# Setophaga

Setophaga is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 34 species. The Setophaga warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the various species using different feeding techniques and often feeding in different parts of the same tree.
Most Setophaga species are long-range migrants, wintering in or near the New World tropics and seasonally migrating to breed in North America. In contrast, two Setophaga species, the palm warbler and yellow-rumped warbler, have winter ranges that extend along the Atlantic coast of North America as far north as Nova Scotia. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful.

## Taxonomy

The genus Setophaga was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827. The type species was subsequently designated by Swainson in the same year as the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ses, "moth", and phagos, "eating".
Traditionally, most members (29 species) of Setophaga were recognized as belonging to the genus Dendroica. The only member of Setophaga was the American redstart. More recent genetic research suggested that Dendroica and Setophaga be merged. This change was accepted by both the North American and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society and the IOC World Bird List. As the name Setophaga (published in 1827) takes priority over Dendroica (published in 1842), those who accept the merger transferred all Dendroica species to Setophaga.

## History

A burst of speciation in Setophaga occurred between 4.5 and 7 million years ago. This time frame roughly corresponds to the transition from the Miocene to the Pliocene period, when an abrupt rise in temperature and the fragmentation of forest habitats in North America may have caused allopatric speciation in the genus. It is widely agreed that this speciation constitutes an adaptive radiation, though recent evidence is mixed, noting that evidence of both adaptive and non-adaptive radiations exists.
Up to several Setophaga species coexist in regions such as northeastern North America. Since these species are strikingly similar in both diet and morphology, this was once thought to be a violation of the laws of evolution. Further study concluded that species coexist through subtle feeding differences due to niche partitioning and diffuse exploitative interspecific competition: rather than compete directly for the same food resources, species utilize slightly different feeding strategies to capture a slightly different set of prey species.

## List of species

The genus contains 37 species. They are:
| Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
| Adelaide's warbler | Setophaga adelaidae | Puerto Rico |
| American redstart | Setophaga ruticilla | southern Canada and the eastern United States |
| American yellow warbler | Setophaga petechia | North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern South America |
| Arrowhead warbler | Setophaga pharetra | Jamaica |
| Bahama warbler | Setophaga flavescens | The Bahamas |
| Barbuda warbler | Setophaga subita | Barbuda in Antigua and Barbuda |
| Bay-breasted warbler | Setophaga castanea | eastern and central Canada, as well as the extreme northern United States., northeastern South America, the Caribbean, and southern Central America |
| Blackburnian warbler | Setophaga fusca | southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina. southern Central America and South America |
| Blackpoll warbler | Setophaga striata | northern North America, from Alaska throughout most of Canada, to the Adirondack Mountains of New York as well as New England in the northeastern United States. the Greater Antilles and the northeastern coasts of South America |
| Black-throated blue warbler | Setophaga caerulescens | eastern North America, the Caribbean, and Central America |
| Black-throated green warbler | Setophaga virens | eastern North America and western Canada and cypress swamps on the southern Atlantic coast. Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and southern Florida |
| Black-throated grey warbler | Setophaga nigrescens | from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States |
| Cape May warbler | Setophaga tigrina | southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England |
| Cerulean warbler | Setophaga cerulea | eastern North America, eastern slope of the Andes in South America |
| Chestnut-sided warbler | Setophaga pensylvanica | eastern North America and in southern Canada, Central America south to northern Colombia |
| Elfin woods warbler | Setophaga angelae | Puerto Rico |
| Golden-cheeked warbler | Setophaga chrysoparia | Central Texas |
| Grace's warbler | Setophaga graciae | western Canada, the western United States, and into Mexico |
| Hermit warbler | Setophaga occidentalis | west coast of the United States, Mexico and Central America as well as parts of the southern California coast. |
| Hooded warbler | Setophaga citrina | eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario) |
| Kirtland's warbler | Setophaga kirtlandii | Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada and the United States from Wisconsin and Michigan |
| Magnolia warbler | Setophaga magnolia | northeastern parts of the US, with states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, northern parts of Canada, such as in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec |
| Northern parula | Setophaga americana | eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida |
| Olive-capped warbler | Setophaga pityophila | Cuba as well as Grand Bahama |
| Palm warbler | Setophaga palmarum | Canada and the northeastern United States |
| Pine warbler | Setophaga pinus | eastern North America |
| Plumbeous warbler | Setophaga plumbea | Dominica and Guadeloupe |
| Prairie warbler | Setophaga discolor | northeastern Mexico and islands in the Caribbean |
| Saint Lucia warbler | Setophaga delicata | Saint Lucia |
| Townsend's warbler | Setophaga townsendi | northwestern coast of North America |
| Tropical parula | Setophaga pitiayumi | southernmost Texas and northwest Mexico (Sonora) |
| Vitelline warbler | Setophaga vitellina | Cayman Islands and on the Swan Islands in Honduras |
| Myrtle warbler | Setophaga coronata | Canada and the northeastern United States |
| Audubon's warbler | Setophaga auduboni | western Canada, the western United States, and into Mexico |
| Goldman's warbler | Setophaga goldmani | Mexico and Guatemala |
| Yellow-throated warbler | Setophaga dominica | southern Pennsylvania and northern Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico |
| Yellow-rumped warbler | Setophaga coronata | United States, as well as Canada and Central America |