Setophaga occidentalis
Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 12 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 16 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 17 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 4 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Hermit Warbler sighting in Redwood National Park on a given day, based on 144 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 119th most-seen of the 226 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hermit Warbler in Redwood National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months. Those are among Redwood National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against 360 mm in January.
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.
5th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Hermit Warbler sightings, Redwood National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Yosemite National Park (United States, about 20%), Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 20%) and Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (Mexico, about 20%).
Same genus: Setophaga
The closest relatives of the Hermit Warbler that you can see in Redwood National Park (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 20%) and Townsend's Warbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hermit Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Redwood National Park (144 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
