Hutton's Vireo

A common resident in Sonoma County's oak woodlands. Particularly fond of our evergreen oaks. Present year-round and throughout the county except the extreme south, near San Pablo Bay.

Prominent eyering, incomplete above the eye; pale area in front of the eye (although this may be hard to see in the field); overall, a drab olive color above, slightly paler and yellowish below; two white wing bars, the lower of the two being the longer and more prominent; a light, pointed, black bill with a tiny hook; dark grey to bluish legs. Seeks out small insects in wooded environments, foraging energetically--although less frenetically than Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), with which it's frequently confused (see below).

Compared with Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hutton's Vireo is a little bigger and has a more elongated look. Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a rather plump little bird with a proportionately short tail that adds to an impression of compactness. Hutton's Vireo has a sharp bill with a tiny hook on the end, Ruby-crowned Kinglet has a significantly more slender bill lacking the hook (although the hook may be very hard to see in the field). Ruby-crowned Kinglet has two white wing bars, like Hutton's Vireo, but also a dark bar beneath the lower wing bar lacking in the vireo and a fine greenish-gold striping on the wings and tail usually not so prominent in the vireo. The vireo has a pale area in front of the eye, which is subtle, but not present in the kinglet, which (as its name suggests) has a patch of red feathers on its crown that Hutton's Vireo lacks (note, however, that the kinglet rarely shows its crown, so lack of visible red on top of the head alone does not rule out Ruby-crowned Kinglet). The vireo's legs are somewhat heavier and paler in color than those of the kinglet, which has notably skinny, usually black legs. The feet of the kinglet are often notably browner than the rest of its legs, sometimes markedly paler and yellower, a feature not present in the vireo. Behaviorally, the kinglet is a much more nervous bird--constantly flitting from place to place, flicking its wings. Hutton's Vireo flits about, looking for insects, but rather more deliberately than the kinglet. Vocalizations are quite different. Ruby-crowned Kinglet is frequently detected before it's sighted by its chattering, which is often likened to the clatter of an old-fashioned typewriter (see links below). One trick that seems to work fairly consistently is to remember that on Hutton's Vireo, the darkest part of the wing will be the area between the wing bars; in Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the darkest part of the wing will be below the lower wing bar--although it's best to take all available indicators together to make an ID, rather than to rely on one.

Superficially resembles Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis), but that bird is larger and has the typical alert, upright look of a flycatcher, has a pale orange lower mandible, a broad-based bill, and has a slightly crested look. It behaves like a flycatcher--perching, flying out to catch an insect, and then perching again, often in the same spot--rather than hopping around in trees foraging (note, however, that the kinglet and vireo may occasionally flycatch).