Bachman's warbler: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Potentially extinct bird species}}

| authority = ([[John James Audubon|Audubon]], 1833)

'''Bachman's warbler''' ('''''Vermivora bachmanii''''') wasis aan small[[Extinction|extinct]] [[passerine]] migratory [[bird]] that was declared extinct in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 29, 2021|title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Delisting 23 Species from Endangered Species Act Due to Extinction|url=https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?_ID=37017|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-29|website=U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929133920/https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?_ID=37017 |archive-date=2021-09-29 }}</ref> This [[New World warbler|warbler]] was a [[bird migration|migrant]], breeding in swampy [[blackberry]] and [[Canebrake|cane thickets]] of the [[Southeastern United States|Southeastern]] and [[Midwestern United States]] and wintering in [[Cuba]]. There are some reports of the bird from the twenty-first century, but none are widely accepted. Some authorities accept a Louisiana sighting in Louisiana, in August 1988 as confirmed,<ref name = "RecoveryPlan">{{cite book | url = https://www.fws.gov/verobeach/msrppdfs/bachmanswarbler.pdf | publisher = US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region | year = 1999 | chapter = Bachman's Warbler | pages = 445–454 | title = South Florida Multi-species Recovery Plan}}</ref> but the last uncontroversial sightings date to the 1960s. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on Sept. 29, 2021 to declare the species extinct.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-30|title=U.S. to Declare 23 Species Extinct - September 30, 2021|url=https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/09/30/u-s-to-declare-23-species-extinct/|access-date=2021-10-01|website=The Daily News Brief|language=en-US}}</ref>

This bird was first recorded in 1832 by the Reverend [[John Bachman]], who found the species near Charleston, South Carolina, and presented study skins and descriptions to his friend and collaborator, [[John James Audubon]].<ref name="Dunn121">{{Cite book | last = Dunn | first = Jon | author2 = Kimball Garrett | title = A Field Guide to Warblers of North America | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1997 | location = Boston | isbn = 0-395-38971-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/121 121] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/121 }}</ref> Audubon never saw the bird alive but named it in honor of Bachman in 1833.<ref name="Dunn121"/> An alternate common name of the species used by some 19th-century authors, paralleling similar names given to other species once placed in the genus ''Helinaia'', is Bachman's swamp warbler.<ref name="SHULER">{{Cite journal|date=1977|title=BACHMAN'S WARBLER HABITAT |url=https://www.carolinabirdclub.org/chat/issues/1977/v41n2bawa.pdf|last1=Shuler |first1=Jay |access-date=2023-06-01 |journal = Carolina Bird Club}}</ref>

[[File:Bachman's Warbler.jpg|thumb|left|Male (above) and female, by [[Louis Agassiz Fuertes]]]]

Bachman's warbler wasis a [[Sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] species and the adults hadhave two distinct plumages, one in the spring and one in the fall.<ref name="Dunn123">{{Cite book | last = Dunn | first = Jon | author2 = Kimball Garrett | title = A Field Guide to Warblers of North America | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1997 | location = Boston | isbn = 0-395-38971-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/123 123] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/123 }}</ref> In the spring, adult males hadhave a yellow forehead and [[supercilium]].<ref name="Dunn123"/> The area below the bird's eye wasis yellow, while the lores wereare a dusky olive.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The bird's forecrown wasis black with gray at the edges, while the rear crown and nape wereare olive-gray.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The rest of the warbler's upperparts wereare an olive green, with the rump being the brightest.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The chin and upper throat wereare yellow, while the center throat and upper chest wereare black.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The belly wasis yellow, and the undertail coverts wereare white.<ref name="Dunn123"/> Males in their first spring wereare nearly identical to the adult male, but hadhave less black on their crown and chest.<ref name="Dunn123"/>

During the spring, adult females wereare a light yellow in their forehead and supraloral, blending into a gray crown and nape.<ref name="Dunn123"/> Its lores wereare a gray-olive and it hadhas a white eye ring.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The rest of the female's upperparts wereare an olive-green, which like the male wasis brightest on the rump.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The chin and throat wereare also a light yellow, while the sides of the neck and the upper breast wereare gray.<ref name="Dunn123"/> Older females hadhave a few black upper breast feathers.<ref name="Dunn124">{{Cite book | last = Dunn | first = Jon | author2 = Kimball Garrett | title = A Field Guide to Warblers of North America | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1997 | location = Boston | isbn = 0-395-38971-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/124 124] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/124 }}</ref> The rest of the breast and the belly wasis light yellow, blending into white on the undertail coverts.<ref name="Dunn123"/> The flanks wereare also washed with gray.<ref name="Dunn124"/> First spring females resembledresemble the adult female, but appearedappear duller.<ref name="Dunn124"/>

Bachman's warbler moltedmolts over the summer into its fall plumage.<ref name="Dunn124"/> For adult males, the fall plumage wasis nearly identical to the spring, with the only difference being that the forecrown changedchanges from black to gray.<ref name="Dunn124"/> First year males also resembledresemble their spring plumage, but hadhave an olive forecrown and duller yellow underparts.<ref name="Dunn124"/> Adult females possessedpossess the same plumage, although it lookedlooks fresher in the fall, while first year females hadhave an olive-yellow forehead and a dull eyering.<ref name="Dunn124"/>

Hatchlings obtainedobtain their first plumage in May and underwentundergo their first molt in June.<ref name="Dunn124"/> Juvenile Bachman's warblers hadhave a dusky brown head and upperparts and wereare a paler brown below, which transitionedtransitions to dull white on the lower body and undertail.<ref name="Dunn124"/>

This warbler wasis {{convert|4.25|in|cm}} in length.<ref name="Dunn117">{{Cite book | last = Dunn | first = Jon | author2 = Kimball Garrett | title = A Field Guide to Warblers of North America | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1997 | location = Boston | isbn = 0-395-38971-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/117 117] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/117 }}</ref> It wasis relatively small for a warbler and hadhas a short tail.<ref name="Dunn117"/> It wasis unique amongst warblers for its thin and decurved bill.<ref name="Dunn117"/> The Bachman's warbler's bill wasis blackish brown in adults and brown in the juveniles.<ref name="Dunn124"/> The legs wereare a grayish-brown, while the eyes wereare dark brown.<ref name="Dunn124"/>

Bachman's warbler breedsbred primarily in two distinct regions, namely the southern Atlantic coastal plain and the Gulf Coast states north along the [[Mississippi River]] watershed to Kentucky.<ref name="Dunn120"/> In the southern Atlantic coastal plain, the bird breedsbred in [[South Carolina]] near [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], though it is believed to have once bred as far north as [[Virginia]] and south into [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name="Dunn120"/> The Gulf Coast breeding habitat is located primarily in central [[Alabama]], though reports from northern [[Mississippi]] and [[Louisiana]] are known.<ref name="Dunn120"/> It breedsbred north of Alabama along [[Arkansas]]'s and [[Missouri]]'s [[St. Francis River]].<ref name="Dunn120"/> Unaccepted records of breeding in eastern [[Texas]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Tennessee]] are known.<ref name="Dunn120"/> During migration, the species was primarily recorded in [[Florida]] and the [[Florida Keys]], although a few birds migrated along the eastern Gulf Coast.<ref name="Dunn121"/> Additionally, there is one spring migration record from the [[Bahamas]] in 1901.<ref name="Dunn121"/> The species primarily winters in Cuba.<ref name="Dunn120"/> Additionally, it was recorded wintering on the [[Isla de la Juventud|Isle of Pines]], and one wintering record is known from Florida.<ref name="Dunn120"/> Unconfirmed reports of the species wintering in Georgia's [[Okefenokee Swamp]] exist.<ref name="Dunn120"/>

Bachman's warbler breedsbred in timbered bottomland swamps with pools of still water.<ref name="Dunn119"/> These swampy forests are mainly composed of [[deciduous]] trees such as [[cypress]], [[sweet gum]], [[dogwood]], [[red oak]], [[hickory]], [[Nyssa sylvatica|black gum]], and [[Tupelo (tree)|tupelo]].<ref name="Dunn119"/> While it is not definitively known what [[Habitat#MicrohabitatsMicrohabitat types|microhabitat]] in these swamps Bachman's warblers preferpreferred, it is believed that they preferpreferred small edges created by fire or storms with a dense understory of the cane species ''[[Arundinaria gigantea]]'' and [[Sabal|palmettos]].<ref name="Dunn119"/> Some believe that this species may behave been a cane specialist.<ref name="Dunn120">{{Cite book | last = Dunn | first = Jon | author2 = Kimball Garrett | title = A Field Guide to Warblers of North America | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1997 | location = Boston | isbn = 0-395-38971-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/120 120] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowarb00dunn/page/120 }}</ref>

While migrating, the species still preferspreferred bottomland forests, though it has beenwas reported in scrubby habitats when this is notas availablewell.<ref name="Dunn120"/> During the Cuban winter it seemsmay tohave broadenbroadened its habitat to include most forests, ranging from dry, semideciduous forests to urban parks to swamps.<ref name="Dunn120"/> ''[[Hibiscus]]'' forests may be important to wintering warblers.<ref name="Dunn120"/>

It may be a colonial breeder.<ref name="Dunn120"/> The nests are deep and bulky.<ref name="Dunn119"/> Dead leaves, mosses, grasses, and weed stalks compose the exterior of the nest, while the interior cup was lined with fine fibers from ''[[Ramalina]]'' lichen and [[Spanish moss]].<ref name="Dunn119"/> These nests are made amongst [[blackberry]] brambles, cane stalks, and [[Sabal|palmettos]] in bottomland forests {{convert|1|and|4|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the ground or, frequently, pools of water.<ref name="Dunn119"/> Unusually for a warbler, its eggs are pure white with occasional fine marks at the large end.<ref name="Dunn119"/>

ThisThe speciesmain isfactor threatened duecontributing to the species' decline was [[habitat destruction]].<ref name="Dunn122"/> It is thought to have nested in [[canebrakes]], the loss of which posesthreatened athe species' threatsurvival, as doesdid the loss of wintering habitat in the Caribbean and [[plume hunting]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Birds in Jeopardy |first1=Paul R. |last1=Ehrlich |first2=David S. |last2=Dobkin |first3=Darryl |last3=Wheye |year=1992 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, CA |isbn=0-8047-1967-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdsinjeopardyi00ehrl/page/32 32–33] |url=https://archive.org/details/birdsinjeopardyi00ehrl/page/32 }}</ref> Small-scale logging in the 1800s may actually have increased the Bachman warbler's breeding habitat.<ref name="Dunn120"/> Clearcutting of its habitat and the draining of swamps via water channels are the two main causes of its habitat destruction.<ref name="Dunn122"/> While it is unknown whether habitat change in its wintering grounds of Cuba affected the species, it is believed that a [[1932 Cuba hurricane|winter hurricane in 1932]] could have dealt the species a crippling blow, making them too rare to find each other and mate on their breeding grounds.<ref name="Dunn122"/> The United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on Sept. 29, 2021 to declare the species extinct following a lack of evidence of its survival; the species was delisted and declared extinct in October 2023 in accordance with the [[Endangered Species Act of 1973|Endangered Species Act]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-30|title=U.S. to Declare 23 Species Extinct - September 30, 2021|url=https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/09/30/u-s-to-declare-23-species-extinct/|access-date=2021-10-01|website=The Daily News Brief|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of 23 Extinct Species From the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants |url=https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-R4-ES-2020-0110/unified-agenda |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=www.regulations.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-16 |title=21 Species Delisted from the Endangered Species Act due to Extinction {{!}} U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-10/21-species-delisted-endangered-species-act-due-extinction |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=FWS.gov |language=en}}</ref>

*<i>''[https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/books/2018/books_2018_hamel_001.pdf Bachman's Warbler: A Species in Peril]</i>'', second edition, by Paul B. Hamel. Full text online.

{{Commons|Vermivora bachmanii}}