Cuban Vireo

About the Cuban Vireo

The Cuban vireo (Vireo gundlachii) is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae, the vireos, greenlets, and shrike-babblers. It is endemic to Cuba. The Cuban vireo was originally described in 1850 as Vireo gundlachii, its current binomial. At the time it had several local names including "Petit-bobo", "Juanchiví", and "Ojone". Its specific epithet honors Cuban zoologist Juan Gundlach. Some authors have treated it as a subspecies of the white-eyed vireo (V. griseus).

The Cuban vireo's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these four subspecies: V. g. magnus Garrido, 1971 V. g. sanfelipensis Garrido, 1973

V. g. gundlachii Lembeye, 1850 V. g. orientalis Todd, 1916 However, the Clements taxonomy treats it as monotypic. This article follows the four-subspecies model. The Cuban vireo is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs about 11 to 15 g (0.39 to 0.53 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies V. g. gundlachii have an olive-gray crown, nape, and ear coverts. They have a yellow or creamy white patch from lores through the eye... Wikipedia →