Hermit Warbler
Encyclopedia
The Hermit Warbler, Dendroica occidentalis, is a small perching bird
. It is a species of New World warbler
.
Mature Hermit Warblers normally grow to be 4½ to 5 inches long. 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.
Hermit Warblers are common, but incredibly shy, birds that dwell in open coniferous forests. Their summer breeding range is the majority of the west coast of the United States
up to Washington. They will sometimes winter in south-west California
, but they are migratory
and will winter in Central America
as far south as Panama
.
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 3 to 5 eggs, which are white in color and heavily spotted with brown and lilac speckles. Other incubation and nesting habits are mostly unknown.
Like most warblers the Hermit Warbler eats a strict diet of insect
s and spider
s, and can often be found hanging upside-down from the ends of conifer branches, like a chickadee
, probing for food.
-->
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. It is a species of New World warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
.
Mature Hermit Warblers normally grow to be 4½ to 5 inches long. 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.
Hermit Warblers are common, but incredibly shy, birds that dwell in open coniferous forests. Their summer breeding range is the majority of the west coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
up to Washington. They will sometimes winter in south-west California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but they are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
and will winter in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
as far south as Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
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 3 to 5 eggs, which are white in color and heavily spotted with brown and lilac speckles. Other incubation and nesting habits are mostly unknown.
Like most warblers the Hermit Warbler eats a strict diet of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, and can often be found hanging upside-down from the ends of conifer branches, like a chickadee
Titmouse
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...
, probing for food.
Books
- 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.
Thesis
- Marcot BG. Ph.D. (1985). HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS OF BIRDS AND YOUNG-GROWTH DOUGLAS-FIR IN NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA (SILVICULTURE, DIVERSITY, COMMUNITY, CLEARCUTTING, AVIAN). Oregon State University, United States, Oregon.
- Pearson SF. Ph.D. (1997). Behavioral and ecological tests of four models explaining narrow hybrid zones between hermit and Townsend's warblers. University of Washington, United States, Washington.
Articles
- Airola DA & Barrett RH. (1985). Foraging and Habitat Relationships of Insect-Gleaning Birds in a Sierra-Nevada USA Mixed-Conifer Forest. Condor. vol 87, no 2. pp. 205–216.
- Anthony RG, Green GA, Forsman ED & Nelson SK. (1996). Avian abundance in riparian zones of three forest types in the Cascade Mountains, Oregon. Wilson Bulletin. vol 108, no 2. pp. 280–291.
- Buskirk WH. (1973). 4 New Migrants for Costa-Rica. Condor. vol 75, no 3. pp. 363–364.
- Easterla DA. (1970). Hermit Warbler in Missouri. Wilson Bulletin. vol 82, no 4.
- Eckert KR. (1982). The Spring Migration March 1-May 31 1982 Western Great Lakes Region USA. American Birds. vol 36, no 5. pp. 854–857.
- Erickson RA & Wurster TE. (1998). Confirmation of nesting in Mexico for four bird species from the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California. Wilson Bulletin. vol 110, no 1. pp. 118–120.
- Gilbert FF & Allwine R. (1991). Spring Bird Communities in the Oregon Cascade Range USA. U S Forest Service General Technical Report PNW. vol 285, pp. 145–159.
- Granlund J. (1994). Winter Season: Western Great Lakes Region. National Audubon Society Field Notes. vol 48, no 3. pp. 299–302.
- Greenberg R, Gonzales CE, Bichier P & Reitsma R. (2001). Nonbreeding habitat selection and foraging behavior of the Black-throated Green Warbler complex in Southeastern Mexico. Condor. vol 103, no 1. pp. 31–37.
- Greenberg R, Keeler-Wolf T & Keeler-Wolf V. (1974). Wood Warbler Populations in the Yolla-Bolly Mountains of California. Western Birds. vol 5, no 3. pp. 81–90.
- Hagar JC. (1999). Influence of riparian buffer width on bird assemblages in western Oregon. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 63, no 2. pp. 484–496.
- Huff MH & Raley CM. (1990). Classification of Breeding Bird Communities in Young Mature and Old-Growth Douglas-Fir Forests of Washington and Oregon USA. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. vol 71, no 2 SUPPL.
- Jackson WM, Wood CS & Rohwer S. (1992). Age-Specific Plumage Characters and Annual Molt Schedules of Hermit Warblers and Townsend's Warblers. Condor. vol 94, no 2. pp. 490–501.
- Janes SW & Ryker L. (2006). Singing of Hermit Warblers: Dialects of type I songs. Condor. vol 108, no 2. pp. 336–347.
- Lovette IJ, Bermingham E, Rohwer S & Wood C. (1999). Mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence variation among closely related avian species and the genetic characterization of hybrid Dendroica warblers. Molecular Ecology. vol 8, no 9. pp. 1431–1441.
- Manuwal DA & Huff MH. (1987). Spring and Winter Bird Populations in a Douglas-Fir Forest Sere. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 51, no 3. pp. 586–595.
- Morrison ML. (1982). The Structure of Western Warbler Assemblages Eco Morphological Analysis of the Black-Throated Gray Warblers Dendroica-Nigrescens and Hermit Warblers Dendroica-Occidentalis. Auk. vol 99, no 3. pp. 503–513.
- Morrison ML. (1984). Influence of Sample Size and Sampling Design on Analysis of Avian Foraging Behavior. Condor. vol 86, no 2. pp. 146–150.
- Munson CR & Adams LW. (1984). A Record of Ground Nesting by the Hermit Warbler Dendroica-Occidentalis. Wilson Bulletin. vol 96, no 2.
- Owen-Ashley NT & Butler LK. (2004). Androgens, interspecific competition and species replacement in hybridizing warblers. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B. p. 6) S498-S500, December 497, 2004.
- Owen-Ashley NT, Butler LK, Rohwer S & Wingfield JC. (2001). The role of testosterone in a moving avian hybrid zone. American Zoologist. vol 41, no 6.
- Pearson SF. (1997). Competition and reproductive success in a narrow, moving hybrid zone. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. vol 78, no 4 SUPPL.
- Pearson SF. (2000). Behavioral asymmetries in a moving hybrid zone. Behavioral Ecology. vol 11, no 1. pp. 84–92.
- Pearson SF & Manuwal DA. (2000). Influence of niche overlap and territoriality on hybridization between Hermit Warblers and Townsend's Warblers. Auk. vol 117, no 1. pp. 175–183.
- Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (1998). Determining clutch size and laying dates using ovarian follicles. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 69, no 4. pp. 587–594.
- Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (1998). Influence of breeding phenology and clutch size on hybridization between hermit and Townsend's warblers. Auk. vol 115, no 3. pp. 739–745.
- Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (2000). Asymmetries in male aggression across an avian hybrid zone. Behavioral Ecology. vol 11, no 1. pp. 93–101.
- Ralph CJ, Paton PWC & Taylor CA. (1991). Habitat Association Patterns of Breeding Birds and Small Mammals in Douglas-Fir-Hardwood Stands in Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon. U S Forest Service General Technical Report PNW. vol 285, pp. 379–393.
- Rappole JH, King DI & Barrow WC, Jr. (1999). Winter ecology of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Condor. vol 101, no 4. pp. 762–770.
- Ratti JT. (1984). Selected Avian Systematic Problems in the Northwest the 1983 American Ornithologists Union Checklist. Northwest Science. vol 58, no 3. pp. 237–242.
- Rising JD. (1988). Phenetic Relationships among the Warblers in the Dendroica-Virens Complex and a Record of Dendroica-Virens from Sonora Mexico. Wilson Bulletin. vol 100, no 2. pp. 312–316.
- Rohwer S. (2004). Using age ratios to infer survival and despotic breeding dispersal in hybridizing warblers. Ecology. vol 85, no 2. pp. 423–431.
- Rohwer S, Bermingham E & Wood C. (2001). Plumage and mitochondrial DNA haplotype variation across a moving hybrid zone. Evolution. vol 55, no 2. pp. 405–422.
- Rohwer S & Wood C. (1998). Three hybrid zones between Hermit and Townsend's Warblers in Washington and Oregon. Auk. vol 115, no 2. pp. 284–310.
- Rohwer S, Wood C & Bermingham E. (2000). A new hybrid warbler (Dendroica nigrescens x D-occidentalis) and diagnosis of similar D-townsendi x D-occidentalis recombinants. Condor. vol 102, no 3. pp. 713–718.
- Smith CE & Rohwer S. (2000). A phenotypic test of Haldane's rule in an avian hybrid zone. Auk. vol 117, no 3. pp. 578–585.
- Yocom CF. (1968). Status of the Hermit Warbler in North Western California USA. Murrelet. vol 49, no 2. pp. 27–28.
-->
External links
- Hermit Warbler photo gallery VIREO
- Photo-High Res; Article-(Photo gallery with Close-ups) – oceanwanderers.com
