The Blue-headed Vireo is the most handsome of Michigan's vireos, with a clean blue-gray hood set off by bold white "spectacles" — a white eye-ring joined to a white line to the bill — over an olive-green back, a bright white throat, and yellow-washed sides. Deliberate and unhurried in its movements, it works through the foliage more slowly than the frenetic warblers, giving a patient observer a good look. Its song is a series of sweet, slurred, unhurried whistled phrases with distinct pauses between them, sweeter and more leisurely than the Red-eyed Vireo's.
Formerly lumped with two western relatives as the "Solitary Vireo," the Blue-headed Vireo breeds in the coniferous and mixed forests of northern Michigan and passes through the rest of the state as a migrant. It is notably hardy for a vireo, one of the earliest to arrive in spring and among the latest to leave in fall, when it forages in mixed flocks along woodland edges. Its calm demeanor and crisp markings make it a favorite among the state's migrating songbirds.
Gleans caterpillars and other insects deliberately from foliage and twigs, moving methodically through the mid-story and canopy, and adds berries and small fruit in fall. Its unhurried foraging style contrasts with the quick, restless movements of warblers sharing the same trees.
Look for a vireo with a blue-gray head, bold white "spectacles" (an eye-ring joined to a line to the bill), an olive back, a bright white throat, and yellow-washed sides. The crisp head pattern is distinctive.
Yes. The Blue-headed Vireo was formerly combined with two western species — Cassin's and Plumbeous Vireos — under the name "Solitary Vireo." They were later split into separate species.
It is one of the earliest vireos in spring and among the latest in fall, being fairly hardy. It breeds in the northern conifer and mixed forests and passes through the rest of the state in migration.
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