''Setophaga'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

birds 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 lightweig ...

of the

New World warbler The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Mos ...

family Parulidae. It contains at least 33

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The ''Setophaga'' warblers are an example of

adaptive radiation In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic int ...

with the various

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 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. ...

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.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Setophaga'' was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827. 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( ...

was subsequently designated by Swainson in the same year as the

American redstart The American redstart (''Setophaga ruticilla'') is a New World warbler. It is unrelated to the Old World (common) redstart. Taxonomy The American redstart was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' und ...

''Setophaga ruticilla''. The genus name is from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''ses'', "moth", and ', "eating". Genetic research has suggested that ''Dendroica'' and ''Setophaga'' should be merged. This change has been accepted by both the North American and South American Classification Committees of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

A Classification of the Bird Species of South America
accessed 17 August 2016 and the

IOC World Bird List ''Birds of the World: Recommended English Names'' is a paperback book, written by Frank Gill and Minturn Wright on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union. The book is an attempt to produce a standardized set of English names for all b ...

.IOC World Bird Lis
New World warblers & oropendolas
/ref> Most members of the genus as currently recognized were traditionally classified as the genus ''Dendroica'', 29 species at the time of the merger. The only member of the genus ''Setophaga'' prior to the merger was the

. As the name ''Setophaga'' (published in 1827) takes priority over ''Dendroica'' (published in 1842), those who accept the merger transfer all the species below to ''Setophaga''.

List of species

Adelaide's warbler Adelaide's warbler (''Setophaga adelaidae'') is a bird endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico belonging to the genus ''Setophaga'' of the family Parulidae. The species is named after Adelaide Swift, daughter of Robert Swift, the person who cap ...

, ''Setophaga adelaidae'' *

, ''Setophaga ruticilla'' *

American yellow warbler The yellow warbler (''Setophaga petechia'') is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus '' Setophaga'', breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, and down to norther ...

, ''Setophaga petechia'' *

Arrowhead warbler The arrowhead warbler (''Setophaga pharetra'') is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. References * Raffaele, Herbert; James Wiley, Orlan ...

, ''Setophaga pharetra'' *

Bahama warbler The Bahama warbler (''Setophaga flavescens'') is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is endemic to The Bahamas. The taxon was formerly lumped with the yellow-throated warbler (''Setophaga dominica''), until the Bahama warbler was el ...

, ''Setophaga flavescens'' *

Barbuda warbler The Barbuda warbler (''Setophaga subita'') is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is Endemism, endemic to the island of Barbuda in Antigua and Barbuda. Its natural habitat is tropical dry shrubland near wetland areas. It is threatened b ...

, ''Setophaga subita'' * Bay-breasted warbler, ''Setophaga castanea'' * Blackburnian warbler, ''Setophaga fusca'' * Blackpoll warbler, ''Setophaga striata'' * Black-throated blue warbler, ''Setophaga caerulescens'' *

Black-throated green warbler The black-throated green warbler (''Setophaga virens'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description It has an olive-green crown, a yellow face with olive markings, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, an olive-green back an ...

, ''Setophaga virens'' * Black-throated grey warbler, ''Setophaga nigrescens'' * Cape May warbler, ''Setophaga tigrina'' *

Cerulean warbler The cerulean warbler (''Setophaga cerulea'') is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the And ...

, ''Setophaga cerulea'' * Chestnut-sided warbler, ''Setophaga pensylvanica'' * Elfin woods warbler, ''Setophaga angelae'' *

Golden-cheeked warbler The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The golden-ch ...

, ''Setophaga chrysoparia'' * Grace's warbler, ''Setophaga graciae'' * Hermit warbler, ''Setophaga occidentalis'' * Hooded warbler, ''Setophaga citrina'' *

Kirtland's warbler Kirtland's warbler (''Setophaga kirtlandii''), also known in Michigan by the common name jack pine bird, or the jack pine warbler, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family ( Parulidae), named after Jared Potter Kirtland, an Ohio doc ...

, ''Setophaga kirtlandii'' *

Magnolia warbler The magnolia warbler (''Setophaga magnolia'') is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae. Etymology The genus name ''Setophaga'' is from Ancient Greek ''ses'', "moth", and ', "eating", and the specific ''magnolia'' refers to the type lo ...

, ''Setophaga magnolia'' *

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 bein ...

, ''Setophaga americana'' * Olive-capped warbler, ''Setophaga pityophila'' *

Palm warbler The palm warbler (''Setophaga palmarum'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: Taxonomy The species comprises two distinct subspecies that may merit specific sta ...

, ''Setophaga palmarum'' *

Pine warbler The pine warbler (''Setophaga pinus'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description These birds have white bellies, two white wing bars, dark legs and thin, relatively long pointed bills; they have yellowish 'spectacles' ar ...

, ''Setophaga pinus'' * Plumbeous warbler, ''Setophaga plumbea'' *

Prairie warbler The prairie warbler (''Setophaga discolor'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks, and olive overparts with rusty streaks on the back; they have a ye ...

, ''Setophaga discolor'' *

Saint Lucia warbler The Saint Lucia warbler (''Setophaga delicata'') is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is endemic to Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbe ...

, ''Setophaga delicata'' * Townsend's warbler, ''Setophaga townsendi'' * Tropical parula, ''Setophaga pitiayumi'' * Vitelline warbler, ''Setophaga vitellina'' *

Myrtle warbler The myrtle warbler (''Setophaga coronata'') is a small New World warbler. It is considered a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler and its own species by different classification societies. The myrtle warbler has a northerly and easterly distr ...

, ''Setophaga coronata'' * Audubon's warbler, ''Setophaga auduboni'' ** Black-fronted warbler, ''Setophaga auduboni nigrifrons'' *

Goldman's warbler Goldman's warbler (''Setophaga goldmani'') is a songbird species in the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It is found in Mexico and Guatemala. Taxonomy This passerine bird was long known to be closely related to its counterparts Audubon's ...

, ''Setophaga goldmani'' * Yellow-throated warbler, ''Setophaga dominica'' * Yellow-rumped warbler, ''Setophaga coronata''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132908 Bird genera *