Mangrove Vireo

Overview

The mangrove vireo (Vireo pallens) is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae, found in Mexico and Central America. It is a sedentary resident that inhabits mangroves and varied coastal landscapes, assessed by the IUCN as being of Least Concern.

Identification

• Measures 11 to 12 cm in length with a weight of approximately 9 to 13 g.
• Plumage is primarily greenish brown on the upperparts, with dark gray wing coverts featuring two yellowish-white wing bars.
• Underparts are grayish with a faint yellow tinge on the lower flanks and belly, and a whitish-yellow chin.
• Vocalisations vary by region, including series of 3–12 twanging notes in Mexico, jear-jear sequences in northern Central America, and scratchy monotone chi-chi calls in Costa Rica.

Habitat

The species has a widely disjunct distribution across Mexico and Central American countries, excluding Panama. Pacific subspecies inhabit mangroves, especially red mangrove, while Caribbean subspecies utilise scrubby woodlands, overgrown fields, and young secondary forest.

Diet

Feeds on insects, spiders, and fruits. It usually forages low in vegetation, singly or in pairs, and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Only three nests of this species have ever been recorded, all found in Belize between April and June. One such nest was constructed from thin strips of bark, grass, and lichen bound together with spider web and lined with pine needles.