Hermit Warbler

Hermit Warbler, adult male, Channel Islands, CA; April.

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A denizen of tall western coniferous forests, the Hermit Warbler is restricted to California, Oregon, and Washington. Because it lives in the tops of some of the tallest trees on the planet, it is more easily heard than seen.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Yellow face.
• Gray or olive back.
• Two bold white wingbars.
• Whitish underparts.

• Size: 14 cm (6 in)
• Wingspan: 20 cm (8 in)
• Weight: 9-13 g (0.32-0.46 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with bright yellow head and black bib. Female duller, with dusky on top of head and in face, and only limited black on throat.

Sound

Song several high notes followed by lower abrupt ones, or a rapid series of buzzy notes followed by rising and falling whistled notes. Variable. Call a sharp chip.

Conservation Status

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.

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 Warbler females mating with Hermit Warbler males.

Sources used to construct this page:

1. 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.
2. Pearson, S. F. 2000. Behavioral asymmetries in a moving hybrid zone. Behavioral Ecology 11: 84-92.
3. Rohwer, S. and C. Wood. 1998. Three hybrid zones between Hermit and Townsend's warblers in Washington and Oregon. Auk 115: 284-310.