Leiothlypis virginiae
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Virginia's warbler (Leiothlypis virginiae) is a species of New World warbler. Despite what its name may suggest, Virginia's warbler is not actually named after the American State of Virginia, which makes sense as the birds' typical range only reaches as far east as the state of Texas. The bird's common eastern range is central and southern mountains of Colorado, central Wyoming, and central and western New Mexico. The bird was named for Virginia Anderson, the wife of an army surgeon who discovered the bird at Fort Burgwin, New Mexico, in 1858. When Spencer Fullerton Baird of the Smithsonian Institution fully described the bird for science in 1860 he honored the wishes of the warbler's discoverer and designated Virginia to be both the bird's common and scientific name.
Virginia's warbler is a small bird, only 4 to 4+1⁄2 inches (100 to 110 mm) in length. It is mainly gray in color, with a lighter colored under-belly and a white eye ring. The rump and undertail coverts are yellow. They also have a yellow patch on their breast and a partially hidden dark reddish crest. Females are slightly duller, with less yellow on breast. Virginia's warbler can be easily mistaken for... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Virginia's Warbler sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 193 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 105th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Virginia's Warbler in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Virginia's Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Virginia's Warbler sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Zion National Park (United States, about 20%), Grand Canyon National Park (United States, about 10%) and Guadalupe Mountains National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Virginia's Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (193 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.
