Bachman's warbler is a possibly extinct passerine migratory bird. This warbler was a migrant, breeding in swampy blackberry and cane thickets of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States and wintering in Cuba. There are some reports of the bird from the twenty-first century, but none are widely accepted. Some authorities accept a Louisiana sighting in August 1988 as confirmed, but the last uncontroversial sightings date to the 1960s.
Region
Southeastern United States and Cuba
Typical Environment
Breeding occurred in low, wet floodplain forests and swamps with dense canebrakes (Arundinaria) and blackberry thickets across parts of the southeastern and lower midwestern United States. Nests were typically placed low in dense cane or similar tangles. Wintering was chiefly in Cuba, where it used second-growth thickets and lowland forests. During migration it used riparian corridors and brushy habitats, keeping close to dense understory cover. Records suggest it foraged mostly within a meter or two of the ground in thick vegetation.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 600 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Bachman's warbler was a secretive, cane-thicket specialist that bred in the southeastern United States and wintered in Cuba. It likely declined due to widespread loss of canebrake habitat, drainage of swamp forests, and hurricane impacts on its wintering grounds. The species was one of North America’s rarest warblers even historically, and most authorities now consider it possibly extinct.
Male (above) and female, by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Congaree National Park was searched for the species in 2002, without success.
Nest photographed in 1920
From The Birds of America (1827) by John James Audubon, etched by Robert Havell
Temperament
secretive and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, remaining low in dense cane or brush. The cup nest was placed close to the ground in canebrakes or similar thickets. Likely monogamous with both parents involved in care. Outside breeding, it associated loosely with other small insectivores while foraging in dense understory.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A high, thin, buzzy trill delivered in short phrases, often from concealed perches within cane. Calls were described as sharp, faint tsip notes, easy to miss beyond close range.
Plumage
Small, slim warbler with olive upperparts and yellow underparts; males in breeding plumage show a contrasting black cap and throat bib, females are duller with more grayish head and much reduced dark on the throat. Both sexes show clean, fine plumage with slight wing markings and a yellow wash on the face.
Diet
Primarily small insects and their larvae, including caterpillars, beetles, and spiders gleaned from leaves and stems. It probed and picked prey from the undersides of foliage and from cane culms. Occasional soft-bodied arthropods were taken from low shrubs and ground litter. Fruit likely played at most a minor role, if any.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense understory, especially canebrakes, blackberry tangles, and brushy edges of swamp forests. In wintering grounds, it foraged in second-growth thickets and low scrub within humid lowlands.
