Blue-headed Vireo Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A stocky small songbird with medium-length tail and fairly heavy, hooked bill and thick legs (compared to warblers).

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Carolina Chickadee, smaller than a Tufted Titmouse.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)
    • Weight: 0.5-0.6 oz (13.2-17.2 g)
    • Wingspan: 8.7-9.5 in (22.2-24.2 cm)

  © Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  A moss-green bird with a bluish-gray head and crisp white underparts. The face is set off by clean white “spectacles” and throat. Underparts white, sides greenish yellow. Tail and wings blackish, with two white wingbars.

• Behavior

  Blue-headed Vireos forage at middle heights in mature trees, where they move slowly from branch to branch, searching for insects. They tend to move slowly, tilting the head to look carefully in all directions, then pouncing on a caterpillar or other prey.
• Habitat

  Blue-headed Vireos breed in mature boreal and montane forests of many types; migrants and wintering birds can be found in almost any forested setting but especially those with some understory plants.