HERMIT WARBLER

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 insects and spiders, and can often be found hanging upside-down from the ends of conifer branches, like a chickadee, probing for food.

Contents

References

Further reading

Book

Thesis

Articles

External links

References

★ Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Further reading

Book

★ 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. p. 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. p. 280-291.

★ Buskirk WH. (1973). ''4 New Migrants for Costa-Rica''. Condor. vol '75', no 3. p. 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. p. 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. p. 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', p. 145-159.

★ Granlund J. (1994). ''Winter Season: Western Great Lakes Region''. National Audubon Society Field Notes. vol '48', no 3. p. 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. p. 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. p. 81-90.

★ Hagar JC. (1999). ''Influence of riparian buffer width on bird assemblages in western Oregon''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '63', no 2. p. 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. p. 490-501.

★ Janes SW & Ryker L. (2006). ''Singing of Hermit Warblers: Dialects of type I songs''. Condor. vol '108', no 2. p. 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. p. 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. p. 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. p. 503-513.

★ Morrison ML. (1984). ''Influence of Sample Size and Sampling Design on Analysis of Avian Foraging Behavior''. Condor. vol '86', no 2. p. 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. p. 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. p. 175-183.

★ Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (1998). ''Determining clutch size and laying dates using ovarian follicles''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '69', no 4. p. 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. p. 739-745.

★ Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (2000). ''Asymmetries in male aggression across an avian hybrid zone''. Behavioral Ecology. vol '11', no 1. p. 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', p. 379-393.

★ Rappole JH, King DI & Barrow WC, Jr. (1999). ''Winter ecology of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler''. Condor. vol '101', no 4. p. 762-770.

★ Ratti JT. (1984). ''Selected Avian Systematic Problems in the Northwest the 1983 American Ornithologists Union Checklist''. Northwest Science. vol '58', no 3. p. 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. p. 312-316.

★ Rohwer S. (2004). ''Using age ratios to infer survival and despotic breeding dispersal in hybridizing warblers''. Ecology. vol '85', no 2. p. 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. p. 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. p. 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. p. 713-718.

★ Smith CE & Rohwer S. (2000). ''A phenotypic test of Haldane's rule in an avian hybrid zone''. Auk. vol '117', no 3. p. 578-585.

★ Yocom CF. (1968). ''Status of the Hermit Warbler in North Western California USA''. Murrelet. vol '49', no 2. p. 27-28.

External links

★ Hermit Warbler photo gallery VIREO