Bird
Bird
Black-whiskered Vireo
Vireo altiloquus
The Black-whiskered Vireo is a plain, persistently vocal songbird of Trinidad's mangroves and coastal woodland, named for a thin, dark malar streak resembling a whisker, and best known for its relentless, repetitive song delivered through the hottest hours of the day.
The Black-whiskered Vireo is a plain, persistently vocal songbird of Trinidad's mangroves and coastal woodland, named for a thin, dark malar streak resembling a whisker, and best known for its relentless, repetitive song delivered through the hottest hours of the day.
Identification
A medium-sized vireo around 15 to 16 cm long, olive-grey above and pale whitish-grey below, with a subtle dark stripe through the eye and a thin, dark malar streak, or "whisker", below the bill from which the common name derives. Its overall plain, unassuming plumage makes voice the most reliable means of identification.
Ecology
The Black-whiskered Vireo feeds on insects and small fruit, foraging methodically through mangrove and coastal woodland canopy and understorey. It is famous for its persistent, repetitive song, a short, sharply enunciated phrase repeated incessantly, often through the middle of the day when many other birds fall silent in the heat. Some populations in the wider Caribbean and southern Florida are migratory, though the species is present and breeding in suitable coastal habitat in Trinidad.
Status in T&T
Found in mangroves and coastal woodland on Trinidad, notably around Caroni Swamp and similar coastal habitats. It is not threatened. It is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act and is not a game species.
Threats
- Mangrove and coastal woodland clearance
