Vireo philadelphicus
Status: Uncommon regular spring and fall migrant east, rare central, rare casual west.
Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM10533, 16 May 1917 Lancaster Co.
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (Gill et al 2022).
Spring: May 1, 2, 3 <<<>>> May 29, 29, 30
Earlier dates are 22 Apr 2024 Ponca SP, Dixon Co, and 25 Apr 1986 Nemaha Co.
Migrants arrive in late Apr and depart by late May, with peak numbers mid-late May.
Away from the east, it is uncommon to rare; there are 15 reports from the central 4-24 May, and these few reports from the Panhandle: 15 May 1971 Scotts Bluff Co, 19 May 2023 Cheyenne Co, 21-23 May 2022 Kimball Co, 24 May 2022 Dawes Co, 26 May 2007 Scotts Bluff Co, 28 May 2024 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co, and 29 May 1965 Sheridan Co (Short 1966).
Reports are increasing; in most years prior to 2010, 1-4 reports were the norm, but in 2013 there were 14, in 2016, 25+, and in 2018, 37. This may be, however, an artifact resulting from increasing ease of reporting to eBird, especially reliance on Merlin Sound App for identification, or possibly confusion with other vireo species or some plumages of Warbling Vireo.
- High counts: 6 at Walnut Grove Park, Omaha 21 May 2009, 5 in Douglas Co 23 May 2008, 4 at Wehrspann Lake, Sarpy Co 29 May 2008, and 4 at Fontenelle Forest, Sarpy Co 11 May 2012.
- A total of 14 were reported 11-23 May 2013 and 25+ from 2-28 May 2016.
Fall: Aug 23, 25, 25 <<<>>> Sep 29, 29, 30
Earlier dates are 15 Aug 2012 Sarpy Co, 16 Aug 2012 Dodge Co, 17 Aug 2022 Scotts Bluff Co, 19 Aug 2012 Knox Co, and 21 Aug 2011 Dodge Co.
Later dates are 5 Oct 2011 Lancaster Co, 7 Oct 2021 Knox Co, 8 Oct 2011 Dodge Co, 13 Oct 2015 Otoe Co, and 5 Nov 1977 banded Garden Co (Williams 1978).
Migrants occur between late Aug and late Sep; the three earliest dates above were all in 2012, suggesting an unusually early southward movement that fall.
There are few reports from the Panhandle, all documented: 17 Aug 2022 Scotts Bluff Co, 1 Sep 2021 Fort Robinson SP, Dawes Co, 3 Sep 1997 Riverside Park, Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff Co, 4 Sep 2020 Garden Co, 6 Sep 2004 Scotts Bluff Co, 7 Sep 2001 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co, 14 Sep 2021 Oliver Reservoir, 15 Sep 2023 Oliver Reservoir, 16 Sep 2023 banded Wildcat Hills NC, Scotts Bluff Co, 21 Sep 2013 Banner Co, 28 Sep 1974 Dawes Co (Rosche 1982), 29 Sep 2022 Scotts Bluff Co, and a very late record of one netted and photographed in Garden Co 5 Nov 1977 (Williams 1978).
There were no fall reports from 1979 until 1996, but numbers have been relatively high since then; seven were found in 1997, all in the east, six in the period 6-30 Sep. In 2001, eight were reported, including singles as far west as Oliver Reservoir and Lake McConaughy, in the period 7-16 Sep. Twelve were reported in fall 2014, 16 in fall 2020, and 20 in fall 2024, the latter total including four reports for the central, west to Lake McConaughy.
- High counts: 3 at Fontenelle Forest 8 Sep 1998.
Comments: A report of one at Aurora, Hamilton Co 31 Aug 1948 (Chapman 1948) appears to be a misidentification of a yellowish juvenile Warbling Vireo (Jorgensen 2012).
A bird identified as a Yellow-green Vireo, V. flavoviridis, was reportedly collected at Long Pine, Brown Co by J.M. Bates (no date given) and sent to UNSM (Barbour 1896). This specimen cannot be located, however (Thomas Labedz, personal communication), and seems more likely to have been a Philadelphia Vireo. See species account for Yellow-green Vireo.
Images
Abbreviation
NC: Nature Center
SP: State Park
UNSM: University of Nebraska State Museum
Literature Cited
Barbour, E.H. 1896. The occurrence in Nebraska of Vireo flavoviridis. Auk 13: 263.
Chapman, G. 1948. Philadelphia Vireo at Aurora, Nebraska. NBR 16: 93.
Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2012. Birds of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Rosche, R.C. 1982. Birds of northwestern Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota, an annotated checklist. Cottonwood Press, Crawford, Nebraska, USA.
Short, L.L., Jr. 1966. Some spring migrant and breeding records from northern Nebraska. NBR 34: 18.
Williams, F. 1978. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 32: 1024-1028.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2024. Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 12 Dec 2024