well be the most common bird in the country. I heard it singing everywhere but, even though I knew the song and knew where to look, I was able to get a couple of brief glimpses.

Spotting the Red-eyed Vireo is not quite as difficult (our foliage is not as dense as the Jamaican rain forest) but, even so, the best way to find it is to recognize the song: a series of short separated phrases that sound like a question-and-answer session: "Here I am. Where are you? Over here. Are you there? Very good. Can you see? Lovely day. Where am I?" Etc. Look for movement in the leaves from the spot where the song seems to be coming from.

There are other vireos on Long Island. The Warbling Vireo is, if anything, even plainer than the Red-eyed and even more difficult to spot; it is currently making a comeback as a nester on Long Island after virtually disappearing for many years. These birds are also persistent singers and best located by recognizing their song. Last year Eileen Schwinn and myself found a bird singing on its nest, presumably an indication of how well camouflaged the bird is!

The White-eyed Vireo, a bird of dense, low, moist thickets, is a little more striking but quite shy and rather uncommon. Another species, Yellow-throated Vireo, sporadically appears in the spring and many occasionally breed (but there is very little evidence). Blue-headed and Philadelphia Vireos are found only in migration. the former fairly common, the latter quite rare and a birdwatcher's prize. I once found a Bell's Vireo out on Dune Road, a stray from the midwest and a real prize.

But the most common of the LI vireos is still the Red-eye and it is one of a number of local birds -- Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Tufted Titmouse, Pine Warbler -- that now turn up regularly on the place as potential breeding species in our maturing pine-and-oak woods.

Eric Salzman