BREEDING BIRDS: HUTTON’S VIREO

HUTTON’S VIREO

(Vireo huttoni)

Description: The Vireo is grayish-olive above, with large white spot on lores. It has a white eye ring broken above the eye and two broad white wing bars and

is drab olive below.

Habitat: Moist woodland areas, prefers oak and pine trees. Is fearless around nest, competing with other birds for food resources.

Diet: Berries and spiders.

Displays: Courting male postures before female, fluffs fea- thers, fans tail and gives whining or snarling call.

Nest: Deep and round, made of lichen, bound with spider web and lined with fine dry grass.

Eggs: White, spotted with brown, mostly near larger end. Occasionally they are unmarked. Less than one inch long.

Call: Utters a low “chit.” Song is a repeated rising or descending ch-weet, ch-weet.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas (now in its fifth and final year), call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).

Indicates 5-kilometer-square areas where breeding activity has been confirmed.