The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful,

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. They are not closely related to

Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the ci ...

s or

Australian warblers The Acanthizidae—known as Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, the thornbills ''Acanthiza'', and the scrubwrens of ''Sericornis''. The Acanthizidae family consists of small to medium passerine birds, ...

. Most are

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

, but some, like the

ovenbird The ovenbird (''Seiurus aurocapilla'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela. ...

and the two

waterthrush The waterthrushes are a genus of New World warbler, ''Parkesia''. The genus was split from ''Seiurus'', which previously contained both waterthrush species and the ovenbird. When the genera split, the ovenbird was the only member left in ''Seiuru ...

es, are primarily terrestrial. Most members of this family are

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

s. This group likely originated in northern

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, where the greatest number of species and diversity between them is found. From there, they spread north during the interglacial periods, mainly as migrants, returning to the ancestral region in winter. Two genera, '' Myioborus'' and ''

Basileuterus ''Basileuterus'' is a genus of New World warblers, best represented in Central and South America. This is one of only two warbler genera that are well represented in the latter continent. Some species formerly considered in this genus are now pl ...

'', seem to have colonized

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

early, perhaps before the two continents were linked, and together constitute most warbler species of that region. The scientific name for the family, Parulidae, originates from the fact that

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1758 named the

northern parula The northern parula (''Setophaga americana'') is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida. Description The northern parula is one of the smaller North American migratory warblers, often being ...

as a tit, ''Parus americanus'', and as taxonomy developed, the genus name was modified first to ''Parulus'' and then to ''

Parula ''Parula'' was formerly a small genus of New World warblers which breed in North and South America. In 1758, Linnaeus classified the northern parula as a tit, ''Parus americanus'', and as taxonomy developed the genus name was modified first to ...

''. The family name derives from the name for the genus.

Taxonomy

The family Parulidae was introduced for the New World warblers in 1947 by American ornithologist

Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Early life and education The son of a Country Physician, Frank Ale ...

and colleagues with ''Parula'' as the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

. The family was formerly thought to be

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to a clade containing the

yellow-breasted chat The yellow-breasted chat (''Icteria virens'') is a large songbird found in North America, and is the only member of the family Icteriidae. It was once a member of the New World warbler family, but in 2017, the American Ornithological Society mov ...

in its own family Icteriidae, the wrenthrush in its own family Zeledoniidae, the two Cuban warblers in the family Teretistridae and the 109 species in the family

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. Th ...

. However, more recent studies recover them as sister to a clade containing just the yellow-breasted chat and the Icteridae, with the clade containing all three families being sister to a clade containing the chat-tanagers in Calyptophilidae, the wrenthrush, and the Phaenicophilidae. A molecular phylogenetic study of the Parulidae published in 2010 found that the species formed several major clades that did not align with the traditional genera. This led to a major reorganization of the species within the family to create

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genera. The changes have generally followed the recommendations of the authors of the study except in a few cases where the proposed genera were split to separate basal species from their proposed conspecifics. A large clade that included the 29 species then placed in the genus ''Dendroica'', also included four species of ''Parula'', one of the three species of ''Wilsonia'' and the

genera ''Catharopeza'' and ''

Setophaga ''Setophaga'' is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 33 species. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The ''Setophaga'' warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the vario ...

''. All members of the clade apart from the basal ''Catharopeza'' were placed in the expanded genus ''Setophaga'' Swainson, 1827, which under the rules of the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

, had priority over ''Dendroica''

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

, 1842, ''Wilsonia'' Bonaparte, 1838, and ''Parula'' Bonaparte, 1838. The species that had traditionally been placed in ''

'' formed two clades. One group retains the genus name as it includes the golden-crowned warbler, the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

for the genus. The other larger group, now with 18 species, is placed in the resurrected genus ''

Myiothlypis ''Myiothlypis'' is a genus of New World warblers, best represented in Central and South America. This is one of only two warbler genera that are well represented in the latter continent. All of these species were formerly placed in the genus ''B ...

Cabanis Cabanis is the surname of: *George Cabanis (1815-1892), American politician *Jean Cabanis (1816–1906), German ornithologist *José Cabanis José Cabanis (2 March 1922 – 6 October 2000) was a French novelist, essayist, historian and magistrate ...

, 1850, as it contains the type species, the black-crested warbler. The genus '' Myioborus'' containing the whitestarts remained unchanged after the reorganization but six genera were no longer used: ''Dendroica'', ''Ergaticus'', ''Euthlypis'', ''Parula'', ''Wilsonia'' and ''Phaeothlypis''.

Extant Genera

The family Parulidae now contains 117 species divided into 18 genera.

Former species

Some species that were previously placed in the Parulidae have been moved to other families: *

Olive warbler The olive warbler (''Peucedramus taeniatus'') is a small passerine bird. It is the only member of the genus ''Peucedramus'' and the family Peucedramidae. This species breeds from southern Arizona and New Mexico, USA, south through Mexico to Nica ...

(''Peucedramus taeniatus'') – now in own family Peucedramidae *

Yellow-breasted chat The yellow-breasted chat (''Icteria virens'') is a large songbird found in North America, and is the only member of the family Icteriidae. It was once a member of the New World warbler family, but in 2017, the American Ornithological Society mov ...

(''Icteria virens'') – now in own family Icteriidae * Three species in the genus ''

Granatellus ''Granatellus'' is a genus of bird previously placed in the family Parulidae, although biochemical evidence suggests it belongs in Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (often referred to as the "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a fami ...

'' – now in the family Cardinalidae **

Red-breasted chat The red-breasted chat (''Granatellus venustus'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Granatellus'' was traditionally placed in fam ...

(''Granatellus venustus'') **

Grey-throated chat The grey-throated chat (''Granatellus sallaei'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Granatellus'' was traditi ...

(''Granatellus sallaei'') **

Rose-breasted chat The rose-breasted chat (''Granatellus pelzelni'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.Curson, J., J. del Ho ...

(''Granatellus pelzelni'') * Wrenthrush (''Zeledonia coronata'') – now in own family Zeledoniidae * Two species endemic to Hispaniola – now in family Phaenicophilidae ** Green-tailed warbler (''Microligea palustris'') **

White-winged warbler The white-winged warbler (''Xenoligea montana''), also called the white-winged ground-warbler, is a Vulnerable species of bird of the family Phaenicophilidae, the Hispaniolan tanagers. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola which is shared ...

(''Xenoligea montana'') * Two species endemic to Cuba in the genus ''

Teretistris The Cuban warblers are a genus, ''Teretistris'', and family, Teretistridae, of birds endemic to Cuba and its surrounding cays. Until 2002 they were thought to be New World warblers, but DNA studies have shown that they are not closely related t ...

'' – now in own family Teretistridae ** Yellow-headed warbler (''Teretistris fernandinae'') ** Oriente warbler (''Teretistris fornsi'')

Description

All the warblers are fairly small. The smallest species is Lucy's warbler (''Oreothlypis luciae''), with a weight of around 6.5 g (0.23 oz) and an average length of . The '' Parkesia'' waterthrushes, the ovenbird, the

russet-crowned warbler The russet-crowned warbler (''Myiothlypis coronata'') is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavil ...

, and Semper's warbler, all of which can exceed and 21 g (0.74 oz), may be considered the largest. The migratory species tend to lay larger clutches of eggs, typically up to six, since the hazards of their journeys mean that many individuals will have only one chance to breed. In contrast, the laying of two eggs is typical for many tropical species, since the chicks can be provided with better care, and the adults are likely to have further opportunities for reproduction. Many migratory species, particularly those which breed further north, have distinctive male plumage at least in the breeding season, since males need to reclaim territory and advertise for mates each year. This tendency is particularly marked in the large genus ''

'' (formerly ''Dendroica''). In contrast, resident tropical species, which pair for life, show little if any

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, but exceptions occur. The ''Parkesia'' waterthrushes and ovenbird are strongly migratory, but have identical male and female plumage, whereas the mainly tropical and sedentary

yellowthroat The yellowthroats are New World warblers in the genus ''Geothlypis''. Most members of the group have localised ranges in Mexico and Central America, but the masked yellowthroat has an extensive South American distribution, while the common ye ...

s are dimorphic. The ''

'' chats also show sexual dimorphism, but due to recent genetic work, have been moved into the family

Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (often referred to as the "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a family of New World-endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several birds such as the tanager-lik ...

(New World buntings and cardinals).

References

External links

New World warblers (Parulidae)
information, including 81 species with videos and 100 with photographs at the Internet Bird Collection

National Geographic News story on seeing 30 warbler species in May 2002 {{Taxonbar, from=Q739200 * *