View source for Vireo

{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{About|the bird family|the bird genus|Vireo (genus)|other uses|Vireo (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Vireos
| image = Vireo-flavifrons-001.jpg
| image_caption = [[Yellow-throated vireo]] (''Vireo flavifrons'')
| taxon = Vireonidae
| authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1837
| range_map=
| range_map_caption =
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 
*'' [[Pteruthius]]''
*'' [[Erpornis]]''
*'' [[Cyclarhis]]''
*'' [[Vireolanius]] ''
*'' [[Hylophilus]] ''
*'' [[Tunchiornis]] ''
*'' [[Pachysylvia]] ''
*'' [[Vireo (genus)|Vireo]]''
}}

The '''vireos''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɪr|i|oʊ|z}} make up a [[family (biology)|family]], '''Vireonidae''', of small to medium-sized [[passerine]] [[bird]]s found in the [[New World]] (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and [[Southeast Asia]].  The family contains 62 species and is divided into eight [[genera]]. "Vireo" is a [[Latin]] word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the female [[golden oriole]], possibly the [[European greenfinch]].<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n402 402]}}</ref><ref name=OED>{{Cite OED |Vireo}}</ref>

They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling [[New World warbler|wood warblers]] apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from the [[Chocó vireo]], [[dwarf vireo]] and [[lesser greenlet]], all at around 10&nbsp;cm and 8g, to the [[peppershrike]]s and [[shrike-vireo]]s at up to 17&nbsp;cm and 40g.<ref name=for>Forshaw, Joseph & Parkes, Kenneth C. 1991. ''Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds,'' p.&nbsp;209. Merehurst Press, London. {{ISBN|1-85391-186-0}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
Most species are found in [[Middle America (Americas)|Middle America]] and northern [[South America]].  Thirteen species of true vireos occur farther north, in the [[United States]], [[Bermuda]]<ref>[http://www.audubon.bm/birding/bermuda-birds/115-white-eyed-vireo ''White-eyed vireo''], [[Audubon Society]] of [[Bermuda]]</ref> and [[Canada]]; of these all but [[Hutton's vireo]] are [[bird migration|migratory]].  Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration.<ref name="sal">Salaman, Paul & Barlow, Jon C. 2003. Vireos.  Pp.&nbsp;478–479 in; [[Chris Perrins|Perrins, C.]] ed. ''The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds''.  Firefly Books, Oxford.  {{ISBN|1-55297-777-3}}</ref> They inhabit forest environments, with different species preferring forest canopies, undergrowth, or [[mangrove]] swamps.<ref name=for/>

A few species in the genus ''Vireo'' have appeared on the eastern side of the Atlantic as vagrants to the Western Palearctic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=WPA |title=Western Palearctic |publisher=Avibase |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
The resident species occur in pairs or family groups that maintain territories all year (except Hutton's vireo, which joins [[mixed-species feeding flock|mixed feeding flocks]]).  Most of the migrants defend winter territories against conspecifics.  The exceptions are the complex comprising the [[red-eyed vireo]], the [[yellow-green vireo]], the [[black-whiskered vireo]], and the [[Yucatan vireo]],<!--if I understand Salaman and Barlow correctly--> which winter in small wandering flocks.<ref name="sal"/>

===Voice===
[[File:Cyclarhis gujanensis.jpg|thumb|The song of the [[rufous-browed peppershrike]] is described as a whistled phrase with the rhythm  {{audio
|Cyclarhis_gujanensis1.ogg|''Do you wash every week?''}}]]
Males of most species are persistent singers.  Songs are usually rather simple, monotonous in some species of the [[Caribbean]] littoral and islands, and most elaborate and pleasant to human ears in the [[Chocó vireo]] and the peppershrikes.<ref name="sal"/>

===Breeding===
The nests of many tropical species are unknown.  Of those that are known, all build a cup-shaped nest that hangs from branches.  The female does most of the incubation, spelled by the male except in the red-eyed vireo complex.<ref name="sal"/>

===Feeding===
All members of the family eat some fruit but mostly [[insect]]s and other [[arthropod]]s. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos also [[hawking (birds)|flycatch]], and the [[gray vireo]] takes 5 percent of its prey from the ground.<ref name="sal"/>

==Systematics==
[[File:White-eyed vireo (Vireo griseus bermudianus) in Bermuda.jpg|thumb|A [[white-eyed vireo]] (Vireo griseus bermudianus) in [[Bermuda]]]]

The [[Family (biology)|family]] Vireonidae is related to the crow-like birds in family [[Corvidae]] and the shrikes in family [[Laniidae]] as part of superfamily [[Corvoidea]]. As currently circumscribed the family is made up of eight genera.<ref name=IOC>{{cite taxon|IOC|title=Vireos, shrike-babblers |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/shrikes/ |version=14.2 |access-date=18 January 2025}}</ref><ref name=BOW>{{cite BOW|title=Vireonidae. Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis. |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/vireon1/cur/introduction |access-date=18 January 2025}}</ref>

Traditionally the family was considered to include four New World genera containing the true vireos (''[[Vireo (genus)|Vireo]]''), the greenlets (''[[Hylophilus]]''), the shrike-vireos (''[[Vireolanius]]'') and the peppershrikes (''[[Cyclarhis]]''). However, phylogenetic studies found ''[[Hylophilus]]'' to be polyphyletic, with the greenlets split into three distinct groups: the "scrub" greenlets in a restricted ''Hylophilus'', the  "canopy" greenlets in resurrected genus ''[[Pachysylvia]]'' and the [[tawny-crowned greenlet]] in new genus ''[[Tunchiornis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A multilocus phylogeny of a major New World avian radiation: The Vireonidae |date=2014 |last1=Slager |first1=David L. |last2=Battey |first2=C.J. |last3=Bryson |first3=Robert W. |last4=Voelker |first4=Gary |last5=Klicka |first5=John |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=80 |pages=95–104|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.07.021 |pmid=25109651 |bibcode=2014MolPE..80...95S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Polyphyly of ''Hylophilus'' and a new genus for the Tawny-crowned Greenlet <br />(Aves: Passeriformes: Vireonidae) | date=2014 | last1=Slager | first1=David L. | last2=Klicka | first2=John | journal=Zootaxa | volume=3884 | issue=2 | pages=194–196  | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3884.2.8  | pmid=25543778 |url=https://inpn.mnhn.fr/docs-web/docs/download/160272 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Proposal (661). Revise the linear sequence of Vireonidae  |website=[[South American Classification Committee]] |url=https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop661.htm |access-date=18 January 2025}}</ref>

In addition, biochemical studies have identified two [[babbler (disambiguation)|babbler]] genera (''[[Pteruthius]]'' and ''[[Erpornis]]'') which may be [[Old World]] members of this family.<ref name=reddy>Reddy, Sushma & Cracraft, Joel (2007): Old World Shrike-babblers (''Pteruthius'') belong with New World Vireos (Vireonidae). ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', '''44''' (3): 1352–1357. {{doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.023}}</ref> Observers have commented on the vireo-like behaviour of the ''Pteruthius'' shrike-babblers, but apparently no-one suspected the biogeographically unlikely possibility of vireo relatives in Asia. Some recent taxonomic treatements, such as the IOC taxonomy followed here, include ''Pteruthius'' and ''Erpornis'' in Vireionidae,<ref name=IOC/><ref name=BOW/> whereas other place them in their own families Pteruthidae and Erpornidae.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.25226/bboc.v142i2.2022.a8 |title=Pteruthiidae and Erpornithidae (Aves: Corvides): Two new family-group names for babbler-like outgroups of the vireos (Vireonidae) |date=2022 |last1=Sangster |first1=George |last2=Cibois |first2=Alice |last3=Reddy |first3=Sushma |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |volume=142 |issue=2 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Species in taxonomic order===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Genus !! Species
|-
|[[File:Black-eared Shrike Babbler Khangchendzonga national Park West Sikkim India 30.10.2015.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pteruthius]]'' - [[shrike-babbler]]s<ref name=reddy/> {{small|Swainson, 1832}} ||
* [[Green shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius xanthochlorus''
*[[Black-eared shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius melanotis''
*[[Black-headed shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius rufiventer''
*[[White-browed shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius aeralatus''
*[[Pied shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius flaviscapis''
*[[Clicking shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius intermedius''
*[[Trilling shrike-babbler]], ''Pteruthius aenobarbus''
|-
|[[File:Erpornis zantholeuca.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Erpornis]]''  <ref>Barker, F. Keith; Cibois, Alice; Schikler, Peter A.; Feinstein, Julie & Cracraft, Joel (2004): [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0401892101v1.pdf "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation."] ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]]'' '''101'''(30): 11040-11045. {{doi|10.1073/pnas.0401892101}} {{PMID|15263073}}  [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0401892101/DC1 Supporting information]</ref> {{small|Hodgson, 1844}} ||
* [[White-bellied erpornis]] or white-bellied "yuhina", ''Erpornis zantholeuca'' 
|-
|[[File:Pitiguari (Cyclarhis gujanensis) (17359710466).jpg|175px]] ||''[[Cyclarhis]]'' {{small|Swainson, 1824}}, the [[peppershrike]]s ||
* [[Rufous-browed peppershrike]], ''Cyclarhis gujanensis''
* [[Black-billed peppershrike]] ''Cyclarhis nigrirostris''
|-
|[[File:Vireolanius pulchellus -Panama-8a 2.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Vireolanius]]'' {{small|Bonaparte, 1850}}, the [[shrike-vireo]]s ||
* [[Chestnut-sided shrike-vireo]], ''Vireolanius melitophrys''
* [[Green shrike-vireo]], ''Vireolanius pulchellus''
*[[Yellow-browed shrike-vireo]], ''Vireolanius eximius''
* [[Slaty-capped shrike-vireo]], ''Vireolanius leucotis''
|-
|[[File:Hylophilus semicinereus - Grey-chested Greenlet.JPG|175px]] ||''[[Hylophilus]]'' {{small|Temminck, 1822}} ||
*[[Grey-eyed greenlet]], ''Hylophilus amaurocephalus''
*[[Rufous-crowned greenlet]], ''Hylophilus poicilotis''
* [[Olivaceous greenlet]], ''Hylophilus olivaceus''
*[[Ashy-headed greenlet]], ''Hylophilus pectoralis''
*[[Brown-headed greenlet]], ''Hylophilus brunneiceps''
* [[Lemon-chested greenlet]], ''Hylophilus thoracicus''
* [[Scrub greenlet]], ''Hylophilus flavipes''
* [[Grey-chested greenlet]], ''Hylophilus semicinereus''
|-
|[[File:Tawny-crowned Greenlet (Hylophilus ochraceiceps) (7222935148).jpg|175px]] ||''[[Tunchiornis]]'' {{small|Slager & Klicka, 2014}} ||
* [[Tawny-crowned greenlet]], ''Tunchiornis ochraceiceps''
|-
|[[File:Dusky-capped Greenlet (Hylophilus hypoxanthus).jpg|175px]]||''[[Pachysylvia]]'' {{small|Bonaparte, 1850}} ||
* [[Lesser greenlet]], ''Pachysylvia decurtata''
* [[Dusky-capped greenlet]], ''Pachysylvia hypoxantha''
* [[Buff-cheeked greenlet]], ''Pachysylvia muscicapina''
* [[Golden-fronted greenlet]], ''Pachysylvia aurantiifrons''
* [[Rufous-naped greenlet]], ''Pachysylvia semibrunnea''
|-
|[[File:Edit white-eyed vireo blandair 4.20.20 DSC 0224.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Vireo (genus)|Vireo]]'' {{small|Vieillot, 1808}}, the true vireos. ||
* '''The "''hypochryseus''" group'''
**[[Golden vireo]], ''Vireo hypochryseus''
*'''The "''olivaceous''" group.'''
** [[Yellow-green vireo]], ''Vireo flavoviridis'' (sometimes included in ''V. olivaceus'')
**[[Red-eyed vireo]], ''Vireo olivaceus''
**[[Yucatan vireo]], ''Vireo magister''
**[[Black-whiskered vireo]], ''Vireo altiloquus''
**[[Chivi vireo]], ''Vireo chivi''
** [[Noronha vireo]], ''Vireo gracilirostris''
*'''The "''gilvus''" group.'''
** [[Tepui vireo]], ''Vireo sclateri''
**[[Philadelphia vireo]], ''Vireo philadelphicus''
**[[Warbling vireo]], ''Vireo gilvus''
** [[Brown-capped vireo]], ''Vireo leucophrys''
*'''The "eye-ringed" group.'''
** [[Hutton's vireo]], ''Vireo huttoni''
**[[Gray vireo]], ''Vireo vicinior''
**[[Yellow-throated vireo]], ''Vireo flavifrons''
**[[Yellow-winged vireo]], ''Vireo carmioli''
**[[Choco vireo]], ''Vireo masteri''
**[[Blue-headed vireo]], ''Vireo solitarius''
**[[Cassin's vireo]], ''Vireo cassinii''
**[[Plumbeous vireo]], ''Vireo plumbeus''
**[[Blue Mountain vireo]], ''Vireo osburni''
**[[Flat-billed vireo]], ''Vireo nanus''
**[[Mangrove vireo]], ''Vireo pallens''
**[[Providencia vireo]], ''Vireo approximans''
**[[Cozumel vireo]], ''Vireo bairdi''
**[[San Andres vireo]], ''Vireo caribaeus''
**[[White-eyed vireo]], ''Vireo griseus''
**[[Thick-billed vireo]], ''Vireo crassirostris''
**[[Jamaican vireo]], ''Vireo modestus''
** [[Cuban vireo]], ''Vireo gundlachii''
**[[Bell's vireo]], ''Vireo bellii''
**[[Puerto Rican vireo]], ''Vireo latimeri''
**[[Black-capped vireo]], ''Vireo atricapilla''
** [[Dwarf vireo]], ''Vireo nelsoni''
**[[Slaty vireo]], ''Vireo brevipennis''
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
<!-- Bird Conservation International (2007) 17:45–61. doi: 10.1017/S0959270906000554 -->
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/vireos-vireonidae Vireos (Vireonidae)] information, including 33 species with videos and 40 with photographs at the [[Internet Bird Collection]]
* {{Wikisource-inline|list=
** {{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Vireo|short=x|noicon=x}}
** {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Vireo|year=1905|noicon=x}}
** {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Vireo|noicon=x}}
}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q748220}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vireonidae| ]]
[[Category:Birds of the Americas]]