Friday's Foto

Blue-headed Vireo, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

The Blue-headed Vireo was originally named the "Solitary Vireo" until DNA analysis revealed it was three separate species. In 1997 they were reclassified as Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius), Plumbeous Vireo (V. plumbeus) and Cassin's Vireo (V. cassinii), the latter two having ranges west of the Mississippi. A common species in our area during migration, they breed in mature boreal and montane forests from NE British Columbia across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and south to southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Their clean, sweet whistled song is often described as "see you, cheerio, be-seein-u, so-long, seeya". The IUCN Red List lists this species as "Least Concern" with their populations currently increasing.