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Location: Famosa Slough, San Diego, CA
Date: 2007-10-27
Lens: Canon 600mm IS F4 + 1.4x II Converter
Date: 2007-10-27
Lens: Canon 600mm IS F4 + 1.4x II Converter
Plumbeous Vireo
Vireo plumbeus
DescriptionThe Plumbeous Vireo was once lumped together with two other species, the Cassin's Vireo and the Blue-heade Vireo, to form a single species, the "Solitary Vireo". The Plumbeous Vireo forages by gleaning insects from twigs and foliage in a slow and deliberate manner. Will also sometimes eat fruit in the winter.
Pale gray upperparts and flanks. Flanks may be yellowish in some individuals. Whitish underparts that contrast with flanks. White spectacles around dark brown eye. Two white wingbars. Dark, thick bill with hooked upper mandible. Olive-green rump. Bluish-gray legs. Sexes similar. Juveniles similar to adults. 5 to 6 inches in length.
Montane coniferous and mixed forests. Riparian woodlands in arid intermontane basins.
Nesting4 creamy-white eggs with some dark spotting around the larger end. The eggs have a 14 day incubation period. Fledging occurs in ? days. The nest is an open cup built in the fork of a tree branch and is made from bark, grass, rootlets, and spider web. The nest is decorated with cocoons, lichens, and moss and is lined with grass and fine rootlets.
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