Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Warbing Vireo (Vireo gilvus)

Warbling Vireo [ventral view of adult]: Photograph Credit: David L. Roemer; Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Barren County, Kentucky; 16 May 2012.

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Abundance: Very Uncommon in most of the Region but Uncommon to Fairly Common in the northwestern counties of the Region (see also Foray data for Barren and Metcalfe counties, Kentucky, and Macon County, Tennessee []below]); recorded in 24 Regional counties (record lacking in Clinton, Kentucky, and Bledsoe, Tennessee) (Map of UCR Distribution); data are too few to determine a trend in the small Regional breeding population or in the population that migrates through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; photograph (see above).

Regional High Count and Foray High Count: 19 (2 June 2013; Barren County, Kentucky; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 7 (30 April 2011; Overton County, Tennessee (SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 1 (15 September 2001; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; Barbara H. Stedman) and (21 September 2012; Barren County, Kentucky [FBB]; Roseanna M. Denton).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 25 April; fall departure probably widespread by 15 September, but data at this season are very thin and the species' autumn exit from the Region poorly understood.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Fairly Recent); confirmation of breeding was not obtained during the 1986–1991 atlas project in any of the 16 counties in the Tennessee portion of the Region (Nicholson 1997); confirmation was obtained during the 1985–1991 atlas project in 1 (Barren) of 10 counties in the Kentucky portion of the Region (Palmer-Ball 1996); no confirmations have been obtained in any Regional county as a result of foray effort through 2011.

Habitat: most often encountered in riparian areas with slow-moving or standing water where fairly mature willows and other trees tolerant of standing water are present; less often encountered in farmyards and park-like areas with a few old trees present.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 1 (of 125 possible) monthly check-list during 2003 and on 1 (of 206 possible) check-list during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare in Regional yards and neighborhoods during the latter year; this frequency classification makes the Warbling Vireo less likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.  The quiet song and retiring habits of this vireo probably cause it to be overlooked much of the time.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: x

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited