Tepui Vireo

Overview

The tepui vireo, also known as the tepui greenlet (Vireo sclateri), is a bird species belonging to the family Vireonidae. It is found across Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, with a population status assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Small bird measuring 12 cm in length with a weight of 10 to 12.5 g.
• Features a buffy forehead and lores on a gray face, with an olive-green crown and nape.
• Displays a distinct yellow breast band that is more sharply defined in males than in females, contrasting with white chin and throat.
• Possesses a dark brownish upper bill, a dusky pinkish lower bill, and pinkish gray to pinkish legs and feet.

Habitat

Primarily inhabits the interior and edges of humid and wet montane forests on the tepuis in southeastern Venezuela, northern Brazil, and western Guyana, ranging from 600 to 2,000 m in elevation. A population was also discovered in 2005 on Tafelberg in central Suriname.

Diet

The diet consists mostly of insects, though details are not fully known. It forages energetically in the subcanopy and canopy, as well as lower down on forest edges, often hanging upside-down to extract prey from leaves and frequently joining mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The song of the tepui vireo is unique among its genus, described as a short, clear whistled 'suuWEEEeeuu' that rises then falls quickly, often repeated in succession.