Scientific Name: Vireo belli

Residency: Summers are spent in southern part of Arizona.

Diet: Insects, spiders and fruits.

Predators: Coyote, domestic cat, blsck racer, gopher snake, Greater Roadrunner, American Crow, and Scrub Jay

Nesting:  The nest can be found hanging two to five feet off the ground hanging in the horizontal fork of a branch.  Materials used to construct the cup shaped nest include weeds, grasses, bark, plant fibers, leaves, and spider webs; the lining of the nest is made with fine grass. Three to five eggs are laid; they are white with black or brown spots. Two broods per year.

Nesting Records:

Notes: The population of Bell's Vireo is in decline due to habitat degradation and fragmentation. Especially along riparian areas, degradation of habitat - due in large part to agriculture and overgrazing - has been the greatest threat to the success of this species. In fact, overgrazing has been estimated to reduce nesting sites by 50%, and to contribute to the increase of non-native plant species that do provide a suitable habitat for this bird. Habitat fragmentation in these areas has also led to Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism, and a subsequent decline in numbers of the Bell's Vireo.  The Least Subspecies of the Bell's Vireo has been considered "Federally Endangered" in California. 

Photo: To be added.

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