Vireo vicinior
The Gray Vireo lacks any really distinctive plumage features and perhaps could be mistaken for a bulky warbler of some kind. However, within its breeding range there are few species with which it could be confused, so its drab appearance is actually a clue to its identity. The sexes are similar. Adults have blue-gray upperparts, darkest on the back, and whitish underparts, palest on the throat and flanks. The dark eye is accentuated by a faint pale eyering. The wings have faint pale margins to the flight feathers and a subtle pale wingbar. Juveniles are similar to adults.
The Gray Vireo is present as a breeding species in southwest U.S.A. mainly from May to August. It spends the rest of the year mainly in Mexico. Its presence is easiest to detect in an area by listening for its distinctive song. Although it is generally unobtrusive, the species feeds actively and flicks its tail from side to side, sometimes attracting the attention of observers as it does so.
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5.5 in (14 cm)
FOOD Insects and other invertebrates
HABITAT Chaparral and arid scrub
STATUS Common summer visitor
VOICE Song is a repeated series of tche-Woo, tche-Wee phrases. Call is a rasping chrrr