English and Scientific names:	Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)
Number of individuals:	2
Locality: LOUISIANA:	Cameron Parish
Specific Locality:	Peveto Woods Sanctuary
Date(s) when observed:	Sept. 12, 2009
Time(s) of day when observed:	About noon
Reporting observer and address:	Paul Conover Lafayette, LA
Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s):	James Beck
Other observers who independently identified the bird(s)
Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):	Light was even, overcast. Lighting was good for the subdued yellows and greens of these birds.
Optical equipment:	Zeiss 10s
Distance to bird(s):	From about 40 yards down to about 10 feet.
Duration of observation:	Probably 2 minutes total, although individual looks were brief and usually partial.
Habitat:	First seen feeding about 20 feet high in live oaks, later in ragweed below 6 feet.
Behavior of bird:	James first spotted a Bell’s Vireo feeding in a live oak and alerted me. The bird was foraging on the tips of branches. It flew a tree or two over, which is where I got my first look. As I was watching, it moved down a branch and got to within a foot of a second Bell’s. The birds were on a linear route to the west, and dropped down into a ragweed field near the edge of a small grove of short live oaks. We approached and found them foraging together in the ragweed, moving deliberately within the thick leaves. The birds then entered the trees and moved west. We got a few more looks, then lost them and abandoned the search, as rain had gotten heavy. The birds displayed typical Bell’s behavior, with nervous flicking and fluttering as they fed, somewhat gnatcatcher-like. They also froze at times and simply looked slowly around.
Description:	Typical eastern-looking Bell’s Vireos, both very similar to one another. The following description applies to both individuals: Small greenish and yellowish passerine, warbler-sized, but told as a vireo by the thick bill. A soft olive-greenish on mantle, with a grayer cast on the crown. Whitish ground color below, with yellowish wash slightly tinged greenish on flanks. Slight diffuse pale area, basically diffuse pale eye crescents around eyes, pale loral spots, but without a defined spectacle. Only one pronounced whitish wingbar, that of greater coverts. Bill pale horn with dusky culmen. Eyes dark. Legs bluish gray.
Voice:	Not heard.
Similar species:	Among vireos with wingbars, White-eyed most similar. Written descriptions cn be inadequate to separate the two, but perusal of the photos should eliminate White-eyed.
Photographs or tape recordings obtained?	Photos by James.
Previous experience with this species:	Seen pretty regularly. These birds were my 4^th and 5^th of the year. I’ve seen many in LA and more out of state.
Identification aids:
This description is written from:	memory
Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain:	Yes.
Reporter:	Paul Conover
Date and time:	November 2, 2009