The hermit warbler (''Setophaga occidentalis'') is a small

perching bird A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by ...

. It is a species of

New World warbler The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Mos ...

or wood-warbler. They are a migratory bird, the breeding range spanning the majority of the west coast of the United States. Their winter range includes parts of Mexico and Central America as well as parts of the southern California coast.

Description

Hermit warblers are dark gray in coloration on top, and white below, and their flanks are streaked with black. The wings have two diagonal white wing bars. The majority of the hermit warbler's head is yellow, and males have a dark black throat, while females have much less black on their throat bib and immature birds have no black throat. Both males and females measure in length, in weight, and in wingspan.

Behavior

Diet

Like most warblers the hermit warbler eats a strict diet of

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

and

spiders Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...

, and can often be found hanging upside-down from the ends of conifer branches, like a

chickadee The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the tit family included in the genus '' Poecile''. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees, while other species in the genus are called tits. They are small-sized bird ...

, probing for food.

Reproduction

Nests are neat and cup-shaped, constructed from stems, grass, twigs, and pine needles positioned near the tip of a branch high in a conifer tree. The female will lay between three and five eggs, which are white in color and heavily spotted with brown and lilac speckles. Other incubation habits are mostly unknown.

Habitat

Hermit warblers are common, but incredibly shy, birds that dwell in open coniferous forests. They are also found in wetter habitats for nesting, and in various mountain habitats. Their summer breeding range is the majority of the west coast of the United States up to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. They will sometimes winter in south-west

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, but they are migratory and will winter in Central America as far south as Panama. Other nesting habits are mostly unknown. During migration they can be found in both coniferous and deciduous habitats as well as water lined wooded areas, desert oases, and in suburban areas. You can usually find these birds in Tall Coniferous forest, Douglas fir, Pine, Redwood, and in the mountain like areas.

Effects of climate change

The range of the hermit warbler is expected to change as the climate warms, the breeding range expected to expand north and east but lose much of the current range in Northern California as well as some range in parts of Oregon, Washington, and Canada. Extreme warming will put them at risk of heat waves as well as flooding during the nesting season.

References

External links

Hermit Warbler photo gallery
VIREO
Photo-High Res
– oceanwanderers.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q903940 Setophaga Birds of the United States Native birds of the Northwestern United States Birds of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental Birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Birds of Central America Birds of Guatemala Birds of El Salvador Birds of Honduras Birds of Nicaragua Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Birds described in 1837 Taxa named by John Kirk Townsend