The Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior), or Vireo gris in Spanish, eats mainly insects during its summer stay in the chaparral of San Diego County’s mountains. During the winter months when it migrates to Baja California, Mexico, it feasts on the fruit of the Elephant Tree.

The Gray Vireo is concentrated in two areas of San Diego County. The northern population lies in a region of chaparral dominated by Chamise and Redshank north of Warner Springs. The southern population is in chaparral dominated by Chamise and Cupleaf Ceanothus south of the Laguna Mountains and north of Interstate 8. To learn more about the Gray Vireo, visit the San Diego County Bird Atlas.

Conservation status: Vulnerable. The Gray Vireo is the rarest breeding bird in San Diego County’s chaparral and is one of 74 California Bird Species of Special Concern.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Sadowski