| Vireos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Yellow-throated vireo (Vireo flavifrons) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Superfamily: | Orioloidea |
| Family: | Vireonidae Swainson, 1837 |
| Genera | |
Thevireos/ˈvɪrioʊz/ make up afamily,Vireonidae, of small to medium-sizedpasserinebirds found in theNew World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) andSoutheast Asia. The family contains 62 species and is divided into eightgenera. "Vireo" is aLatin word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the femalegolden oriole, possibly theEuropean greenfinch.[1][2]
They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resemblingwood warblers apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from theChocó vireo,dwarf vireo andlesser greenlet, all at around 10 cm and 8g, to thepeppershrikes andshrike-vireos at up to 17 cm and 40g.[3]
Most species are found inMiddle America and northernSouth America. Thirteen species of true vireos occur farther north, in theUnited States,Bermuda[4] andCanada; of these all butHutton's vireo aremigratory. Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration.[5] They inhabit forest environments, with different species preferring forest canopies, undergrowth, ormangrove swamps.[3]
A few species in the genusVireo have appeared on the eastern side of the Atlantic as vagrants to the Western Palearctic.[6]
The resident species occur in pairs or family groups that maintain territories all year (except Hutton's vireo, which joinsmixed feeding flocks). Most of the migrants defend winter territories against conspecifics. The exceptions are the complex comprising thered-eyed vireo, theyellow-green vireo, theblack-whiskered vireo, and theYucatan vireo, which winter in small wandering flocks.[5]
Males of most species are persistent singers. Songs are usually rather simple, monotonous in some species of theCaribbean littoral and islands, and most elaborate and pleasant to human ears in theChocó vireo and the peppershrikes.[5]
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.[5]
All members of the family eat some fruit but mostlyinsects and otherarthropods. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos alsoflycatch, and thegray vireo takes 5 percent of its prey from the ground.[5]
_in_Bermuda.jpg)
Thefamily Vireonidae is related to the crow-like birds in familyCorvidae and the shrikes in familyLaniidae as part of superfamilyCorvoidea. As currently circumscribed the family is made up of eight genera.[7][8]
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 foundHylophilus to be polyphyletic, with the greenlets split into three distinct groups: the "scrub" greenlets in a restrictedHylophilus, the "canopy" greenlets in resurrected genusPachysylvia and thetawny-crowned greenlet in new genusTunchiornis.[9][10][11]
In addition, biochemical studies have identified twobabbler genera (Pteruthius andErpornis) which may beOld World members of this family.[12] Observers have commented on the vireo-like behaviour of thePteruthius 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, includePteruthius andErpornis in Vireionidae,[7][8] whereas other place them in their own families Pteruthidae and Erpornidae.[13]
| Image | Genus | Species |
|---|---|---|
 | Pteruthius -shrike-babblers[12]Swainson, 1832 |
|
 | Erpornis[14]Hodgson, 1844 |
|
_(17359710466).jpg) | CyclarhisSwainson, 1824, thepeppershrikes |
|
 | VireolaniusBonaparte, 1850, theshrike-vireos |
|
 | HylophilusTemminck, 1822 |
|
_(7222935148).jpg) | TunchiornisSlager & Klicka, 2014 |
|
.jpg) | PachysylviaBonaparte, 1850 |
|
 | VireoVieillot, 1808, the true vireos. |
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Texts on Wikisource:Authority control databases: National |
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