Bah on Birds: Bell’s Vireo
by Mariama Bah, age 15
Hello and welcome to “Bah on Birds.” I’m Mariama Bah, author of “Bah on Birds” and a volunteer for the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology. In my free time, I like to crochet, read books, and learn new things, which is why I joined WSO. What I hope to accomplish with my volunteer work is to educate people about the endangered and threatened birds of Wisconsin and ways to protect these birds. I hope you enjoy these articles!
Vireo bellii, more commonly known as Bell’s Vireo, can be spotted across the Midwestern and Southwestern United States, in habitats where the green vegetation is thick and tall. Bell’s Vireos are small and round songbirds with gray and olive-colored bodies and white eye rings. Bell’s Vireos are invertivores, mainly feasting on insects and spiders. In fact, there is no reported observation of the bird drinking water, and many believe they can receive the water they need through their food.
Bell’s Vireo caught my eye because of the interesting name. “Vireo” is a Latin word meaning “I am green,” or when used in a bird-naming context, a green migratory bird. “Bell” comes from John Graham Bell, a taxidermist and birding companion of John James Audubon. Audubon spotted “the greenlet” when they were traveling up the Mississippi River in 1843, and named it after Bell.
In Wisconsin, the Bell’s Vireo is listed as threatened. This is due to many reasons, one of them being the severe loss of their habitat. The shrubby thickets in open grasslands that Bell’s Vireos nest in are disappearing due to the development of agriculture, rural communities, and transportation corridors. The increasing development of agriculture is also contributing to the spread of parasitism from Brown-headed Cowbirds. The birds will lay their eggs in other species nests and rely on the host to incubate and rear the Brown-headed Cowbird.
One way to help the bird is to support the conservation of prairies and grasslands. Organizations such as The Prairie Enthusiasts manage their properties to provide the proper habitat for Bell’s Vireos. Consider volunteering with a local non-profit or the Wisconsin DNR to help preserve and restore the Bell’s Vireo’s habitat.
