Wilsonia (bird)

Genus of birds

Wilsonia

Canada warbler
Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Aves
Order:  | Passeriformes
Family:  | Parulidae
Genus:  | Wilsonia
Bonaparte, 1838
Species

Wilsonia citrina
Wilsonia pusilla
Wilsonia canadensis

Wilsonia was a formerly recognized small genus of New World warblers. The species previously included in the genus breed in North America and are migratory, wintering south of their breeding ranges in Central America, the West Indies or South America.

The three species formerly included in Wilsonia, all since transferred to other genera, are:

* Hooded warbler, now Setophaga citrina
* Wilson's warbler, now Cardellina pusilla
* Canada warbler, now Cardellina canadensis

Former Wilsonia warblers are 12–13 centimetres (4.7–5.1 in) long. They have yellow underparts and black head markings in at least the adult male plumage. The hooded warbler and Wilson's warbler have plain olive green-brown backs, while the Canada warbler has grey upperparts and also migrates much further than the others.

The breeding habitat is broadleaved woodlands with dense undergrowth. These birds nest low in a bush or on the ground, laying 3–6 eggs in a cup nest.

Former Wilsonia warblers feed on insects, often caught by flycatching, and they have distinctive songs and loud chip calls.

## Taxonomy

[edit]

Some authorities previously suggested that the genus Wilsonia should include the red-faced warbler, which is generally put in the genus Cardellina.[1] Genetic research has however indicated that the type species of Wilsonia, the hooded warbler, is only distantly related to Wilson's and Canada warblers, and is instead closely related to the type species of Setophaga (American redstart S. ruticilla). As the name Setophaga (published in 1827) takes priority over Wilsonia (published in 1838), hooded warbler has accordingly been transferred to Setophaga. The other two former Wilsonia species are indeed closely related to the red-faced warbler, and have thus been transferred to Cardellina.[2] These changes have been universally accepted among relevant regional and global checklists, including by the North American Classification Committee of the AOU[3] and the IOC.

This genus was named to commemorate the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Dunn, Jon; Garrett, Kimball (1997). Warblers. New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 571. ISBN 0-395-78321-6.
2. ^ Lovette, I. J. et al. (2010). A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57 (2): 753-770. Abstract
3. ^ Chesser, R. T. et al. (2011). Fifty-Second Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 128 (3): 600-613 fulltext

* Curson, J.; Quinn, D.; Beadle, D. (1994). New World Warblers. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-3932-6.

Taxon identifiers

Wilsonia|

* Wikidata: Q514515
* Wikispecies: Wilsonia (Parulidae)
* EoL: 74232
* Fauna Europaea (new): f1ab8dc8-6d32-45f8-b896-22fc5dffc681
* GBIF: 2489993
* ITIS: 178971
* WoRMS: 416147