Birds Of Southern California

Plumbeous Vireo (Vireo plumbeus)

A not so common Orange County species, the Plumbeous Vireo photos in this section was found on two separate occassions 1 week apart. Both times at Bart Spendlove Memorial Park in Mission Viejo. The dates were January 23 and January 30, 2016. The first sighting was approximately 2:45pm and the later was approximately 4:15pm in the same location. There's a small playground at the end of the cul de sac which is where it was seen each visit. If unfamiliar, this is a small species, primarily gray and white with a light yellowish tinging under its wings as seen in several photos. A prominent white broken eye ring (or spectacles as some may refer to it) is most obvious. (The copy and paste from Wikipedia below states differently however). If you are fortunate enough to hear it vocalize, its quite pleasant. Here's more from Wikipedia: The plumbeous vireo (Vireo plumbeus) is a small North American songbird, ranging from far southeastern Montana and western South Dakota south to the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the extreme southern regions of Baja California Sur. It is migratory, moving to the southern part of its range in winter, and its habitat generally encompasses open pine forests. The plumbeous vireo is 4.75 inches (12 cm) in length, with a gray head, back, and flanks, and whitish underparts. It has a solid white eye ring and white wing bars. The song, given persistently, consists of short, rough whistled phrases of several notes, spaced about 2 seconds apart. The phrases often alternate ending on a high note and a low note, giving an impression of question and answer. The plumbeous vireo builds a cup nest out of bark strips and down in the fork of a twig. It lays 3 to 5 white eggs with some brown spots. This species was formerly considered to belong to the same species as Cassin's vireo and blue-headed vireo. At that time, this complex of species was referred to as the "solitary vireo".