Cassin's Vireo Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesCassin's Vireo
Adult
Small songbird with fairly thick bill. Olive-brownish overall with grayer head and bold white "spectacles." Two white wingbars. Whitish underparts are washed with yellowish on the flanks.
© Michael Stubblefield / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 26, 2022Adult
Small songbird with fairly thick bill. Olive-brownish overall with grayer head and bold white "spectacles." Two white wingbars. Whitish underparts are washed with yellowish on the flanks.
© Levi Plummer / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 10, 2019Adult
Small songbird with fairly thick bill. Gray head with bold white "spectacles" and clean white throat.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 16, 2020Adult
Olive-brown vireo with gray head and bold white "spectacles." Two whitish wingbars and yellowish wash on flanks. Moves deliberately through twigs while foraging.
© Jim Gain / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 22, 2016Adult (San Lucas)
Chunky small songbird with heavy bill. Birds from southern Baja California, Mexico, have more extensive yellow on the flanks than other forms.
© Timo Mitzen / Macaulay LibraryBaja California Sur, April 16, 2019Adult
Can appear fairly drab with less contrast between gray head and brownish back, and reduced wingbars, but white spectacles are usually still distinctive.
© Chris McCreedy - no playbacks / Macaulay LibraryArizona, December 21, 2018Habitat
Typically breeds in mountain forests up to about 8,000 feet elevation; winters at lower elevations, often in woodland along streams. Moves slowly and deliberately through twigs and outer branches while foraging.
© Gordon Dimmig / Macaulay LibraryMontana, July 06, 2013Similar SpeciesPlumbeous Vireo
Adult
Plumbeous Vireos tend to be grayer overall than Cassin's Vireos, without Cassin's greenish tones to the back or the yellowish flanks. Plumbeous and Cassin's overlap mainly on their wintering grounds.
© William Higgins / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 17, 2017Similar SpeciesBell's Vireo
Adult (Arizona)
Bell's Vireos have a partial eyering and dark line through the eye, rather than the strong white "spectacles" of Cassin's Vireo.
© Jim Hully / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 26, 2016Similar SpeciesHutton's Vireo
Adult
Hutton's Vireo lacks the complete eyering of Cassin's Vireo. Hutton's has a dingy throat without the neat contrast of gray head and white throat of Cassin's.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 08, 2010Similar SpeciesBlue-headed Vireo
Adult
Blue-headed Vireo has a more blue-gray head that contrasts with a greener back and more yellowish flanks than Cassin's Vireo. The two species have little range overlap.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryMississippi, December 25, 2009Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Vireonidae)
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.