Plumbeous Vireo

I had a fondness for the plumbeous vireo before I saw it. I knew it was a bird I might see in southeastern Arizona. In March I saw a plumbeous kite in Guatemala and now knew what plumbeous meant. I knew it would be gray, but the term "gray" can't compare to "plumbeous" for pomposity and lack of clarity. And vireos and I don't really get along. They are small, dart about and are hard enough to see, let alone photograph. My guide, Jake, mentioned the term "plumbeous" quite a few times when I was with him. Tiny gray birds that he mentioned that I sometimes saw, but mostly didn't. When I got home I prayed for some sort of miracle that I may have captured one in a photograph somewhere along the way. The first breakthrough came in a post on iNaturalist where I put in some photographs of red-eyed vireo. One identifier noted that I had inserted the face of a plumbeous vireo among them. I was thrilled to remove that photo and insert it on its own - my first plumbeous vireo. 

This tiny, beautiful , hard to see face, ringed by verdant green, was my first introduction. It was high up in Madera Canyon. 

But later I struck paydirt. In Ramsey Canyon Reserve I'd commissioned Jake to take my photos. My left shoulder was irritated and raising the heavy camera upward and shooting photos of birds in the sky and trees was causing my shoulder great pain and irritation. I asked Jake if I could hand him my camera and let him take the photos, and he consented. Fortunately, a plumbeous kite was a benefactor of this hand-off and Jake got some good photos for me. 

I've fallen in love. Isn't this a gorgeous bird? Suhk kind, gentle eyes, dainty little features. An inquisitiveness to it.

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. Unlike many of the other birds we saw, this one ranges further north than southeastern Arizona.