Vireos | Vireonidae

Vireos are small to medium songbirds of the Americas; none breeds in Europe, but a few North American migrants reach the Atlantic coasts in autumn on westerly gales. In looks they fall between a warbler and a small shrike: greenish or grey above, pale below, with a stouter bill than a warbler's and a small hook at the tip. Head and eye-stripe pattern is the key feature. They move slowly and deliberately through the canopy, picking caterpillars and other insects from the leaves and taking berries outside the breeding season. The nest is a deep cup slung in a fork. They are tireless singers that keep calling all day, even through the midday heat.