Species

Red-eyed vireo

Vireo olivaceus

A tireless singer of summer woods, repeating short phrases all day long, thousands of times.

Photo Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 12 to 13 cm long
Weight: About 12 to 26 g
Habitat: Deciduous and mixed woods
Diet: Caterpillars and other insects; fruit in late summer
In Georgia: A common summer resident, April to October
Voice: Short, robin-like phrases: "here I am... where are you?"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Olive-green back; grey cap; white eyebrow edged in black; red eye in adults; white underparts
Told apart from: Warbling vireo, which has a plainer face
Told apart from: Tennessee warbler, which has a thin bill
Where to look: Treetops of leafy woods; listen for the endless song

Behaviour

Red-eyed vireos sing throughout the day, even in the heat of summer. One male was recorded singing over 20,000 songs in a single day.

Why they matter

The red-eyed vireo is one of the most abundant birds of eastern forests and a major predator of caterpillars. It migrates to the Amazon basin each winter, where it switches to eating fruit.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A hanging cup in a horizontal branch fork
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 11 to 14 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 10 to 12 days
Lifespan — Wild birds over ten years are recorded

Living around people

Brown-headed cowbirds often parasitise their nests.
Migrating vireos strike windows and lit towers.

Misconceptions

Birds stop singing in summer heat. The red-eyed vireo sings all day.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	In South America	In South America	In South America	Arriving	Nesting	Nesting	Young fledging	Fattening on fruit	Migrating south	Last birds	In South America	In South America

Where it lives

Recorded in 60 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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