The Stalking Warbler . . or is this a Vireo?

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The Pine Warbler has to settle for these cypress forest branches when in Florida, though he is “overwhelmingly a bird of the pines” in his normal range (Peterson Field Guide to Warblers of North America, p. 343). The Yellow-throated Vireo favors a similar habitat, and has very similar coloring.

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I found this crouching behavior above amusing, as this tiny bird was ‘stalking his prey’. Pine Warblers forage for insects “by slowly and methodically creeping along trunks and branches . . .” (Ibid, p. 343), and Yellow-throated Vireos also forage “rather methodically along the twigs and in foliage”.

Hmmmm…how to know which is which?? The All About Birds site for the Vireo tells us it differs from the Warbler this way: “Pine Warbler has dusky streaking on yellow chest, white tail spots, and an eyeline, not spectacles.”  Still not sure . . . But, based on the shape of his beak, I’m going with the Warbler 😉

Thoughts, anyone?

10 thoughts on “The Stalking Warbler . . or is this a Vireo?”

  1. Fascinating post. Maybe I’m too simplistic, but aren’t they really the same bird with just minute variations in color and marking? But I love your attention to detail .

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