Hermit Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Setophaga occidentalis

Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Los Angeles

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

887 Verified sightings at Los Angeles
1,770 In all 17 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Hermit Warbler

The hermit warbler (Setophaga occidentalis) is a small perching bird. It is a species of New World warbler 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.

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 5.5 inches (14 cm) in length, 0.3 to 0.5 oz (8.5 to 14.2 g) in weight, and 7.9 in (20 cm) in wingspan.

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. Nests are neat and cup-shaped, constructed from stems, grass, twigs, and pine needles positioned near the tip of a branch... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:44

United States · 2022

© Paul Marvin · XC748361 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:07

United States · 2013

© Andrew Spencer · XC143152 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Call0:20

Mexico · 2010

© manuel Grosselet · XC66342 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
4 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
5 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
7 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
8 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
9 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
12 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
13 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
16 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
17 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Toluca 🇲🇽 México
~20%
2 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
~10%
3 Guatemala City 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
4 Guadalajara 🇲🇽 México
<5%
5 Puebla 🇲🇽 México
<5%
6 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Hermit Warbler in Los Angeles?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Hermit Warbler sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 887 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 231st most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Hermit Warbler in Los Angeles?

May

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hermit Warbler in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Los Angeles's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 75 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Hermit Warbler?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hermit Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Los Angeles the best place to see a Hermit Warbler?

7th of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate Hermit Warbler sightings, Los Angeles ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Toluca (México, about 20%), Mexico City (México, about 10%) and Guatemala City (Guatemala, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Hermit Warbler live in Los Angeles?

Same genus: Setophaga

The closest relatives of the Hermit Warbler that you can see in Los Angeles (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 50%), Yellow Warbler (about 20%) and Townsend's Warbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Hermit Warbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Hermit Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (887 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to Los Angeles