Shrike-babblers, Erpornis and vireos | Vireonidae

Vireo's | Shrike-babblers, Erpornis and vireos | Vireos

Vireos are small to medium-sized songbirds found only in the Americas; in the Andes and along the west coast the family numbers 30 species in six genera. Some are true vireos (Vireo): greenish or grey above, pale below, with a stouter bill than a warbler's and a small hook at the tip, and with the head and eye-stripe pattern as the main feature. Alongside them live the small, warbler-like greenlets (Hylophilus, Pachysylvia, Tunchiornis), the bright green shrike-vireos (Vireolanius) of the high canopy and the peppershrikes (Cyclarhis) with their heavy, strongly hooked bill, among them Black-billed Peppershrike of Andean cloud forest. Most species are resident, such as Brown-capped Vireo of the cloud forest; Red-eyed and Yellow-green Vireo come from the north after breeding to winter in Amazonia. They move slowly and deliberately through the foliage, plucking caterpillars and other insects from the leaves and also eating berries and small fruit. The nest is a deep, cup-shaped structure slung in a fork. They sing all day long, even in the midday heat.