Spot the Philadelphia Vireo Using eBird Maps

In On the Move, our regular migration column, we feature pairs of range maps from eBird that you can use to compare where interesting birds are at different times of the year. We featured Philadelphia Vireo, pictured above, in our May/June 2019 issue.

Maps from eBird show where Philadelphia Vireos were spotted in January 2008-2018 (left) and June 2008-2018.

The northernmost of the vireos, the Philadelphia vireo inhabits early to mid-successional hardwood thickets, such as stands of aspen, in the boreal forest of Canada and parts of the northern lower 48 states. In June, the species nests from the border of British Columbia and Alberta east to the Atlantic and rarely in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota, parts of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Adirondacks of New York State and northern New England. Outside the breeding season, the Philadelphia Vireo prefers second growth and edge habitats in Central America. The species is more easily visible during migration. It can easily be confused with the visually similar Chirping Vireo or, during breeding, with the Red-eyed Vireo, whose song, a series of short, variable phrases with a one to two second pause between each, is nearly identical. .

View eBird’s real-time distribution map for the Philadelphia Vireo.

A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the May/June 2019 issue of BirdWatching.