{{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 = Swainson, 1837 | range_map= | range_map_caption = | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *'' Pteruthius'' *'' Erpornis'' *'' Cyclarhis'' *'' Vireolanius '' *'' Hylophilus '' *'' Tunchiornis '' *'' Pachysylvia '' *'' Vireo'' }}
The '''vireos''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɪr|i|oʊ|z}} make up a family, '''Vireonidae''', of small to medium-sized passerine birds 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 wood warblers apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from the Chocó vireo, dwarf vireo and lesser greenlet, all at around 10 cm and 8g, to the peppershrikes and shrike-vireos at up to 17 cm and 40g.<ref name=for>Forshaw, Joseph & Parkes, Kenneth C. 1991. ''Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds,'' p. 209. Merehurst Press, London. {{ISBN|1-85391-186-0}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== Most species are found in 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''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233325/http://www.audubon.bm/birding/bermuda-birds/115-white-eyed-vireo |date=2018-12-30 }}, Audubon Society of Bermuda</ref> and Canada; of these all but Hutton's vireo are migratory. Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration.<ref name="sal">Salaman, Paul & Barlow, Jon C. 2003. Vireos. Pp. 478–479 in; 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 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 insects and other arthropods. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos also 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 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''), 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 genera (''Pteruthius'' and ''Erpornis'') which may be Old World members of this family.<ref name=reddy>{{cite journal | last1 = Reddy | first1 = Sushma | last2 = Cracraft | first2 = Joel | year = 2007 | title = Old World Shrike-babblers (''Pteruthius'') belong with New World Vireos (Vireonidae) | url = | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 44 | issue = 3| pages = 1352–1357 | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.023 | pmid = 17412613 | bibcode = 2007MolPE..44.1352R }}</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 |page=239 |bibcode=2022BBrOC.142..239S |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Species in taxonomic order=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Genus !! Species |- |175px ||''Pteruthius'' - shrike-babblers<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'' |- |175px ||''Erpornis'' <ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Barker | first1 = F. Keith | last2 = Cibois | first2 = Alice | last3 = Schikler | first3 = Peter A. | last4 = Feinstein | first4 = Julie | last5 = Cracraft | first5 = Joel | year = 2004 | title = Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation | url = http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0401892101v1.pdf | journal = PNAS | volume = 101 | issue = 30| pages = 11040–11045 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0401892101 | doi-access = free | pmid = 15263073 | pmc = 503738 | bibcode = 2004PNAS..10111040B }} [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0401892101/DC1 Supporting information]</ref> {{small|Hodgson, 1844}} || * White-bellied erpornis or white-bellied "yuhina", ''Erpornis zantholeuca'' |- |175px ||''Cyclarhis'' {{small|Swainson, 1824}}, the peppershrikes || * Rufous-browed peppershrike, ''Cyclarhis gujanensis'' * Black-billed peppershrike ''Cyclarhis nigrirostris'' |- |175px ||''Vireolanius'' {{small|Bonaparte, 1850}}, the shrike-vireos || * Chestnut-sided shrike-vireo, ''Vireolanius melitophrys'' * Green shrike-vireo, ''Vireolanius pulchellus'' *Yellow-browed shrike-vireo, ''Vireolanius eximius'' * Slaty-capped shrike-vireo, ''Vireolanius leucotis'' |- |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'' |- |175px ||''Tunchiornis'' {{small|Slager & Klicka, 2014}} || * Tawny-crowned greenlet, ''Tunchiornis ochraceiceps'' |- |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'' |- |175px ||''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