Friday, November 19, 2010

Warbler Guy, are there any New World warblers that occur in their own family and where shall I look?


The Olive Warbler, Peucedramus taeniatus , is a small passerine bird. It is the only member of the genus Peucedramus and the family Peucedramidae.

Breeding from southern Arizona through New Mexico and south into Mexico and Nicaragua, the Olive Warbler is the only member of the genus Peucedramus and the family Peucedramidae. All our other New World warblers are in the Parulidae family.

The Olive Warbler status in its one-member family is distinctive in that it's the only bird family endemic to North America (including Central America). Before it was classified into its current family, this warbler was considered a Parulidae, but DNA studies suggest that it split early in its evolutionary history from the other related passerines prior to the differentiation of the entire New World warbler/American sparrow/Icterid group.

Thus, bird taxonimists now place the Olive Warbler in a family of its own.

Like many other New World warblers, it is an insectivorous species of coniferous forests.

Though it is often said to be non-migratory, most New Mexican birds leave the state from November to late February. It lays 3–4 eggs in a tree nest.

6 comments:

  1. Just might go look for the Olive Warbler now that I know where to go.....Maybe in June?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Damn, indeed great information. Where can I find your RSS?

    Natasha Karver
    personal protection products

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe you can tell me how to create an RSS, Natasha? Thanks, Daniel

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for this post!

    John O.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting.....thanx, david c., burney, az

    ReplyDelete