However, they share their branch with two oddballs - Crescent-chested Warbler ( superciliosa) and Flame-throated Warbler ( gutturalis), formerly in the genus Parula. These ex- Vermivora are a pretty cohesive and closely related group - they are all North American, either greenish (northern and eastern species) or grayish (southwestern species), most with an orange or rufous crown patch and yellowish vent. The remaining members of what was Vermivora - Tennessee ( peregrina), Orange-crowned ( celata), Colima ( crissalis), Lucy's ( luciae), Virginia's ( virginiae), and Nashville ( ruficapilla) - get their own branch of the warbler tree. Worm-eating Warbler ( Helmitheros vermivorous) from Wikipedia
![new world warblers new world warblers](https://www.birdphotography.eu/images/Bird-Families/Warblers-new-World/Magnolia_Warbler_-_Setophaga_magnolia.jpg)
The exact relationships among them change depending on analyses (except the placement of Ovenbird at the base of the tree), but it is clear that they are all old and distinct, and I don't foresee anyone attempting to lump some of these monotypic genera. These lineages are all found in Eastern North America, but represent a variety of plumage and ecological specializations. Three species of Vermivora - Bachman's ( bachmanii), Blue-winged ( pinus, now cyanoptera), and Golden-winged ( chrysoptera), are found to not be closely related to the remaining members of the genus. The Northern ( noveboracensis) and Louisiana ( motacilla) are moved from the genus Seiurus, which they shared with the Ovenbird (a relationship that never made sense to me, given how different they are in plumage and habits), to their own genus, Parkesia (created for them by Sangster 2008). The final two lineages in this group represent some of the generic reassignments already made by the AOU. Other lineages represent monotypic genera, the odds and sods of the Parulidae that have been recognized as distinct - the Worm-eating Warbler ( Helmitheros vermivorus), Black-and-White Warbler ( Mniotilta varia), Prothonotary Warbler ( Protonotaria citrea), and Swainson's Warbler ( Limnothlypis swainsonii). The first branch in the tree is in all analyses the Ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapillus) - the dull, chunky warbler of forest floors in the Eastern US. Parulidae is a large family with ~110 species concentrated in several large genera, but the early branches of the tree are composed of 7 different species-poor lineages. You'll definitely want to click to enlarge and read I just want to step through the warbler tree and possible taxonomic disagreements as a guide for when taxonomic authorities eventually get to addressing them.
![new world warblers new world warblers](https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/nature/images/Warbler-Yellow-rumped-2-HF-Murphy-Farm-5-2018-wbchtelfair-sbcglobal.jpg)
Their main result is a phylogenetic hypothesis for comparative studies and a proposal for complete revision to generic boundaries. (2010) present a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the wood-warblers, sampling all but three species and addressing the phylogenetic analyses with a good array of loci and methods. 2009), a comprehesive phylogeny of the group with solid sampling of species (there are over 110 in the whole family) and a complete update of Parulid taxonomy has been lacking. In general, while there have been several papers addressing phylogeny in the overall family (Klein et al 2004, Lovette and Hochachka 2006) and in certain groups ( Dendroica: Lovette and Bermingham 1999 Myioborus - Perez-Eman 2005 Geothylpis and Oporornis - Escalante et al. (2004) presented a phylogeny for the family and documented many problems with generic limits, they did not present many taxonomic solutions and their sampling of the diversity of Central and South American Parulids was very slim. These changes are based on results that have been in the phylogenetic literature for some years now, but have not resulted in comprehensive taxonomic updates.
![new world warblers new world warblers](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/6e/06/a16e064efbca8cfb71a6ac49e21b285e.jpg)
The 51st supplement makes two changes to genera in New World wood-warblers (Parulidae): the waterthrushes are split from the Ovenbird ( Seiurus) and placed in a new genus, Parkesia, and most of the genus Vermivora is split and removed into a new genus, Oreothlypis. Instead, I'm breaking my long self-imposed blog exile to talk about warblers. Sibley handily summarizes the name changes to North American species, and Michael Retter reviews the whole supplement, and I'm sure it has been plastered elsewhere on the blogosphere by now so I am not going into a full review here (plus, I blogged about one of the splits two years ago - everyone else is late to the party). The July issue of The Auk contained the AOU North American Checklist Committee's 51st supplement to the AOU checklist (pdf), a variety of splits and changes to taxonomy at the genus level and higher.