Warbling Vireo Transparent Watercolor and Time-lapse video

This is my first painting of a Warbling Vireo. I love all the vireo species I’ve been lucky enough to see. While the warblers seem to get all the attention with their saturated colors and patterns, the vireos have a lot of similar behaviors. While the vireos may not have the flashy colors of the warblers, they make up for it with cute stripes or rings around their eyes.

So far I’ve only painted one vireo… a Red-eyed. Honestly, part of the reason I neglected them is that they are hard to photograph. In the summertime the forested areas of central Michigan are filled with the calls of Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos. Once the trees leaf out, their cheery voices are the only evidence of these beautiful birds.

My daughter has a lot of tricks for learning bird calls. The way she remembers the Warbling Vireo is that it says, “When I see you, I will seize you, and I’ll squeeze you till you squirt!” That is a crazy saying for a long and rambling call, but it really does approximate the phrasing of its song.

Warbling Vireos have interesting nests that are hanging and cup-shaped, usually drooping down from a forked tree branch. They look cozy, woven together with grasses, lichens and other materials.

Please contact me if you’re interested in buying the original watercolor or a print of this painting. Some of my work is also available for licensing.