The Blue-headed Vireo are mainly olive on the upperparts with white underparts and yellowish flanks. They have a grey head, dark eyes with white ''spectacles'' and white wing bars. They have a stout bill and thick blue-grey legs.
Their breeding habitat is open mixed deciduous and coniferous woods in Canada east of the Rockies and the northeastern United States. They make a bulky cup nest suspended from a fork in tree branch.
The male helps with incubation and may sing from the nest. These birds migrate to the southern and southeastern United States south to Central America. They forage for insects in the upper parts of trees, sometimes flying out to catch them. They also eat some berries, especially in winter.