Bachman's Warbler
Encyclopedia
The Bachman's Warbler, Vermivora bachmanii, is (or was) a small passerine
bird
that inhabits the swamps and lowland forests of the southeast United States. This warbler
is a migrant
, wintering in Cuba. The Bachman’s Warbler is small for a warbler and is unique for its thin and decurved bill. It has strong sexual dimorphism. Adult males are olive above and yellow below, with a black upper chest and forecrown giving them a distinctive look. Adult females have an olive-green back and a gray crown, while the underbelly is a light yellow. Immatures are a dull gray.
, who presented study skins and descriptions to his friend and collaborator, John James Audubon
. Audubon never saw the bird alive but named it in honor of Bachman in 1833.
The Bachman’s Warbler does not have any extremely close relatives, though the Blue-winged
and Golden-winged Warbler
s, also members of the genus Vermivora
, are thought to be its closest relatives. It has no known subspecies.
During the spring, adult females are a light yellow in their forehead and supraloral, blending into the gray crown and nape. Its lores are a gray-olive and it has a white eye ring. The rest of the female’s upperparts are an olive-green, which like the male is brightest on the rump. The chin and throat are also a light yellow, while the sides of the neck and the upper breast are gray. Older females have a few black upper breast feathers. The rest of the breast and the belly is light yellow, blending into white on the undertail coverts. The flanks are also washed with gray. First spring females resemble the adult female, but appear to be more worn.
The Bachman’s Warbler molts over the summer into its fall plumage. For adult males, the fall plumage is nearly identical to the spring, with the only difference being that the forecrown changes from black to gray. First year males also resemble their spring plumage, but have an olive forecrown and duller yellow underparts. Adult females possess the same plumage, though it looks fresher in the fall, while first year females have an olive-yellow forehead and a dull eyering.
Hatchlings obtain their first plumage in May and undergo their first molt in June. Juvenile Bachman’s Warblers have a dusky brown head and upperparts and are a paler brown below, which transitions to dull white on the lower body and undertail.
This warbler is 4.25 inch (0.10795 m) in length. Its is relatively small for a warbler and has a short tail. It is unique amongst warblers for its thin and decurved bill. The bill of the Bachman’s Warbler is blackish brown in adults and brown in the young. The legs are a grayish-brown, while the eyes are dark brown.
The Bachman’s Warbler’s song is composed of a rapid series six to twenty-five buzz notes, sometimes ending in a sharp, slurred note zip. Five to ten buzz notes were delivered in a second. This song was noticeably monotone, which differentiated it from species such as the Northern Parula
. Multiple call notes have been recorded, ranging from a soft tsip to a low, hissing zee-e-eep.
watershed to Kentucky. In the southern Atlantic coastal plain, the bird breeds in South Carolina
near Charlestown, though it is believed to have once bred as far north as Virginia
and south into Georgia
. The Gulf Coast breeding habitat is located primarily in central Alabama
, though reports from northern Mississippi
and Louisiana
are known. It breeds north of Alabama along Arkansas
's and Missouri
's St. Francis River
. Unaccepted records of breeding in eastern Texas
, Oklahoma
, and Tennessee
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. Additionally, there is one spring migration record from the Bahamas in 1901. The species primarily winters in Cuba. Additionally, it was recorded wintering on the Isle of Pines, and one wintering record is known from Florida. Unconfirmed reports of the species wintering in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp
exist.
The Bachman’s Warbler breeds in timbered bottomland swamps with pools of still water. These swampy forests are mainly composed deciduous
trees such as cypress
, sweet gum, dogwood
, red oak, hickory
, black gum, and tupelo
. While it is not definitively known where in these swamps the Bachman’s Warbler prefers, it is believed that they prefer small edges created by fire or storms with a dense understory of the cane species Arundinaria gigantea and palmettos
. Some believe that this species may have been a cane specialist.
While migrating, the species still preferred bottomland forests, though it was reported in scrubby habitats when this was not available. During the Cuban winter it seems to have broadened its habitat to include most forests, ranging from dry, semideciduous forests to urban parks to swamps. Hibiscus
forests may have been important.
This species did not frequently sing while migrating, though it did sing upon reaching its breeding grounds. Once there, it preferred to use high perches to sing from.
This species’s foraging niche was quite low in elevation, frequently between three and ten feet. However, during migration it was also observed foraging in the tops of trees. This bird could feed while hanging upside down to probe the bottoms of leaves. The Bachman’s Warbler fed by gleaning and probing into leaf clusters. This latter foraging strategy led some to hypothesize that this warbler specialized in foraging among dead leaves in canebreakers. Its primary prey included caterpillars, spiders, and other arthropods. It may have fed on nectar in Cuba, but this hypothesis is unproven.
It may be a colonial breeder. The nests were deep and bulky. Dead leaves, mosses, grasses, and weed stalks composed the exterior, while the interior cup was lined with fine fibers from Ramalina
lichen and Spanish moss
. These nests were made amongst blackberry
brambles, cane stalks, and palmettos
in bottomland forests 1 to 4 feet above the ground or, frequently, pools of water. Unusually for a warbler, its eggs were pure white with occasional fine marks at the large end.
Fall migration is poorly documented, but the earliest date for a migrant in southern Mississippi is July 4, while the first migrants at Key West
were reported on July 17. In South Carolina, all Bachman’s Warblers leave their breeding ground by July 19. The peak of fall migration was between the end of July and August 25, with the last reported migrating individual being a September 24 bird in coastal Georgia.
Reports of birds from the Missouri and Arkansas breeding grounds lasted through the 1940’s, while birds were reported breeding in South Carolina’s I’on Swamp until 1953. Individuals were reported from Fairfax County, Virginia
in 1954 and 1958, and a male was seen singing near I’on Swamp in April 1962. On March 30, 1977 an immature female was seen in Brevard County, Florida
.
This species is threatened due to habitat destruction. Clearcutting of its habitat and the draining of swamps via water channels are the two main causes of this habitat destruction. While it is unknown whether habitat change in its wintering grounds of Cuba affected the species, it is believed that a winter hurricane in the 1930’s could have been a crippling blow for the species, making them too rare to find each other and mate.
The Bachman's Warbler is possibly extinct, and was most likely never common. The last confirmed sightings were in 1988 and before that in 1961 in South Carolina
. The Bachman's Warbler's last stronghold was in I'on Swamp, South Carolina. 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. Furthermore, on January 14, 2002, a bird reminiscent of a female Bachman's Warbler was filmed at Guardalavaca
, Cuba. As Vermivora warblers 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 female warbler incubates her eggs while the father looks for food.
It is thought to have nested in canebrake
s, the loss of which (along with that of wintering habitat in the Caribbean), and having once been hunted for its plumes all posed threats. Small-scale logging in the 1800’s may actually have increased the Bachman Warbler’s breeding habitat.
tree first painted by Maria Martin, Bachman's sister-in-law and one of the country's first female natural history illustrators.
In the comic strip Doonesbury
, Dick Davenport, a bird watcher and husband of a major character, died in 1986 due to a massive coronary brought on by observing and photographing this species. This death scene has been noted as a particularly memorable one in the history of comics.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
that inhabits the swamps and lowland forests of the southeast United States. This warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
is a migrant
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering in Cuba. The Bachman’s Warbler is small for a warbler and is unique for its thin and decurved bill. It has strong sexual dimorphism. Adult males are olive above and yellow below, with a black upper chest and forecrown giving them a distinctive look. Adult females have an olive-green back and a gray crown, while the underbelly is a light yellow. Immatures are a dull gray.
Taxonomy
This bird was discovered in 1832 by the Reverend John BachmanJohn Bachman
The Rev. John Bachman was an American Lutheran minister, social activist and naturalist who collaborated with J.J. Audubon to produce Viviparous Quadrapeds of North America and whose writings, particularly Unity of the Human Race, were influential in the development of the theory of evolution. He...
, who presented study skins and descriptions to his friend and collaborator, John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
. Audubon never saw the bird alive but named it in honor of Bachman in 1833.
The Bachman’s Warbler does not have any extremely close relatives, though the Blue-winged
Blue-winged Warbler
The Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera, is a fairly common New World warbler, 11.5 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern USA. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related...
and Golden-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
The Golden-winged Warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera, is a New World warbler, 11.6 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America, southeastern Canada and the eastern USA...
s, also members of the genus Vermivora
Vermivora
Vermivora is a genus of New World warblers.-Species:Three species are accepted in the genus, one of them probably extinct:* Bachman's Warbler, Vermivora bachmanii* Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera...
, are thought to be its closest relatives. It has no known subspecies.
Description
The Bachman’s Warbler is a sexually dimorphic species and the adults have two distinct plumages, one for the spring and one for the fall. In the spring, adult males have a yellow forehead, supraloral, and supercilium. The area below the bird’s eye is yellow, while the lores are a dusky olive. The bird’s forecrown is black with gray at the edges, while the rear crown and nape are olive-gray. The rest of the bird’s upperparts are an olive green, with the rump being the brightest. The chin and upper throat are yellow, while the center throat and upper chest are black. The belly is yellow, and the undertail coverts are white. Males in their first spring are nearly identical to the adult male, but have less black on their crown and chest.The Bachman’s Warbler molts over the summer into its fall plumage. For adult males, the fall plumage is nearly identical to the spring, with the only difference being that the forecrown changes from black to gray. First year males also resemble their spring plumage, but have an olive forecrown and duller yellow underparts. Adult females possess the same plumage, though it looks fresher in the fall, while first year females have an olive-yellow forehead and a dull eyering.
Hatchlings obtain their first plumage in May and undergo their first molt in June. Juvenile Bachman’s Warblers have a dusky brown head and upperparts and are a paler brown below, which transitions to dull white on the lower body and undertail.
This warbler is 4.25 inch (0.10795 m) in length. Its is relatively small for a warbler and has a short tail. It is unique amongst warblers for its thin and decurved bill. The bill of the Bachman’s Warbler is blackish brown in adults and brown in the young. The legs are a grayish-brown, while the eyes are dark brown.
The Bachman’s Warbler’s song is composed of a rapid series six to twenty-five buzz notes, sometimes ending in a sharp, slurred note zip. Five to ten buzz notes were delivered in a second. This song was noticeably monotone, which differentiated it from species such as the Northern Parula
Northern Parula
The Northern Parula, Parula americana, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....
. Multiple call notes have been recorded, ranging from a soft tsip to a low, hissing zee-e-eep.
Distribution and habitat
The Bachman's Warbler breeds primarily in two distinct regions, namely the southern Atlantic coastal plain and the Gulf Coast states north along the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
watershed to Kentucky. In the southern Atlantic coastal plain, the bird breeds in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
near Charlestown, though it is believed to have once bred as far north as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and south into Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The Gulf Coast breeding habitat is located primarily in central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, though reports from northern Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
are known. It breeds north of Alabama along Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
's and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
's St. Francis River
St. Francis River
The Saint Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States...
. Unaccepted records of breeding in eastern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
are known. During migration, the species was primarily recorded in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
, although a few birds migrated along the eastern Gulf Coast. Additionally, there is one spring migration record from the Bahamas in 1901. The species primarily winters in Cuba. Additionally, it was recorded wintering on the Isle of Pines, and one wintering record is known from Florida. Unconfirmed reports of the species wintering in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp
Okefenokee Swamp
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000 acre , peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida border in the United States. A majority of the swamp is in Georgia and protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be...
exist.
The Bachman’s Warbler breeds in timbered bottomland swamps with pools of still water. These swampy forests are mainly composed deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees such as cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
, sweet gum, dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
, red oak, hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
, black gum, and tupelo
Tupelo
The tupelo , black gum, or pepperidge tree, genus Nyssa , is a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves...
. While it is not definitively known where in these swamps the Bachman’s Warbler prefers, it is believed that they prefer small edges created by fire or storms with a dense understory of the cane species Arundinaria gigantea and palmettos
Sabal
Sabal is a genus of New World palms, many of the species being known as palmetto. They are fan palms , with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets; in some of the species, the leaflets are joined for up to half of their length...
. Some believe that this species may have been a cane specialist.
While migrating, the species still preferred bottomland forests, though it was reported in scrubby habitats when this was not available. During the Cuban winter it seems to have broadened its habitat to include most forests, ranging from dry, semideciduous forests to urban parks to swamps. Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
forests may have been important.
Ecology and behavior
Due to the rarity of this species, little is known of its behavior. This species did not frequently pump its tail. When alarmed, the Bachman’s Warbler jerked its tail and raised its crown feathers.This species did not frequently sing while migrating, though it did sing upon reaching its breeding grounds. Once there, it preferred to use high perches to sing from.
This species’s foraging niche was quite low in elevation, frequently between three and ten feet. However, during migration it was also observed foraging in the tops of trees. This bird could feed while hanging upside down to probe the bottoms of leaves. The Bachman’s Warbler fed by gleaning and probing into leaf clusters. This latter foraging strategy led some to hypothesize that this warbler specialized in foraging among dead leaves in canebreakers. Its primary prey included caterpillars, spiders, and other arthropods. It may have fed on nectar in Cuba, but this hypothesis is unproven.
It may be a colonial breeder. The nests were deep and bulky. Dead leaves, mosses, grasses, and weed stalks composed the exterior, while the interior cup was lined with fine fibers from Ramalina
Ramalina
Ramalina is a genus of lichens belonging to the suborder Lecanorineae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains over 240 species....
lichen and Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....
. These nests were made amongst blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
brambles, cane stalks, and palmettos
Sabal
Sabal is a genus of New World palms, many of the species being known as palmetto. They are fan palms , with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets; in some of the species, the leaflets are joined for up to half of their length...
in bottomland forests 1 to 4 feet above the ground or, frequently, pools of water. Unusually for a warbler, its eggs were pure white with occasional fine marks at the large end.
Migration
The Bachman’s Warbler migrates quite early in comparison with other New World warblers. Spring migration begins in late February and birds appear in south Florida and southeastern Louisiana by the first week of March. Peak migration in south Florida is during the first three weeks of March and along the northwestern Florida coast during the third and fourth week of March. The latest recorded Bachman’s Warbler in Florida was noted on April 9. These warblers reach their South Carolina breeding grounds around mid-March, though some are known to arrive in late February. Birds migrating to southeastern Missouri arrive between mid and late April. Some birds have overshot their breeding grounds and were found in Virginia and North Carolina.Fall migration is poorly documented, but the earliest date for a migrant in southern Mississippi is July 4, while the first migrants at Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
were reported on July 17. In South Carolina, all Bachman’s Warblers leave their breeding ground by July 19. The peak of fall migration was between the end of July and August 25, with the last reported migrating individual being a September 24 bird in coastal Georgia.
Conservation
The Bachman’s Warbler was originally collected by John Bachman in 1832 and described by Audubon in 1833. However, it remained largely unknown until the mid 1880’s. It is believed that selective logging in the 1800’s briefly benefited the species by providing more habitat. It was frequently seen in its breeding habitat from the mid 1880’s to 1910. However, when clear-cutting began replacing selective logging, sightings of this species grew scarce. By the 1930’s, sightings were rare, and in 1940 the last definite winter sighting was recorded. 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.Reports of birds from the Missouri and Arkansas breeding grounds lasted through the 1940’s, while birds were reported breeding in South Carolina’s I’on Swamp until 1953. Individuals were reported from Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
in 1954 and 1958, and a male was seen singing near I’on Swamp in April 1962. On March 30, 1977 an immature female was seen in Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...
.
This species is threatened due to habitat destruction. Clearcutting of its habitat and the draining of swamps via water channels are the two main causes of this habitat destruction. While it is unknown whether habitat change in its wintering grounds of Cuba affected the species, it is believed that a winter hurricane in the 1930’s could have been a crippling blow for the species, making them too rare to find each other and mate.
The Bachman's Warbler is possibly extinct, and was most likely never common. The last confirmed sightings were in 1988 and before that in 1961 in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The Bachman's Warbler's last stronghold was in I'on Swamp, South Carolina. Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
was probably the main cause of its disappearance. Its extinction is not yet officially announced, because habitat remaining in Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. Located in South Carolina, the 26,546-acre national park received that designation in 2003 as the culmination of a grassroots campaign which had started in 1969...
needs to be surveyed. Furthermore, on January 14, 2002, a bird reminiscent of a female Bachman's Warbler was filmed at Guardalavaca
Guardalavaca
Guardalavaca is a town in the Holguín Province of Cuba. It is a tourist location due to its white sandy beaches and warm waters.thumb |left |Beach at Guardalavaca...
, Cuba. As Vermivora warblers 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 female warbler incubates her eggs while the father looks for food.
It is thought to have nested in canebrake
Canebrake
Canebrake is an English noun meaning an area of land with a thick dense growth of cane, sugarcane, exotic bamboo, or similar plant material.Canebrake may also refer to:Places in the United States of America:*Canebrake...
s, the loss of which (along with that of wintering habitat in the Caribbean), and having once been hunted for its plumes all posed threats. Small-scale logging in the 1800’s may actually have increased the Bachman Warbler’s breeding habitat.
Relationship with humans
Audubon's folio renderings of a male and female Bachman's Warbler were painted on top of an illustration of the FrankliniaFranklinia
Franklinia is a monotypic genus in the tea plant family, Theaceae. The sole species in this genus is a flowering tree, Franklinia alatamaha, commonly called the Franklin tree, and native to the Altamaha River valley in Georgia in the southeastern United States...
tree first painted by Maria Martin, Bachman's sister-in-law and one of the country's first female natural history illustrators.
In the comic strip Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
, Dick Davenport, a bird watcher and husband of a major character, died in 1986 due to a massive coronary brought on by observing and photographing this species. This death scene has been noted as a particularly memorable one in the history of comics.