Vireos present identification challenge

THE WORLD OUTDOORS

Through the month of May, Southwestern Ontario birders have the chance to admire six members of the vireo family.

These birds can present an identification challenge because they are similar in size, behaviour, and habitat to many of the warblers that are migrating through at the same time.

Generally, vireos tend to be a bit less flashy in colour, a bit stockier, and a bit less flitty than warblers.

Vireos have bigger beaks than warblers and there is a hook on the end of the vireo’s beak.

A close look at each of our vireo species will help you sort them out and will give you a deeper appreciation of these lovely birds.

The red-eyed vireo is our most common. We have a great chance to learn about this species because it nests across Southwestern Ontario. It has a distinctive, flat, dark crown, an obvious eyebrow, and a contrasting dark eyeline. It also has a relatively long beak.

With the foliage out, we will hear these vocal birds calling “Look at me, way up here, in the trees,” through the summer more frequently than we will see them. You might even see a red-eyed vireo’s nest. Although they forage high up in the trees their nests are built close to the ground.

The warbling vireo is another of Middlesex County’s breeding birds. They will be here in good numbers. Birders often will key in quickly on a bird’s field marks, trying to determine in a second or two whether or not there are wing bars, eye rings, or markings on the chest, crown or tail. Apart from a faint eyeline, the warbling vireo has almost no identifiable field marks. In fact its drab plainness is a good identification clue. The warbling vireo also is well-named. The male has a beautiful and complex song.

One of my favourite vireos is the blue-headed vireo. The most striking aspect of this bird are the heavy white “spectacles” that rest on its beak and contrast dramatically with its bluish head. The bird also has a bright white chest and belly, yellow flanks, and obvious wing bars.

The blue-headed vireo used to be lumped in with Plumbeous and Cassin’s vireos and called a solitary vireo. The blue-headed vireo’s Latin name remains Vireo solitaries. It is only seen here through the spring and fall migrations.

Similarly, Philadelphia vireos only are seen across Southwestern Ontario in the spring and fall. The dark crown of this bird contrasts well with its light eyebrow. It has a noticeable yellow throat and no wing bars.

The well-named yellow-throated vireo also have a bright yellow throat, however unlike the Philadelphia vireo, the yellow-throated has obvious yellow spectacles and bold wing bars.

The white-eyed and Bell’s vireos are less common here. The whiteeyed has heavy yellow “spectacles.” The Bell’s resembles a large rubycrowned kinglet. The only report of a Bell’s in Middlesex County was the bird found by Bill Linley in the spring of 2014. That was an exciting find.

Our nesting and migrating vireos are around through the rest of this month — I’ve seen several in the last week — so have an eye for them while you’re out hiking.

• A whimbrel watch is scheduled for Port Stanley May 24 at 6:30 p.m. with a group led by Nature London. These large shorebirds will be flying north to their breeding grounds in the high arctic. The group also will look for other shorebirds around the harbour and at the Port Stanley lagoons. Meet the leader by Mackie’s restaurant in Port Stanley. See naturelon- don.com

• For up-to-the-minute information about bird sightings, set up an alert through eBird or subscribe to ONTBIRDS or local bird alerts.

• If there isn’t enough bird information in your life, there are lots of birdrelated podcasts you can tune into on demand. The American Birding Association and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds produce interesting podcasts that are posted at blog. aba.org/aba-podcast and player.fm/ series/natures-voice respectively.