Critically Endangered
Bachman's Warbler
Vermivora bachmanii
Bachman's warbler is an extinct passerine migratory bird.
Appearance
Bachman's warbler was a sexually dimorphic species and the adults had two distinct plumages, one in the spring and one in the fall. In the spring, adult males had a yellow forehead and supercilium. The area below the bird's eye was yellow and the lores a dusky olive.
This warbler was 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) in length.
Published measurements include mass about 1.27.
Conservation Bachman's warbler was originally collected by John Bachman in South Carolina in 1832 and described by Audubon in 1833 from skins mailed by Bachman.
Range and habitat
Bachman's warbler bred primarily in two distinct regions, namely the southern Atlantic coastal plain and the Gulf Coast states north along the Mississippi River watershed to Kentucky. The Gulf Coast breeding habitat is located primarily in central Alabama, though reports from northern Mississippi and Louisiana are known. During migration, the species was primarily recorded in Florida and the Florida Keys, although a few birds migrated along the eastern Gulf Coast.
The last male specimen was collected on March 21, 1941, on Deer Island, Mississippi, while the last female specimen was collected on February 28, 1940, on Ship Island, Mississippi.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
The species did not frequently sing while migrating. Once it reached its breeding grounds, the warbler preferred to sing from high perches.
This species's foraging niche was low in elevation, between 3 and 10 ft (0.91 and 3.05 m). Even so, during migration it was also observed foraging in the tops of trees. It may have been a colonial breeder.
In crisis
Bachman's warbler is an extinct passerine migratory bird. It remained largely unknown until the mid-1880s. Individuals were reported from Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1954 and 1958, and a male was seen singing near I'on Swamp in April 1962.
The last confirmed observation was in Louisiana in 1988, though it remains controversial. The main factor contributing to the species' decline was habitat destruction.
Bachman's Warbler is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Bachman's Warbler, Wikidata item Q375157. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
