English and Scientific names:	Bell’s Vireo Vireo bellii
Number of individuals:	One
Locality: LOUISIANA:	Vermilion Parish
Specific Locality:	Near Forked Island
Date(s) when observed:	10/15/2005
Time(s) of day when observed:	mid-day
Reporting observer and address:	Paul Conover
Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird	Dave Patton—found the bird.
Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):	Clear sunny skies. Ranged from hot light when the bird was higher up in the trees to good even light when the bird was down low. Mostly the viewing light was excellent.
Optical equipment:	Zeiss 10X40 Binos
Distance to bird(s):	As close as 15 feet
Duration of observation:	Off an on, about one hour. Actual observation time probably ½ hour
Habitat:	A wooded hill, probably a spoil bank, alongside a waterway. This sighting followed Hurricane Rita by about 3 weeks, and the surrounding countryside had been beneath salt water as a result of storm surge. This hill represented the only dry, green spot for a distance, and as a result, starving cattle had trampled and chewed all understory. The birds seemed to be limited to the immediate locale. The flora was dominated by medium-sized broadleafs: tallows, live oak, etc. I think there were Green Ash and possibly some other oaks there as well. Dave found the bird feeding in a [Green Ash?] tree and told me about it when I walked up the trail. By then it was gone, so I went to get a videocam and returned. Within 30 feet and 5 minutes, I relocated the bird and got bad but recognizable footage. I was able to tag along with it for about an hour, losing it from time to time. At times, the lighting was horrible for filming, and at others, the light was great for observation bu the distance a bit bad for filming. The bird ended up making a lap of the wooded area and coming back to the tree where Dave had first found it.
Behavior of bird:	The bird was actively but stealthily foraging from about 10 feet above the ground to the treetops. It would sidle along a branch, stopping briefly every 30 seconds or so. At times, it would sit still for perhaps a minute, looking around alertly, then would return to feeding. The feeding behavior was accompanied by much tail-flicking, acrobatic movement, and fluttering of wings--at times reminiscent of gnatcatchers. The tail was swished around, lifted, and tipped down regularly in the course of feeding as if the bird was using it for balance.
Description:	A passerine about the size of a warbler, but with a thicker bill as in vireos. The bird had a fairly longish tail. The general appearance of the bird varied in different light. In bright sunlight, it looked almost completely grayish, reminiscent of western birds; however, when in shade it showed a pale yellow wash beneath. The head of the bird had an obvious grayish tone that contrasted with the mantle and rump of the bird [somewhat as the grayish head of a dull eastern Orange-crowned Warbler contrasts with a greener back] . There was a a diffuse pale area above and below the eye, separated by a slightly darker ocular line. The gray of the head faded to whitish or grayish on the throat. The irides were dark. The mantle was dull greenish-gray, the rump more definitely greenish [it was the greenest area on the bird]. On the sides of the upper breast anterior to the bend of the wing, there was a very slight, often unnoticable grayish wash. Beneath, the bird was pale, with the extent of yellowish wash difficult to determine but brightest on undertail coverts and extending at least forward of the legs. The bill was conspicuously pale, horn perhaps, with a duskier tip and culmen. The tail was about the color of the primaries, slightly darker than the rest of the upperparts The legs appeared grayish. The lesser coverts showed a suggestion of a wingbar, extremely faint. The wingbar of the median coverts was distinct.
Voice:	Not heard.
Similar species:	The only other wing-barred vireo to eliminate is White-eyed. This bird was longer-tailed, and more slender and streamlined. The bill seemed thinner and longer, the head smaller and less blocky. There was no hint of the spectacle pattern of even a young WEVI. Morphologically, this bird was completely different from WEVI. By way of comparison, I saw 2 WEVI in the woods at the same time as the BEVI, and they were distinctly different in shape and foraging style. I am well aware of the confusion regarding young WEVI’s, and although young WEVI’s can look superficially like Bell’s, to me a real Bell’s looks nothing like a White-eyed.
Photographs or tape recordings obtained?	A few minutes of video, from which some stills were taken—posted with this report.
Previous experience with this species:	I have seen this species a number of times out west, and at least 5 previous times in Louisiana.
Identification aids:	None.
This description is written from:
Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain:	Yes. This sighting provided me with by far the longest looks I have ever had of Bell’s Vireo in the east.
Reporter:	Paul Conover
Date and time:	10/15/05—date of sighting.