Blue-headed Vireo nesting

[pauraque]

I went for a walk before work this morning and spotted a Blue-headed Vireo sitting on a nest in a wooded area of the park.



Not the greatest photo in the world as I didn't want to get too close and scare him or her (males and females look alike and both will incubate the eggs, so I couldn't tell the sex of this bird) but it was such a cool sight, I had to share.

Comments

[turlough]

What a wonderful photo! And such a cool-looking bird. I keep wondering what the nest is made of. It looks like it could be thin pieces of bark but it could also be paper and plastic refuse.

[pauraque]

I think you're right about the bark. All About Birds describes their nests as "held together with spiderweb and composed of bark strips, lichens, grasses, plant down and fibers, twigs, moss, leaves, fur, and feathers".

[turlough]

They use spiderweb to hold their nests together?! That is fascinating!

[pauraque]

They are clever little birds!

[cmcmck]

Nice shot!

[pauraque]

Thanks!

[sparowe]

What a pretty little face! :)

[pauraque]

I love their white spectacles. :)

[pameladean]

That's awesome. I looked up this vireo's song -- I'm familiar with the red-eyed vireo's -- and it's so clearly a vireo, with the separated phrases and the mnemonic "here I am, vireo" for part of it. And what a striking bird it is visually, too.

P.

[pauraque]

Red-eyed is the more common vireo here, and at this time of year it can be hard to pick the Blue-headed song out of the crowd. Visual ID is much easier!

[kaishin108]

Beautiful! And how fun to read the comments about what the next is made of. :)

[pauraque]

:)

[shirebound]

That is a totally cool sight! Birds can be such amazing architects.

[pauraque]

It is impressive what can be accomplished with just a beak and claws!

[yourlibrarian]

Ooh, what a cool view of the nest!

[pauraque]

It was really neat to see.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[pauraque]

:)

[katherine]

Fantastic!

[pauraque]

:)