#listen if gray vireo lose I'll be sad but I love Duskies too

[proton-wobbler]

Round 1, Poll 7

Gray Vireo vs Dusky Seaside Sparrow

sources under cut

Gray Vireo Propaganda:

Noted as being one of the most plain looking birds in North America, Gray Vireo live in the Southwest in various scrublands: pinyon-juniper, mesquite, and oak.

Like other vireos, they will use the slight hook in their bill to help tear apart the insects they capture, typically beating them against branches before holding down the bug and ripping into it. Also like other vireos, they sometimes sing while sitting on their nest!

They're monogamous throughout the breeding season, with males singing consistantly from dawn til noon and running circles around their territory multiple times per day. Sometimes on these rounds, the female will wander with him, only singing if there is a territorial conflict with another pair. Both male and female will incubate eggs, and feed the young.

(this is my current focal species for work I promise I'm not biased, they're just perfect in every way)

Dusky Seaside Sparrow:

"extinct; RIP little guy :(" - declared officially extinct in December 1990

A subspecies of the Seaside Sparrow, this specific type was found in saltmarshes of Florida's Atlantic Coast on Merritt Island and the upper St. Johns River.

The main cause for extinction is likely linked to mosquito control measures: DDT use, the creature of "mosquito impoundments" that destroyed saltmarsh habitat, and finally the flooding of the marshes on Merritt Island after the Kennedy Space Center was built. Another huge blow was when the marshes were drained to facilitate highway construction.

As a species, Seaside Sparrows are incredible habitat specialists that remain in saltmarshes and brackish marshes their entire life. They nest in the tall grass of riverbanks, creating an orb-shaped nests just high enough from the water to keep from flooding daily. Once the chicks have fledged and been cared for by their parents, they will often form small flocks in order to forage together.

Image Source: All About Birds