Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)

Content and photos by James Giroux

It’s spring in Central Texas! And as the wave of new spring flowers and leaves makes its way north, it also brings a wave of spring bird migrants. And, if you are like most birders, your favorite group of migrants is the warblers. It’s warbler season in Central Texas!

Almost all warblers are colorful little gems, and the Hooded Warbler is no exception. The male sports a black cap that extends around the face and to the chin forming a “hood”, giving it its name. The female is not quite as flashy, but is still a beautiful bird. Her cap is variable, and ranges from no black (first-year) to almost as much black as the male.

First-year Female

There are a couple other warblers that are mostly yellow with black caps and face markings. Wilson’s Warbler (below left) just has the black cap. Kentucky Warbler (below right) has black sideburns and a yellow throat.

Wilson’s Warbler (male)                Hooded Warbler (male)                Kentucky Warbler (male)

The first-year female looks very similar to a female Wilson’s Warbler – who also has a greenish cap, but the female Hooded has a dark lore (area in front of the eye), and white outer tail feathers – Wilson’s does not.

Hooded Warblers are usually seen down low in the understory, searching for insects and other small bugs. They often fan their tails when foraging, exposing their white outer tail feathers.

The white color apparently scares up more bugs, because one study showed that birds whose tail feathers were purposely darkened captured less prey than those with their natural white tail color.

Of all the warblers, Hooded might be the most tame. On many occasions, I have had them perch within just a few feet of me. Many times they have been too close for my big lens to focus, so I have had to scoot back away from them. A couple times, while sitting at the bird blind at Sabine Woods, they foraged around my feet, picking off mosquitos from my pants leg! The photo below was taken with my cell phone, and shows my knee, and tripod leg.

Hooded Warbler is seen every year in the Austin area, but it is much less common than many of the other warblers. It ismostly an eastern bird, but can stray far to the west. Probably the best place to see all warblers in Austin is Mills Pond at Wells Branch.

Just last week, I got my 25th warbler species yard-bird – a Louisiana Waterthrush. I don’t have Hooded Warbler on my yard list, but maybe this will be the year. Hope springs eternal – every spring.

Sources:

https://allaboutbirds.org

The Sibley Guide to Birds