The nest is a cup in a fork of a tree branch. The red-eyed vireo suffers from nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird ("Molothrus ater") in the north of its range, and by the shiny cowbird ("M. bonariensis") further south. Parasitism by "Haemoproteus" and trypanosomans might affect these birds not infrequently, as was noted in studies of birds caught in Parque Nacional de La Macarena and near Turbo (Colombia): though only three red-eyed vireos were examined, all were infected with at least one of these parasites.