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Habitat Requirements | |
| Species
range and distribution Repoductive characteristics Habitat requirements Threats to extinction Management Guidelines, Texas
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Breeding Range Black-capped Vireos require an early stage of successional progression for breeding: low shrubby growth with spaces between small thickets and clumps with vegetation cover from ground level to 6’ in height (Gryzbowski, 1995). This vegetation is mostly deciduous and irregular in height and distribution. These vegetation configurations are most common in edaphic settings such as eroded gullies, areas with poorer soils, and rocky substrates. The highest concentrations of nests are found in areas recovering from a fire (Gryzbowski, 1995). The Black-capped Vireo inhabits a small area of range, but a
diversity of plant species occur that provides suitable habitat within this small range.
Nests are frequently found in the common oaks of the area: Blackjack oak (Quercus
marilandica), Shin oak (Quercus sinuata), Spanish oak (Quercus texana),
Plateau live oak (Quercus mohriana), and Vasey oak (Quercus pungens var.
vaseyana) (Grzybowski, 1995). Nests are found less frequently in Sumac (Rhus sp.),
Texas persimmon (Pryosporis texana), Roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii),
and redbud (Cercis canadensis). Although Ashe juniper is often part of the plant
composition in vireo habitat, preferred areas have a low density and cover of juniper
(Campbell, 1995). Spring and Fall Migration Virtually no data is available for migration habitat requirements. Some postbreeding movements occur in taller and more mesic woodland areas than occupied during breeding, along watercourses and dry washes (Grzybowski, 1995). Winter Range Little is known about the vireo’s winter needs in Mexico. Vireos have been observed in two somewhat disparate habitat types: arid shrub from 3’ to 18’ tall, and a diverse, lush, more mesic second-growth forest. The similarity between these two habitat types is that both contained low deciduous growth. |