Bell's
Vireo, Vireo bellii
|
|
![]() The Bell's Vireo comes in two types, quite distinct in appearance, which are candidates to be recognized as separate species. The photo above shows the western type found in Arizona and California; its plumage is almost completely white and gray-brown, with only faint dustings of yellow. This is the Bell's I've regularly seen on birding trips to southern Arizona. Below is the sole bird I've seen of the eastern type, distinguished by much brighter yellow underneath; it was a major rarity when it appeared in Santa Clara County, CA, where I live, in the late Spring of 2019. The normal range of the Eastern Bell's Vireo runs from Texas north and east to the shores of the Great Lakes. |
|
![]() Above and below, two pictures of the male Eastern Bell's Vireo that was observed singing regularly near the entrance road to the Alviso branch of Edwards National Wildlife refuge during the late Spring of 2019. | |
![]() | |
![]() Above and below, two more pictures of Western Bell's Vireo taken in southern Arizona, where these birds are common. |
|
![]() |
|
![]() Above and below, also in Arizona, a pair of Western Bell's Vireos at a nest. Both the male and female of the pair were attending to the eye-level nest while I watched it; because the sexes do not differ in appearance, I can't know which sex is represented in the picture above. However only the male sings, and as it was singing away from the nest when I took the picture below, the bird shown on the nest in that picture had to be the female. |
|
![]() |