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Black-whiskered Vireo | Vireo altiloquus
Baardvireo | Vireo bigotudo
The Black-whiskered Vireo resembles the Red-eyed Vireo but has a narrow black malar stripe along the throat. It breeds in Florida and the Caribbean and is a scarce passage migrant in the guide area.
Voice
The song consists of short phrases of two or three notes separated by pauses and resembles that of Red-eyed Vireo. Rarely heard in the guide area.
Recording: Noah Khanti Steinberg — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
15–16 cm. Crown greyish brown, with a whitish supercilium less sharply bordered black than in Red-eyed Vireo; dark eye-stripe. Narrow black malar stripe along the side of the throat. Back dull olive-green. Underparts whitish, flanks and undertail coverts pale yellowish. Eye red in adults. Bill fairly long.
Confusion species
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus lacks the malar stripe and has a greyer crown with a distinct black border. Yucatan Vireo Vireo magister lacks the malar stripe, is browner and has a heavier bill. Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis has bright yellow flanks and no malar stripe.
Habitat
Mangroves, coastal woodland and forest edges; on migration also in gardens and trees along the coast.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
Breeds in southern Florida, the Bahamas and the Antilles, and winters in northern South America. In the guide area a scarce passage migrant, mainly along the Caribbean coast and on islands off Yucatán and Belize; also a few records in Costa Rica and Panama.
- Resident
- Summer visitor (c. Apr–Sep)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Most likely during migration on islands and along the coast of Quintana Roo and Belize. Check every Red-eyed Vireo for a malar stripe.
Conservation status
Not threatened. A scarce passage migrant in the guide area.
Scientific name
Vireo altiloquus | (Vieillot, 1808)
Vieillot described the species in 1808 as Muscicapa altiloqua; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Vireo was introduced in 1808 by Vieillot. Vireo was used by Latin authors for a small, green, migratory bird, probably the Eurasian golden oriole, though the European greenfinch has also been suggested. altiloquus is Latin, from altus 'high, loud' and loqui 'to speak', after the loud, endlessly repeated song. The specimen the first description was based on came from St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.