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Housotn, TX: a mysterious Vireo? (1 Viewer)

N

NicholasDeMaio

Active member
Today in Houston, Texas, I saw a tiny little bird I thought must have been some kind of Vireo. I got it in my binos. It was dullish gray with no major notable markings that I remember (maybe some black or white here and there), had a smooth head, and a big, gentle, dark eye. I went to allaboutbirds.org to try to identify this bird by the photos. Problem was: according to Allaboutbirds.org's data, all of the birds whose photos looked most similar to my sighting had ranges that did not include my area. According to eBird.org, all of the birds I thought it might be would be "rare" for my area at this time. It looked a lot like the Blue-Headed Vireo except the body had no yellow or green; the whole body was the same color as the head. Could it have been a female? Or maybe it

Thanks...
 
Nicholas,

A blue-headed vireo and its similar relatives like plumbeous vireo would have a big obvious white eye-ring. If you noticed the dark eye, and didn't notice an eye-ring, BH vireo is not your bird.

Have you considered dark-eyed (slate-colored) junco? Not sure if you get them down in Houston, but that sounds like a better fit.
 
Come to think of it, this bird may or may not have, in fact, had an eye ring - my lingering mental image of the bird doesn't make this distinction because I didn't know to make a conscious note of that particular feature. I'm starting to see that psychology and experience have an interrelated effect when it comes to bird watching (or for that matter, the meticulous observation of anything). Before seeing this bird yesterday, I was looking at bird photos online trying to familiarize myself with various bird types. When I cought this little guy in my binos yesterday, my mind immediately went: "Aha - vireo!" Next time my mind says that, I'll be conscious about the eyering or lack thereof.

Anyhow, thanks so much for the reply and tip.
 
Alder flycatcher is probably still in Latin America, but gnatcatcher is a good possibility. Was it constantly in motion with a long tail that it often cocked upward?
 
Hi, all--

I recently observed a similar-seeming bird in Eastern Los Angeles county, and wondered if it was a Gray Vireo. Their range isn't indicated to extend to where I saw it, but its attributes didn't match up with anything else. It had the long tail, long, dark legs, and possibly only a very very faint indication of lighter wing bar. Thought it seemed more brown-gray than the blue-gray of Sibley's guide. Then again, they were washed in the brilliant warm light of high noon. The 8-10 group appeared to be gleaning from a bunch of post-flower yucca stalks. I saw them in such bright sun that their color seemed pretty uniform (the belly was only very slightly lighter) and if there was an eye ring it was only slightly lighter as well. They weren't making vocalizations (that I could hear, anyway) they were all busy gleaning and flitting to the next yucca stalk. I also forgot to observe the tail movements.

The only things keeping me from being confident in the Gray Vireo ID is that they seemed a light warm brown-gray with "light" markings barely detectible across the group....

Any suggestions or ideas?

Best,

Mariann
 
Acadian Flycatcher is the most likely Empid and Red-eyed or Yellow-throated the likely Vireos in June in Houston, according to my checklist.
 
SecretUltraM, welcome to the Forum. Just to cover all bases here, have you considered Bushtit? They have long tails and are usually found in groups of 6 or 8 to 10 or 20.
 
It was a Ruby-Cowned Kinglet after all.

Nearly a year later, I've concluded that it was a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. Now that I've seen a few more of those and can readily identify them, they match my visual image from March 2013. Thanks to all who chimed in.
 
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