Black-capped Vireo
From WikiBird
Contents |
Size
Length: 12cm (4.5in), Wingspan: ??cm (??in)
Field Marks
Black cap, yellow wing bars, white underparts with yellowish flanks, olive upparparts. The crown and upper half of the head is black with a partial white eye-ring and lores. The iris is brownish-red and the bill is black. Thick bill with hooked upper mandible. Male: Olive green above and white below with faint yellow flanks. Female: Duller in color than males and have a slate gray crown and underparts washed with greenish yellow. First year males: Intermediate in coloration between adult males and females.
Similar species
The bold white spectacles against the contrasting black cap are diagnostic. Solitary Vireo has a gray head. Yellow-throated and White-eyed Vireos have yellow spectacles and much paler heads.
Sounds
Feeding & Behavior
Insectivorous, with beetles and caterpillars making up a large part of the diet.
Habitat & Nesting
scattered trees and brushy areas. The presence of oak trees appears to be more important to the vireo than junipers. Foliage that extends to ground level is the most important requirement for nesting. Most nests are between 15 and 50 inches (35-125 cm) above ground level and are screened from view by foliage. Territories are sometimes located on steep slopes, where trees are often clumped and intermediate in height. On level terrain, preferred Black-capped Vireo habitat is a mixture of shrubs and smaller trees that average from eight to 10 feet high (2.5-3.5 m). Black-capped Vireos will no longer use sites where many trees are nearing full size.
Male and female in a pair assist in nest construction and incubation. The female broods the young, while the male supplies most of the food during the nestling phase. Typically, three or four eggs are laid. The incubation period is 14 to 17 days, and the nestling period is 10 to 12 days. Breeding pairs are capable of producing more than one clutch per breeding season. The male cares for some or all of the fledglings, while the female re-nests - sometimes with another male.
Range
The range extends from Oklahoma south through the Edwards Plateau and Big Bend National Park, Texas, to at least the Sierra Madera in central Coahuila, Mexico. In Oklahoma, the Black-capped Vireo is found only in Blaine, Cleveland, and Comanche counties. The winter range of this vireo is not well known. It is thought to winter along the west coast of Mexico from southern Sonora to Guerrero.
Resources
