Thick-billed Vireo ID | ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO

THICK-BILLED VIREO ‘ON VOCALS’: A CHIRPY JUVENILE ON ABACO

I’m not sure that TBVs would rank as anyone’s all-time favourite bird. Probably not in the top 10. Or 20. But we have a particular affection for them. When we first arrive at Delphi, that cheerful call is invariably the first birdsong we hear. And when we leave, it’s often the last. These small birds inhabit the coppice on either side of the drive, and are often found right by the the Lodge.

The strange thing about them is that despite their ubiquity and their uninhibited advertising of their presence, they are surprisingly hard to see, let alone get a clear photograph of. A singing TBV often seems to be at least 2 rows of bush further back than it sounds, concealed by intervening branches, leaves, and twigs.

Maybe growing juveniles are less cautious. This little guy is right out in the open, and singing away happily. He’s still cutely fluffy, but his plumage already starting to turn yellow. He has the diagnostic yellow marking in front of and around the eyes. However at the base of his characteristically plump beak there’s still a hint of baby bird mouth.

Here’s a recording of an adult TBV I took from the Delphi drive (you may need to turn up the volume a bit). And no, I couldn’t actually see the bird, though I knew exactly where it was from the slight movements of foliage. All-in-all, the TBV is a most engaging little bird and well-deserving of affection if not perhaps a high placing in the Avian Popularity Charts…

All photos by Charles Skinner (a significant contributor to The Birds Of Abaco)

THICK-BILLED VIREOS: ABACO’S ONLY PERMANENT RESIDENT VIREO

Hard to know why I haven’t got round to featuring these little vireos before. Unlike the other 7 vireo species found on Abaco seasonally or as transients, the Thick-billed Vireo Vireo crassirostris is an ever-present permanent resident of the coppice and scrub; and their unmistakeable repeating song can be heard almost everywhere. It was the first bird song I heard on Abaco, and therefore the TBV was the first bird I learned to ID. I’ve got quite a soft spot for them, really.

Although TBVs are very easy to hear and track to a general area of coppice, I find actually seeing the bird creating the noise quite hard – let alone getting a clear camera shot. They always seem to be lurking several feet further away, deeper in the foliage, than the sound suggests. I’ve had some fun making TBV song iPhone recordings along the Delphi drive, practising the technique. If you want to know more about recording and converting to MP3 CLICK HERE.

One of my favourite images, from Gerlinde Taurer: a ‘shouty’ bird. We used it for ‘BIRDS OF ABACO‘.

I also love this perky little guy with a great beady-eyed pose taken by Bruce Hallett

Here’s a clip of song, which I’m sure will be immediately familiar to Bahamians:

Paul Driver / Xeno Canto

Thick-billed Vireo, Abaco Bahamas.Tom Sheley

The main signifiers for this species, which in combination distinguish the TBV from the other vireo species on Abaco, are:

Two white wing bars
Yellow patch – usually quite prominent – between eye and beak
Thick bill – which immediately rules it out of being one of the 37 warbler species on Abaco…

Text book TBV Thick-billed Vireo, Abaco (Becky Marvil 2).jpg

There are marked colour variations in the species according to maturity, season and to an extent gender (though m & f are quite similar). Here’s one that is causing wing-bar confusion by only showing traces. It also has quite dark upper parts.

This is a very yellow TBVWhereas this one has rather anaemic coloration Thick-billed Vireo, Abaco Bahamas .Tom Sheley Finally, this pretty TBV is very delicately marked

BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO

PHILADELPHIA VIREO

Credits: Tom Reed (1), Craig Nash (2), Gerlinde Taurer (3), Bruce Hallett (4, 8), Tom Sheley (5, 9), Becky Marvil (6), Alex Hughes (7), Tony Hepburn (10); Paul Driver / Xeno Canto