Description

John Cassin (1813-1869)
Plate 37, The Whip-Tom-Kelly
From: Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
Chromolithograph
Paper dimensions: 7″ x 10
Framed dimensions: 12 x 21

With text below image:
The Whip-Tom-Kelly, also called the Black-whiskered vireo, is a small passerine bird native to the West Indies and Florida. It is a partial migrant, with northern birds wintering from the Greater Antilles to northern South America. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to Costa Rica. It breeds in open deciduous wooded areas and cultivation, and in Florida also mangroves. This vireo is 14-15 cm in length, has a 25 cm wingspan, and weighs 17-19 grams. It has thick blue-grey legs and a stout bill. The adult has dull olive-green upperparts and white underparts, with yellowish on the flanks and under the tail. It has red eyes and a grey-brown crown with faint dusky edges. There is a dark line through the eyes and a white eyebrow stripe. This bird suffers from nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird in its US range, and shiny cowbird further south.