Plumbeous Vireo

The Plumbeous Vireo is 4.75 inches in length, with a gray head, back, and flanks, and whitish underparts. It has a solid white eye ring and white wing bars.

The Plumbeous Vireo is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Plumbeous Vireo of the western interior, Cassin’s Vireo (V. cassinii) of the West Coast, and the Blue-headed Vireo (V. solitarius) of eastern North America. This split was based on molecular genetic studies by Johnson (1995) and Murray et al. (1994), that revealed significant divergence in mitochondrial DNA and allozymes within the complex. More

The Plumbeous Vireo (Vireo plumbeus) is a small North American songbird, ranging from far southeastern Montana and western South Dakota south to the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the extreme southern regions of Baja California Sur. It is migratory, moving to the southern part of its range in winter, and its habitat generally encompasses open pine forests. The Plumbeous Vireo is 4.75 inches (12 cm) in length, with a gray head, back, and flanks, and whitish underparts. More

The Plumbeous Vireo has a large range, estimated globally at 1,300,000 square kilometers. Native to the United States and Mexico as well as Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, this bird prefers temperate, subtropical, or tropical forest ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 2,700,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Plumbeous Vireo is Least Concern. More

Play Plumbeous Vireo Song from June, 1999, South Rim Grand Canyon This recording is the main song. Play Plumbeous Vireo Typical Secondary Song, June, 1999, South Rim Grand Canyon This recording has been filtered to remove most of the vehicle noise that steps on the middle of the recording. Also, another vireo comes along and sings in the middle of the secondary song. So this was removed to make the recording less confusing as to what is the secondary song material. More

Plumbeous Vireo: Medium vireo, gray back, white throat and underparts, olive-gray sides, yellow-washed flanks. Crown, nape, and face are gray; eye-rings appear as large, white spectacles. Wings are dark gray with two white bars. Tail is short with white edges. Blue-gray legs and feet. More

A common and vocal bird of montane forests, the Plumbeous Vireo is found primarily in the southern Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin. Formerly lumped as a "Solitary Vireo" with Cassin's and Blue-headed vireos, it is now considered a separate species. More

The Plumbeous Vireo (Vireo plumbeus) is a drab colored vireo which nests in much of the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Formerly considered a race of the Solitary Vireo, it is now recognized as a full species. The top shot on this page was taken in the Davis Mountains of west Texas in June, 2005, with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and EF 600mm F/4 L IS lens and 2X extender. More

This Plumbeous Vireo Vireo plumbeus was at Rose Hill Cemetery, Corpus Christi, Texas on October 30, 2004. This is seems to be one of very few photographic records for Texas east of its normal range in far west Texas. More

Plumbeous Vireo is found across the interior western United States. Numbers are generally stable rangewide, but local population trends vary widely. In New Mexico, it is associated with open, coniferous woodlands supporting a deciduous understory and riparian areas. The species is extensively parasitized by cowbirds and may be susceptible to the loss of winter habitat. More

The Plumbeous Vireo nests from the Great Basin and central Rocky Mountains south through the Sierra Madre Occidental of mainland Mexico. Historically its breeding range was separate from those of the Cassin's and Blue-headed, but 40 or 50 years ago the Plumbeous began spreading west and northwest, coming into contact with Cassin's in the San Bernardino Mountains and on the east flank of the southern Sierra Nevada. More

The Plumbeous Vireo, the Blue-headed Vireo and the Cassin's Vireo were formerly considered a single species known as the Solitary Vireo. The Plumbeous Vireo is a common and widespread summer bird in much of the West. In migration and winter, when it occurs with its sibling, the Cassin's Vireo, care should be taken to differentiate the two species, which can look very much alike even under good viewing conditions. More