peppershrike, (family Cyclarhidae), either of two species of stout-billed tropical American songbirds (order Passeriformes). (They are included by some authorities in the vireo family, Vireonidae.) Both peppershrikes are olive green above and yellow and white below; they are about 15 centimetres (6 inches) in length. The bill is high and terminally hooked. Peppershrikes are found in open woodland from southern Mexico to Argentina and Paraguay. They feed on large insects and some fruit, taken as they move about in foliage. Their song is a sweet warble, repeated frequently.