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Posted by Stephen Paez on 18:09:26 08/09/10
Birded AD Barnes this afternoon and had the following:
Cardinals
Chimney Swifts
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Gnatcatchers (many)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart (males and females) (first for season)
Prairie Warbler (first for season)
Louisiana Waterthrush (being stalked by cat, which I chased off)
Ovenbird
Red-eyed Vireo (several)
I was surprised to see a Red-eyed Vireo with a small anole in its beak. It would shake it, hold it underfoot and tear at it, shake it again and eventually swallowed it whole. I had never heard or read before that vireos ate lizards (except occasionally by some larger tropical ones like Peppershrikes). Doing some research today in the internet it seems that the first time a vireo was recorded eating a lizard was in 1925 (White-eyed Vireo). The only other times it was reported was in 1987 (a Red-eyed in Ft. Desoto and a Yellow-throated in Key West), in 1958 (Yellow-throated in Ft. Desoto) and later in 2006 (Red-eyed Vireo in South Carolina). Learned something new. Very Cool!
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