Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 5.5 in
14 cm - Wingspan
- 7.9 in
20 cm - Weight
- 0.3–0.5 oz
9–13 g
Other Names
- Paruline à tête jaune (French)
- Chipe cabeza amarilla (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Hermit Warbler hybridizes with the Townsend's Warbler where their ranges overlap in Oregon and Washington. The hybrid zones are rather narrow and appear to be slowly moving, with the more aggressive Townsend's Warbler displacing the Hermit Warbler.
- Hermit Warbler females have been found to prefer to mate with Townsend's Warbler-type males, but no evidence was found of Townsend's Warbler females mating with Hermit Warbler males.
Habitat
Forest
Tall coniferous forests, especially of Douglas-fir.
Food
Insects
Insects and spiders.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 4–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Creamy white with fine dark speckles around large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless with tufts of down.
Nest Description
Open cup of fine twigs, rootlets, dry moss, bark, pine needles, and spider silk. Lined with fine plant fibers and hair. Placed on top of conifer branches, well concealed from above.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Gleans insects of middle and outer portion of tree branches. Often hovers.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations stable. Because of its specialized habitat and its small range, it is considered vulnerable. Townsend's Warbler may be displacing it in parts of the range.
Credits
- Pearson, S. F. 1997. Hermit Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 303 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
- Pearson, S. F. 2000. Behavioral asymmetries in a moving hybrid zone. Behavioral Ecology 11: 84-92.
- Rohwer, S. and C. Wood. 1998. Three hybrid zones between Hermit and Townsend's warblers in Washington and Oregon. Auk 115: 284-310.