Setophaga Explained

Setophaga is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 34 species. The Setophaga warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the various species using different feeding techniques and often feeding in different parts of the same tree.

Most Setophaga species are long-range migrants, wintering in or near the New World tropics and seasonally migrating to breed in North America. In contrast, two Setophaga species, the palm warbler and yellow-rumped warbler, have winter ranges that extend along the Atlantic coast of North America as far north as Nova Scotia.[1] The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful.

Taxonomy

The genus Setophaga was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827.[2] The type species was subsequently designated by Swainson in the same year as the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla.[3] [4] The genus name is from Ancient Greek ses, "moth", and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: phagos, "eating".[5]

Traditionally, most members (29 species) of Setophaga were recognized as belonging to the genus Dendroica. The only member of Setophaga was the American redstart. More recent genetic research suggested that Dendroica and Setophaga be merged. This change was accepted by both the North American and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society[6] [7] and the IOC World Bird List.[8] As the name Setophaga (published in 1827) takes priority over Dendroica (published in 1842), those who accept the merger transferred all Dendroica species to Setophaga.[9]

List of species

The genus contains 37 species. They are:[8]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Setophaga adelaidae Puerto Rico
Setophaga ruticilla southern Canada and the eastern United States
Setophaga petechia North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern South America.
Setophaga pharetra Jamaica.
Setophaga flavescens The Bahamas.
Setophaga subita Barbuda in Antigua and Barbuda
Setophaga castanea eastern and central Canada, as well as the extreme northern United States., northeastern South America, the Caribbean, and southern Central America
Setophaga fusca southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina. southern Central America and South America
Setophaga striata northern North America, from Alaska throughout most of Canada, to the Adirondack Mountains of New York as well as New England in the Northeastern United States. the Greater Antilles and the northeastern coasts of South America
Setophaga caerulescens eastern North America. The Caribbean and Central America
Setophaga virens eastern North America and western Canada and cypress swamps on the southern Atlantic coast. Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and southern Florida.
Setophaga nigrescens from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Setophaga tigrina southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England.
Setophaga cerulea eastern North America, eastern slope of the Andes in South America
Setophaga pensylvanica eastern North America and in southern Canada, Central America south to northern Colombia
Setophaga angelae Puerto Rico
Setophaga chrysoparia Central Texas
Setophaga graciae western Canada, the western United States, and into Mexico
Setophaga occidentalis west coast of the United States, Mexico and Central America as well as parts of the southern California coast.
Setophaga citrina eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario)
Setophaga kirtlandii Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada and the United States from Wisconsin and Michigan
Setophaga magnolia northeastern parts of the US, with states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, northern parts of Canada, such as in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec
Setophaga americana eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida
Setophaga pityophila Cuba as well as Grand Bahama
Setophaga palmarum Canada and the northeastern United States.
Setophaga pinus eastern North America.
Setophaga plumbea Dominica and Guadeloupe.
Setophaga discolor north-eastern Mexico and islands in the Caribbean.
Setophaga delicata Saint Lucia
Setophaga townsendi northwestern coast of North America
Setophaga pitiayumi southernmost Texas and northwest Mexico (Sonora)
Setophaga vitellina Cayman Islands and on the Swan Islands in Honduras.
Setophaga coronata Canada and the northeastern United States.
Setophaga auduboni western Canada, the western United States, and into Mexico.
Setophaga goldmani Mexico and Guatemala.
Setophaga dominica southern Pennsylvania and northern Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Setophaga coronata U.S. as well as Canada and Central America

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Explore BNA. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2017-03-01.
  2. Swainson . William John . William John Swainson . 1827 . A synopsis of the birds discovered in Mexico by W. Bullock, F.L.S. and Mr. William Bullock jun. . Philosophical Magazine . New Series . 1 . 364–369 [368] . 10.1080/14786442708674330 .
  3. Swainson . William John . William John Swainson . 1827 . On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined . Zoological Journal . 3 . 343–363 [360] .
  4. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1968 . Check-list of Birds of the World . 14 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 33 .
  5. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London, United Kingdom . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 355 .
  6. Chesser R. T.. 2011 . Fifty-Second Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds . Auk . 128 . 3. 600–613 . 10.1525/auk.2011.128.3.600. 13691956 . etal.
  7. http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm A Classification of the Bird Species of South America
  8. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2023 . New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers . IOC World Bird List Version 13.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 22 November 2023 .
  9. Lovette, Irby J.. 2010. A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 57 . 2. 753–70 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.018 . 20696258. 2010MolPE..57..753L . etal.