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Vireo

Vireo

1 9.9
A small songbird found in woodlands of the Americas
  • noun
  • /ˈvɪrɪoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vireo
  • The yellow-throated vireo is known for its distinctive song and habit of nesting in shrubs.

Examples

  • According to my guide, the yellow-throated vireo builds in a fork near the end of a branch.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Examples of such hammocks are found among New World flycatchers and vireos, Oriental and Australian drongos, and Old World white-eyes.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Ever see a red-eyed vireo?

  • Last week, I saw a purple martin... and the week before that, I saw a solitary vireo.

  • The body of a catbird, purslane, blackberries, a yellow-throated vireo, a way of holding still.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The solitary vireo and the Blackburnian warbler, as well as the magnolia warbler, have shown a significant decline since 1968.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Other birds that breed here are the American redstart, blue-winged warbler, veery, and warbling vireo.

    Academic text (2010)
  • I saw, leaning down toward me from ten feet away, a small, pert bird with yellow spectacles and a patch of pale yellow from chin to middle of belly: a yellow-throated vireo, a bird I usually hear high in the treetops early in May as it migrates through.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • According to Al Manville, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the most vulnerable of the 350 migratory species are vireos, warblers, and thrushes.

    Academic text (2001)
  • I spotted a vireo singing in the trees during my morning walk in the park.

Compounds

A small songbird with a blue-gray head and olive-green back found in northeastern North America

A small North American songbird with red eyes, greenish-grey back and white belly

solitary vireo
  • Archaic
9.5

A small songbird from eastern North America with a blue-grey head and green body that often looks for food alone

Vireo olivaceous
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American songbird with red eyes, an olive grey back and white belly

9.9

A small North American songbird with a blue-grey head and white eye ring

Surface Forms

Vireo singular
Vireos plural

Etymology

Vireo comes from the old Latin word vireo, which meant 'to be green' and was used for a small green bird. So, many vireo birds are greenish songbirds, and the name helps you remember their colour.