Blue-headed Vireo

Table

Blue-headed Vireo – Accepted
1. 30 Sep 1973	HY	San Nicolas I. VEN	2003-116	29	ph., SDNHM 38562
2. 24 Sep 1979		Pt. Reyes MRN	2002-070	29
3. 12 Nov 1979		Tijuana R. valley SD	2002-071	29
4. 22 Sep 1980		Carpinteria SBA	2002-072	29
5. 02 Nov 1981		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-074	29	ph.
6. 29 Sep 1985		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-076	29	ph., San Miguel & McGrath (2005)
7. 12–13 Sep 1986		Pt. Reyes MRN	2002-078	29
8. 23 Sep 1986		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-079	29
9. 16 Jan–22 Mar 1987		Pt. Loma SD	2002-081	29
10. 10 Oct 1987		Pt. Loma SD	2002-082	29
11. 18 Oct 1987		Pt. Loma SD	2002-083	29
12. 18 Sep 1989		Irvine ORA	2002-100	29
13. 01 Oct 1989		Oceano SLO	2002-084	29
14. 23 Sep 1991		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	2002-085	29
15. 15 Sep 1993		Stinson Beach MRN	2002-087	29
16. 06 Oct 1993		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-088	29	ph., AB 48:159
17. 09–13 Sep 1995		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-091	29
18. 28 Nov 1996		San Jose SCL	2002-093	29
19. 28 Sep 1998	HY	Big Sur R. mouth MTY	1999-057	24	ph.
20. 01 Oct 1998		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1999-011	24
21. 03 Oct 1998		Irvine ORA	2006-040	31
22. 11 Oct 1998	HY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1999-012	24	ph.
23. 14 Oct 1998		Oceano SLO	1998-157	24
24. 31 Oct 1998–16 Jan 1999		Orange ORA	1999-095	24
25. 12 Sep 1999		Big Sur R. mouth MTY	2002-094	29
26. 14 Sep 1999	HY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	2000-015	25	ph.
27. 13 May 2000		Huntington Beach ORA	2000-081	26	video
28. 23 Sep 2000		Pt. Reyes MRN	2001-122	26
29. 06 Oct 2000		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2001-027	25	ph.
30. 11 Feb–08 Apr 2001		Oxnard VEN	2001-054	27
31. 21 Sep 2001	HY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-014	27	Figs. 252, 253, ph.
32. 03–04 Oct 2001		Arcata HUM	2001-165	27
33. 05 Oct 2001		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-015	30
34. 22 Oct 2001		Galileo Hill KER	2001-205	27
35. 04 Oct 2003		Pt. Loma SD	2003-127	29	Fig. 254
Blue-headed Vireo – Not accepted, identification not established
03 Sep 1973		Manila HUM	2002-066	29
26 Sep 1974		Pt. Reyes MRN	2002-068	29	record lost
20 May 1976		vic. Westmorland IMP	2005-034	30
10–11 Sep 1977		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-069	30
26–28 Oct 1982		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-075	30
05 Oct 1992		Santa Cruz SCZ	2002-086	30
10 Oct 1993		vic. New Brighton State Beach SCZ	2002-089	30
24 Oct 1994		vic. La Selva Beach SCZ	2002-090	30
05 Sep 1995		Mono Lake County Park MNO	1999-128	24
17 Oct 1996		Glen Helen Regional Park SBE	2002-092	30
09 Sep 1997		Lassen Volcanic National Park TEH	1997-140	23
26–29 Sep 1997		San Pedro LA	1997-142/ 1998-123	23
15–22 Sep 1998		Los Osos SLO	1999-071	24
19 Sep 1998		Pt. Reyes MRN	1998-187	24
20 Oct 1998		San Nicolas I. VEN	1998-216	24	ph., Erickson & Hamilton (2001)
01 Nov 1998		Pilarcitos Creek SM	1999-047	24
19 Dec 1998		Eureka HUM	1999-116	24
02 Jan 1999		Pescadero Creek SM	1999-087	27
19 Sep 1999		Pt. Reyes MRN	1999-157	25
24 Sep 1999		Bodega Bay SON	2005-166	31
03 Nov 1999		Eureka HUM	1999-215	26
02–03 Jun 2001		Galileo Hill KER	2001-091	27
11 Sep 2001		Pt. Loma SD	2001-214	27
30 Sep 2001		Blythe RIV	2001-224	27
01 Oct 2001		Oxnard Plain VEN	2001-068	29
06 Oct 2001		La Jolla SD	2001-208	27
07 Oct 2001		Camarillo VEN	2001-206	29
19 Sep 2003		Blue Jay Campground ORA	2004-030	29
22 Sep 2003		Pt. Loma SD	2003-121	29
Blue-headed Vireo – In circulation
27 Sep 1972		Tijuana R. valley SD	2002-065
25–27 Sep 1974		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2002-067
07 Jan 1981		Santa Barbara SBA	2002-073
06 Oct 1984		DeHaven Creek mouth MEN	2005-020
30 Sep–05 Oct 1985		Carpinteria SBA	2002-077
11 Oct 1986		Little Sur River mouth MTY	2002-080
22 Sep 1990		Huntington Beach ORA	2002-101
Blue-headed Vireo – Not submitted/reviewed
16 Dec 1972		Arcata HUM			Harris (2006)
10 Nov 1980		Pt. Loma SD			Unitt (2004)
04–06 Oct 1984		Huntington Beach ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
10 Oct 1984		Pt. Loma SD			AB 39:104
11 Oct 1986		Little Sur R. mouth MTY	2002-080		record lost
01 Nov 1986		Carpinteria SBA			AB 40:160
15 Jun 1987		Fairhaven HUM			Harris (2006)
01 Oct 1987		Inverness MRN			AB 42:132
01 Oct 1987		Pismo Beach SLO			AB 42:138
08 Oct 1987		Pt. Reyes MRN			AB 42:132
14 Nov 1987		Arcadia LA			AB 42:138
fall 1988	2	coastal northern California			AB 43:164
07–09 Sep 1989		Southeast Farallon I. SF			AB 44:158
20 Sep–04 Oct 1989		Huntington Beach ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
03 Oct 1989		Fairhaven HUM			AB 44:158
03 Oct 1989		Panamint Springs INY			AB 44:164
07–09 Oct 1989		Oxnard VEN			AB 44:164
22–28 Sep 1990		Huntington Beach ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
12–29 Sep 1991	5	central coastal California			AB 46:146
15 Sep 1991		Pt. Loma SD			Unitt (2004)
15 Sep 1991		Pt. Loma SD			AB 46:151
29 Sep 1991		Pt. Loma SD			AB 46:151
17 Jan-? Mar 1992		Eureka HUM			Harris (2006)
10 Sep–05 Oct 1992	2	northern coastal California			AB 47:146
15 Oct 1992		Costa Mesa ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
23 Oct 1992		California City KER			AB 47:150
16 Nov 1992		Muir Beach MRN			AB 47:146
15 Sep–31 Oct 1993	10	coastal northern California			AB 48:150
18 Sep 1993		vic. Lodi SJ			AB 48:150
06–10 Oct 1993	2	Southeast Farallon I. SF			AB 48:150, see table entry 16
24 Sep–24 Oct 1994	3	northern coastal California			FN 49:98
28 Sep 1994		Newport Beach ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
17–18 Dec 1994		Arcata HUM			FN 49:195, 789 (“marginal details”)
03 Sep 1995		northern coastal California			FN 50:112
09 Oct 1995		Huntington Beach ORA			Hamilton & Willick (1996)
31 Oct 1995		Big Sur R. mouth MTY			Roberson (2002)
26 Nov 1995		northern coastal California			FN 50:112
fall 1996	3	Southeast Farallon I. SF			FN 51:116 (“banded”)
24 Sep 1996		Big Sur R. mouth MTY			FN 51:116
29 Sep 1996		Westhaven HUM			FN 51:116
04–22 Oct 1996		Huntington Beach ORA			FN 51:121
07 Oct 1996		Pt. Loma SD			FN 51:121
30 Nov 1996		Lake Merced SF			FN 51:116
22 Dec 1996		Vandenberg Air Force Base SBA			FN 51:804
30 Sep 1997		Arroyo Grande SLO			FN 52:127
14–16 Oct 1997		vic. Cantil KER			FN 52:127
03 Oct 1998		Irvine ORA			NAB 53:105
12 Sep–14 Nov 1999	3	northern coastal California			NAB 54:102, see table entries 25, 26
winter 1999/2000		HUM			NAB 54:218
02 Oct 2000		Elkhorn Ranch MTY			NAB 55:99
24 May 2001		Blue Lake HUM			Harris (2006)
22 Sep 2001		Bayview Hill SF			NAB 56:103
23 Sep 2001		Pt. Reyes MRN			NAB 56:103
30 Sep 2001		Pt. Reyes MRN			NAB 56:103
31 Aug 2003		Orick HUM			Harris (2006)

Figures

Figures 252, 253 (above, below). Two views of a first-fall Blue-headed Vireo at Southeast Farallon Island on 21 September 2001. Bright Cassin’s Vireos can look very similar, and some birds may not be safely distinguishable. Useful marks evident in these photos include the crisp division between gray-blue head and immaculate white throat, bold whitish fringes to the outer rectrices, well-defined white tertial edges, and extensively yellow sides, flanks, and undertail coverts (2002-014; Kristie N. Nelson).

Figure 253.

Figure 254. The CBRC encourages the use of cameras to document review-list birds, but field art is always appreciated by Committee members charged with reviewing hundreds of records each year. This sketch of a Blue-headed Vireo, made on 4 October 2003 at Pt. Loma in San Diego County, shows most of the relevant marks and supports the record with flair (2003-127; Susan E. Smith).

For enlargement, click image.

Blue-headed Vireo

BLUE-HEADED VIREO Vireo solitarius (Wilson, 1810)

Accepted: 35 (55%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 29	CBRC review: all records¹
Not submitted/reviewed: 77	Large color images: see Figures

With the recognition of three species in the Solitary Vireo complex (Johnson 1995, AOU 1997), the Committee was compelled to review records of the Blue-headed Vireo, a rare vagrant from the East. This species breeds from southeastern Yukon and the southern Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and from Minnesota east to New England and southward through the Appalachian Mts. to northeastern Alabama. The wintering grounds extend from the Southeast and Texas south through eastern Mexico to Costa Rica (casually to Panama), and some birds winter in Cuba. The species migrates regularly through the East and casually through the West. Washington claims two early fall vagrants: 6 September 1995 (coastal) and 28 August 2000 (inland). Oregon adds a coastal bird on 4 October 1980 and an inland bird photographed on 25 May 2003. Individuals were photographed in northwestern Baja California Sur on 1 October 2003 (NAB 58:148, 172) and 5 October 2004 (NAB 59:154) and in northeastern Baja California 8–12 March 2006 (NAB 60:289, 315).

California’s first Blue-headed Vireo was a first-fall female (identification confirmed by Allan R. Phillips) collected on 30 September 1973 on San Nicolas Island, Ventura County. This species is a generally late fall migrant in the East, and it winters in the Southeast, life-history traits that are reflected in the species’ incipient patterns of occurrence in California: 31 accepted records are of fall vagrants (9 September–28 November, with only three multi-day records); three are from winter, north to Ventura County; and one is of a singing spring vagrant (13 May 2000 at Huntington Beach, Orange County). See also Appendix H. At Southeast Farallon Island, where most records have not been reviewed by the CBRC, the mean date for 31 fall records is 30 September (Richardson et al. 2003).

Criteria for field identification have only recently been disseminated (see Heindel 1996, Pyle 1997b), and differences between some Blue-headed Vireos and bright Cassin’s Vireos can be subtle. This high potential for confusion may lead either to over- or under-reporting of Blue-headed Vireos in California, and it certainly leads many Committee members to demand impeccable details when considering these records. Most Cassin’s Vireos move through California between late August and October, whereas the earliest Blue-headeds normally do not appear until mid September. The Washington records listed previously are exceptionally early, and both are single-observer sight records. The CBRC is unlikely to accept similarly early reports of this species without diagnostic photos or excruciatingly detailed written descriptions. To mention but one of many intricacies inherent to the Solitary Vireo complex, Cassin’s Vireos resident in the Cape District of Baja California Sur (V. c. lucasanus) resemble Blue-headed Vireos, and their vocal repertoires reportedly include songs typical of both Cassin’s and Blue-headed Vireos (NAB 57:261).

Many Blue-headed Vireo reports have not been submitted (and others have not been accepted) because adequate details do not exist. Still, the CBRC continues to request submissions of any documentation that could serve to support published reports of this taxon.

¹Added to the review list in 1997