White-eyed vireo’s charm in age of alarm
Take a stroll through the woods of a local or state park to breathe fresh air, smell blooming wildflowers and look for a cute little bird called the whiteeyed vireo.
The small, grayish bird skulks among bushes or thick understory vegetation. It flits hither and thither as though overcaffeinated and peeks at us from a perch behind veils of green leaves.
But the bird has the good grace to sing an exuberant, chattering song that sounds like QUICKplease-bring-on-the-cheer,
QUICK. The song erupts from one side of the bush to the other side, then from a different bush and suddenly from a twig above your head.
Stand still. A whiteeyed vireo can’t contain its curiosity and will eventually pop on a nearby twig to take a look at you. And you’ll get a look at the bird. Watch its head rear back, its throat flutter and its song burst forth like a tune belted out by a rock star.
Look at the bird’s conspicuous white irises from whence its name derives. But also notice the yellow eye rims extending to the beak, like flashy spectacles worn by a pop singer.
A closer look reveals a soft olive cast to the bird’s otherwise gray plumage and twin white wing bars, doughy yellow sides and a white belly. Not particularly eye-catching. Of course, a bird that lives in wooded thickets isn’t meant to be splendiferous.
But a white-eyed vireo is nonetheless charming, and we could benefit from its charm in an age of alarm.
The bird migrates here from winter homes in Mexico, Belize and Honduras. In recent years, some birds have begun spending winters in the Del Rio region, and a few have always stayed in our area during the winter.
Yet in spring and summer, we can count on white-eyed vireos breeding throughout wooded parks in Houston and Southeast Texas.
Or you could get lucky as we did at our house where a stand of yaupons has become the home to a breeding pair of white-eyed vireos. Makes it convenient for my wife, Kathy, to photograph them.
Breeding white-eyed vireos in wooded parks still draw us to see them, to listen to their songs echoing in the clean forested air and to remind us that life goes on.