Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Help! I've got a Bird (blue-headed vireo)




I took these photos hanging out our bathroom window, pointing my camera high up into our old Bur Oak. Is this one of the vireos? I'm not exactly sure these pictures are of the same individual- the two images were taken ten or so minutes apart.

Tom

The resounding consensus is that this is a blue-headed vireo, which makes this a life bird for me.
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7 comments:

  1. Yes, a Vireo. Hard to say which, not being familiar with your area. The lack of a strong supercilium, the presence of two wing bars, a largely-unbroken eye ring, and the slightly buffy wash narrow it down quite a bit. Perhaps a Blue-headed?

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  2. Yep, I would agree a Blue-headed Vireo.

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  3. Yup, the classic vireo "spectacles" give it away as a member of the vireo family, and the yellowish flanks and blue-gray head narrow it down from there to Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius).

    Fun bit of history: The "solitary vireo complex" was split in 1997 into three species -- the Blue-headed in northeast, Cassin's in the northwest, and Plumbeous in the southwest.

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  4. I am by no means an expert,but I would suggest a Blue-headed Vireo.Lovely pictures.
    Ruth

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  5. Looks like a Blue-headed Vireo to me, Tom.

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  6. Great photos and love your site! I be back for more.

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  7. Very cute bird...glad you found out what it is. I've never seen one.

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