Get Audubon in Your Inbox
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.

Adult female. Photo: Blake Matheson/Flickr (CC BY-NC-2.0)
Setophaga occidentalis
Conservation status | Could be vulnerable to loss of habitat with cutting of northwestern forests. Still common within its range. |
---|---|
Family | Wood Warblers |
Habitat | Conifer forests; in migration, conifers and deciduous woods. Breeds mostly in moist, dense forests near sea level, especially in forests of Douglas-fir, hemlock, and western redcedar. Also nests in cooler, wetter forests of fir and other trees at higher elevations. In winter found in pine-oak forests of mountains in Mexico, also in oaks and conifers along California coast. |
Forages mainly in the canopy of tall trees, sometimes up to 200' above the ground. Males often forage higher than females. Takes insects from twigs while perching and while hovering, and flies out to catch insects in mid-air. Moves from trunk of tree out to branch tips, then begins again at trunk. Will hang from twigs like a chickadee. In migration and winter, often forages in flocks with other birds.
4-5, sometimes 3. Creamy, with fine brown flecks in wreath at larger end. Incubation is probably by both parents, probably about 12 days. This species apparently is almost never parasitized by cowbirds. Young: Fed by female and possibly by male as well. Young leave the nest 8-10 days after hatching.
Fed by female and possibly by male as well. Young leave the nest 8-10 days after hatching.
Mostly insects. Has been observed feeding on caterpillars, tiny beetles, and flying insects; also small spiders.
Males arrive on the breeding grounds in early May, and establish territories by singing. The first eggs are laid by the first part of June. Nest: Typical site is on horizontal branch, well out from trunk and 20-40' above the ground. Nest is a compact, deep, open cup of fibrous weeds stalks, pine needles, twigs, lichen, moss, cobwebs, and lined with soft material such as soft bark, feathers, and animal hair. Female alone builds nest.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.
Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk.
Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.