Bachman's Warbler

Overview

Bachman's Warbler: Small warbler, olive-green upperparts, yellow forehead, throat, underparts, faint white eye-ring, black crown, bib. It was last seen in the United States in 1962, when it was recorded near Charlestown, South Carolina. In Cuba a wintering female was spotted in 1981.

Range and Habitat

Bachman's Warbler: Probably extinct; previously occurred in the southeastern U.S. during its breeding season; the only positive winter reports for this species were in Cuba and southern Florida. In the breeding season, the species favored seasonally flooded swamp forests, especially with cane thickets.

INTERESTING FACTS

Habitat destruction was probably the main cause of its disappearance. Its extinction is not yet officially announced, because habitat remaining in Congaree National Park needs to be surveyed.
On January 14, 2002, a bird resembling a female Bachman's Warbler was filmed in Cuba. As these birds are not known to live more than about 7 years, if the identification is correct it would imply that a breeding population managed to survive undiscovered for decades.
The Bachman's Warbler is presumed extinct. John James Audubon named this bird after his friend and collaborator, Reverend John Bachman of South Carolina, who is credited with discovering this species. The last confirmed sightings were in 1988 and before that in 1961 in South Carolina.
A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

The Bachman's Warbler is currently rated as Critically Endangered. The last confirmed sighting of this bird was 1988 and there has not been a breeding record confirmed since 1937. Any remaining population of Bachman's Warbler is thought to be quite small and the bird may even be already extinct. Bachman's Warbler is native to southern regions of the United States and was known to winter in Cuba. The primary threats to this species are the conversion of significant portions to land in Cuba to sugarcane populations and clearance of land in the United States.