WV is home to over 350 species of birds. The hooded warbler is one of the fun-named verities a birder can spot. If you’re wanting to increase your likelihood of spotting one, look in the understory of forested areas. In WV, Kanawha State Forest or other state forests and heavily wooded areas will be your best shot. When you’re looking at the birds in an area, you will want to look for:
Males
Males have the bright yellow feathers, cheeks and black “hood” down to his throat. Males will fan their feathers out to attract females and show off the white feathers on their tail
Females
don’t always have the black hood, sometimes they do. Some of the hoods are as prominent as the male’s but they have a fully yellow underbelly
General Sizing
Length: 5.1 in
Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz
Wingspan: 6.9 in
Diet
Caterpillar, moths, flies, grasshoppers, beetles, and spiders
They will eat in mid-flight, use their wings to stir up the insects or pick the insects out of the ground with their beaks
If you want to attract them to your yard, using a food like mealworms or suet blends can typically help. Also, make sure you have plenty of trees, shrubs or other types of shelter that will primarily attract them because they typically don’t stop at feeders at all.
Random Facts
Territorial
Often, most hooded warblers will return to their same breeding ground
They often live in the northern to the south eastern part of the US during the summer and migrate to warmer more tropical southern areas during the winter months
Males will often mate with multiple females. Females will choose where they live, males will often go with multiple females in the area but females don’t stay in their territory and will mate outside the territory
Eggs- multiple eggs are laid and it typically takes about two weeks to hatch
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