Thick-billed vireo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thick-billed vireo |
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Vireo
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| Species: |
crassirostris
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The thick-billed vireo (Vireo crassirostris) is a small songbird. It lives and raises its young in the West Indies. You can find it in places like the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands. It also lives on Tortuga Island in Haiti and small islands near Cuba. Sometimes, it might even visit south Florida in the United States. There are different types of thick-billed vireos. One type, found on Providencia Island, is sometimes seen as a different species.
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Reproduction and Nests
The thick-billed vireo likes to live in bushes and shrubs. It builds its nest in tropical thickets. The nest is shaped like a neat cup. It is made of grass and attached to a fork in a tree or bush branch. The female vireo lays 2 or 3 white eggs. These eggs have dark spots on them. Both the male and female birds take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. This is called incubating the eggs.
What the Thick-billed Vireo Looks Like
The thick-billed vireo is about 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) long. Its head and back are a greyish-olive color. Its belly and chest are a buffy white. The wings and tail are dark. Each wing has two white bars. These bars stand out against the darker feathers. The bird's eyes have dark centers, called irises. Male and female thick-billed vireos look very much alike. They also have a yellow mark just above their beak. This mark looks a bit like a small pair of glasses.
Scientists have identified different types of thick-billed vireos. These are called subspecies. They have slight differences depending on where they live.
The Vireo's Song
The thick-billed vireo has a special song. It is a fast and changing song with six or seven notes. The song starts and ends with a sharp chick sound. It sounds a lot like the song of the white-eyed vireo. However, the thick-billed vireo's song is a little bit harsher.
What They Eat
The thick-billed vireo's diet is very simple. It eats almost only insects. They search for insects in the bushes and shrubs where they live.
