The fall rarities continue. An ABA Code-4 Thick-billed Vireo (Vireo crassirostris) was found at Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Florida, on 13 November by an as yet unidentified out-of-state birder; the vireo was later relocated and photographed on 18 November.
Although Thick-billed Vireo is common in the Bahamas, it is "Critically Endangered" in Cuba (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty, et al.). The subspecies found in Florida is V. c. crassirostris, a brownish subspecies. The first record in the ABA Area was of three photographed birds from Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park from 9 September – 26 October 1989.
Thick-billed Vireo is closely related to 8 other scrub-dwelling vireos including White-eyed of which it is thought to be most closely related and at times considered as conspecific (HBW, Volume 15). Even though it is a range-restricted species, Thick-billed Vireo is not globally threatened and is found in three endemic bird areas, Bahama, Hispaniola and Cuba EBAs.
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