Plumbeous Vireo Gallery
Vireo plumbeus
eBird gives this description of the Plumbeous Vireo: Dull vireo with gray upperparts and white underparts. Relatively thick bill and slower movements separate this bird from other small songbirds. Combination of white spectacles and no bright colors distinguish Plumbeous from other vireos. Resident populations in northern Central America brighter, but not as bright as the slightly larger Blue-headed Vireo, which occurs as a visitor there. Found in mixed forested habitats, particularly dry, open coniferous forests. Feeds on insects. All About Birds gives this descriptive information about the Plumbeous Vireo: The Plumbeous Vireo is matte gray above and white below—it’s the most monochrome of the three species once combined as “Solitary Vireo.” Plumbeous sings a pleasing, burry song as it forages through dry pine forests in the beautiful canyons and mountains of the interior West, Great Basin, and Mexico. During migration and the nonbreeding season, this species often joins mixed-species flocks of woodland birds, especially on its wintering grounds.
I watched and photographed the Plumbeous Vireo while at the Christmas Mountains Oasis on August 31, 2020. The bird I watched had a deformity known as a “cross beak”, which can be clearly seen in the photos below.
“Cool Facts” about the Plumbeous Vireo from All About Birds…
- Plumbeous, Cassin’s, and Blue-headed Vireos were lumped together as the “Solitary Vireo” until 1997. In appearance, Plumbeous is the most uniform gray, without the yellow and green tones of the other two species. Its song is slower than the songs of either Blue-headed or Cassin’s.
- Plumbeous Vireo’s name is derived from the color of its upperparts, a rich gray color that looks like lead. The Latin word plumbeus means leaden and is in turn derived from the word for lead, plumbum.
- Plumbeous Vireos have some range overlap with Cassin’s Vireos and Gray Vireos. Gray Vireos usually forage and nest in pinyon pine-juniper vegetation, at lower elevations than Plumbeous. In eastern California, Cassin’s Vireos tend to use wetter, cooler parts of forests, while Plumbeous uses the warmer, drier, more open parts. Despite the proximity, no cases of Plumbeous x Cassin’s hybridization have ever been reported.
- The oldest recorded Plumbeous Vireo was at least 5 years old when it was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in New Mexico.