Yellow-throated Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo has risen sharply: up 58% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Yellow-throated Vireo
The Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) is a North American member of the Vireos (Vireonidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 4.5–6 in long (11–15 cm) — a small, deliberate songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,034 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 37 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Vireonidae · Forest birds
Notable Yellow-throated Vireo Trends
Yellow-throated Vireo has risen sharply in surveyed states: up 58% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Yellow-throated Vireo Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Yellow-throated Vireo is projected to fall about 12% by 2029 — from 1.0 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.92 (95% range 0.71–1.1). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±21.9%, with 20% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.89 | 0.68 | 1.1 |
| 2026 | 0.90 | 0.69 | 1.1 |
| 2027 | 0.91 | 0.70 | 1.1 |
| 2028 | 0.92 | 0.70 | 1.1 |
| 2029 | 0.92 | 0.71 | 1.1 |
Where the Yellow-throated Vireo Is Detected
BBS routes recording Yellow-throated Vireo, sized by most recent count.
Yellow-throated Vireo Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +284% | 1968 | 104 |
| Arkansas | +417% | 1969 | 49 |
| Connecticut | +56% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | -62% | 1968 | 15 |
| Florida | +244% | 1968 | 75 |
| Georgia | +159% | 1968 | 104 |
| Illinois | +619% | 1969 | 87 |
| Indiana | +53% | 1968 | 61 |
| Iowa | +69% | 1970 | 25 |
| Kansas | +529% | 1988 | 16 |
| Kentucky | +63% | 1968 | 61 |
| Louisiana | +348% | 1969 | 71 |
| Maine | -71% | 1975 | 13 |
| Maryland | +146% | 1968 | 73 |
| Massachusetts | +810% | 1974 | 21 |
| Michigan | +833% | 1968 | 88 |
| Minnesota | +875% | 1969 | 73 |
| Mississippi | +312% | 1968 | 66 |
| Missouri | +245% | 1969 | 79 |
| Nebraska | +161% | 1986 | 8 |
| New Hampshire | +99% | 1968 | 20 |
| New Jersey | +166% | 1968 | 29 |
| New York | -24% | 1968 | 108 |
| North Carolina | +97% | 1968 | 98 |
| North Dakota | +191% | 1975 | 12 |
| Ohio | +172% | 1968 | 84 |
| Oklahoma | +817% | 1970 | 24 |
| Pennsylvania | +290% | 1968 | 118 |
| Rhode Island | +206% | 1970 | 5 |
| South Carolina | +208% | 1968 | 48 |
| South Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Tennessee | +134% | 1968 | 54 |
| Texas | +302% | 1970 | 65 |
| Vermont | +8% | 1969 | 20 |
| Virginia | -5% | 1968 | 83 |
| West Virginia | +74% | 1968 | 60 |
| Wisconsin | +103% | 1968 | 96 |
Yellow-throated Vireo Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | +344% | 1973 | 40 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +126% | 1968 | 98 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +18% | 1968 | 80 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +16% | 1968 | 71 |
| Edwards Plateau | +978% | 1971 | 16 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +542% | 1976 | 24 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +186% | 1968 | 218 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +209% | 1968 | 154 |
| Central Hardwoods | +211% | 1968 | 155 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | +312% | 1969 | 103 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +192% | 1968 | 44 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +189% | 1968 | 322 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +48% | 1968 | 378 |
| Piedmont | +163% | 1968 | 155 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +127% | 1968 | 129 |
| Peninsular Florida | +244% | 1968 | 33 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -3% | 1984 | 10 |
Yellow-throated Vireo Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 58% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.