Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Remsen,
J.V.
1978
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
May 19 Point Reyes, Marin Co., Calif.: I seen in the exact same row of trees at Mendoza Ranch as the bird last year in early June. It had been found yesterday by the Ghiorso's (Al + Wilma), but because Don Roberson thought their description wasn't good [iris dark, body size too large but they saw yellow spectacles, 2 white wing bars, throat white yellowish breast and flanks, white center to belly, etc.], the bird was "poo-poos'd". When we found out about it this afternoon after someone else saw the bird again today and saw that the iris was white, we rushed out to try to find it. Once we located it, we saw it off and on for a half-hour or so with lengthy observations of the underparts of the bird but poor looks at the upperparts, reminiscent of last year's bird.
The most conspicuous mark on the bird was the bright green-yellow "spectacle" - a bar extending across the forehead to the loral area on either side. There appeared to be a thin pale eye-ring but it was hard to see, especially since the iris was also pale [strikingly so in bright light on outer edge of trees, hard to see inside the dark canopy [dark pupil enlarges ??]]. The rest of the face was pale grayish. The throat was grayish-white, contrasting strongly with the yellowish wash across the breast and bright yellow sides and flanks. The center of the lower breast through the belly to at least as far back as between the legs was whitish. The bill was moderately large for the body size and was definitely hooked and all blackish. We saw little of the upperparts except that there were 2 strong