Yellow-winged Vireo

Overview

The yellow-winged vireo, also known as Carmiol's vireo (Vireo carmioli), is a small passerine bird in the family Vireonidae. It is found in the mountainous regions of Costa Rica and Panama and is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Length of 11 to 11.5 cm with a weight of approximately 13 to 15 g, featuring grey-green upperparts and yellow underparts with yellowish-green sides.
• Distinguishing features include a whitish to buffy-yellow area above the lores and eye-ring that resembles spectacles, along with two distinct wing bars formed by wide whitish to pale yellow tips on dark greenish-gray wing coverts.
• Song consists of a leisurely series of two- and three-note phrases with distinct pauses, described as "cheeyah, cheeyah, chipcheewee", alongside calls such as a "nasal net" and "chwick".
• The only vireo in Costa Rica possessing both yellow wing bars and yellow underparts, with a blackish maxilla, pale gray mandible, and brown iris.

Habitat

This species inhabits humid evergreen forest in the upper subtropical and temperate zones of the Cordillera Central and Dota Mountains in Costa Rica, and the Cordillera de Talamanca stretching into western Panama's Chiriquí Province. In Costa Rica, it ranges from approximately 1,900 m to treeline at 3,000 m, while in Panama it occurs from 1,300 m up to treeline, with some individuals moving to about 1,500 m during the wet season.

Diet

The yellow-winged vireo feeds on insects, spiders, and berries. It forages at all levels in the interior and edges of the forest and frequently joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The species' scientific name honours Julian Carmiol for his indefatigable work in developing the ornithology of Costa Rica. Its nest is a cup constructed from green leaves, mosses, and lichens, typically hung in a branch fork between 3 and 20 m above the ground.