The Four Keys to ID
- Size & Shape
A small, sturdy songbird with a fairly thick, short, and slightly hooked bill.
Relative Size
Larger than a Red-breasted Nuthatch, smaller than a Red-eyed Vireo.
sparrow-sized or smallerMeasurements
- Both Sexes
- Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
- Weight: 0.4-0.7 oz (12-20 g)
© William Higgins / Macaulay Library
- Color Pattern
- Behavior
- Habitat
Regional Differences
Ornithologists recognize at least four subspecies, but only one of these, the migratory subspecies plumbeus, occurs in the United States. The others are the larger gravis of Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico; the slightly smaller notius of Belize; and the more colorful montanus of southern Mexico south to Honduras, which looks more like a Cassin’s Vireo than other Plumbeous subspecies. The southern three subspecies are nonmigratory.
