Without taking up the space to explain why I’m all in on this, I wanted to use this column to tout the educational value and just plain fun which could accompany this process if each and all of us were to partake, even if only privately, in the exercise. Herewith I’m starting with those “butterflies of the bird world,” our wood-warblers whose bright plumage and frenetic lifestyle made them the spark birds for many of us. Here we go, in the taxonomic order of the fifth edition of the National Geo Guide to the Birds of North America. For readers who would like a visual of all our wood-warblers so they can match male plumages with my choices for each species’ most salient physical feature, please check out the warbler pages on this website.
PROTHONOTARY Warbler—I’d go with the flow here and leave the common name unchanged, but I’m guessing most birders have no idea the provenance of the Latin Prothonotaria from whence the genus name comes. This stunning warbler was named for the bright yellow robes worn by the papal clerks of the Catholic Church, but I’m dispensing with this obscure historical reference and suggesting instead GOLDEN SWAMP WARBLER, which perfectly reflects this beauty’s plumage and habitat.
BLUE-WINGED Warbler—Well, the wings are really blue-gray, but I’d leave it this way.
GOLDEN-WINGED Warbler—Yes, in all plumages those golden wings really stand out.
TENNESSEE Warbler—Alexander Wilson described the first one from the banks of the Cumberland River in Tennessee, for sure just a migrant, as this common Eastern warbler nests on the ground in northern boreal forests of Canada. This rather nondescript bird is often hard to identify to species, and it is a well known Spruce Budworm specialist. I’d change it to SPRUCE BUDWORM WARBLER.
ORANGE-CROWNED Warbler—“Orange-crowned” sounds like a perfect diagnostic descriptor, except that most birders never even see that orange crown. You won’t unless you chance upon one bathing and the water parts the crown feathers, exposing the seldom observed eponymous patch. The only noticeable features in all plumages of this plain, greenish-yellow warbler are the blurry breast streaking and the split eyering. Since Split-eyeringed Warbler seems a little unwieldly, I’m hoping the powers-that-be designate it the STREAK-BREASTED WARBLER.
NASHVILLE Warbler—Yes, this name comes to us from Alexander Wilson again, near Nashville, Tennessee, but that first one was also just a migrant. That complete eyering contrasts nicely with this species’ gray head, but since we don’t want to get hung up on eyerings and their shape (more on this later), let’s call our Nashville the GRAY-HEADED WARBLER.
VIRGINIA’S Warbler—This is a western warbler, nondescript and poorly known because of its shy nature and the difficulty of finding its ground nests. The name, of course, has nothing to do with the state of Virginia, but honors the wife of Dr. W. W. Anderson who discovered it while serving in the U.S. Army in New Mexico. Closely related and somewhat similar to our newly minted Gray-headed Warbler, I propose the name CHAPARRAL WARBLER which describes its nesting habitat, dry slopes with scrubby growth in the mountain west where birders should know to look for it.
COLIMA Warbler—This close relative of the two preceding species is named for the area of Mexico where it was originally discovered on its wintering ground. Most North American birders will encounter their first one in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park, Texas, the only reliable place it nests and is seen north of the border, so let’s change Colima Warbler to CHISOS WARBLER.
LUCY’S WARBLER—This common Southwestern warbler, one of only two members of the family, along with GOLDEN SWAMP WARBER, (see what I just did there) which nest in cavities, was named after Spencer Baird’s (as in Baird’s Sparrow) thirteen-year-old daughter who helped with his research. That honorific is almost as obscure as this tiny, inconspicuous bird. Since it nests almost exclusively in riparian Mesquite bosques, MESQUITE WARBLER sounds good to me as a habitat indicator for birders.
NORTHERN PARULA (and TROPICAL PARULA)—Alright, stick with me here. The name “Parula” (accent on the first syllable please PAIR-u-la) comes to us as the diminutive of the Latin name for the titmouse family, so this is the Little Tit. And it nests farther north than the Tropical Little Tit. Easy to hear, but difficult to see as it forages high in the canopy, this is one of our smallest and most beautiful warblers. Both the northern and tropical forms build their nests almost exclusively in Spanish Moss (north) and Beard Moss (southern). It seems like Moss Warbler would be appropriate, but I’d be happier with LOVELY WARBLER, preceded by the present geographical indicators.
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER—Perfect. Let this be one less we have to relearn.
CAPE MAY WARBLER—(Sigh!) Of course you don’t have to go to Cape May, New Jersey to see this warbler. What were the early ornithologists thinking? Like our Tennessee, this species is also a spruce budworm specialist, but unlike that nondescript warbler, this one is smashing eye candy. If we’re alright with Chestnut-sided for the previous bird, let’s go with CHESTNUT-EARED WARBLER for this one, even though females and immatures lack that distinctive and diagnostic field mark.
MAGNOLIA WARBLER—Another beautiful boreal forest breeding species, this bird’s name comes down to us because Alexander Wilson, called by many the “father of North American ornithology,” shot the discovery specimen out of a Magnolia tree. Really?! There’s not much chance you’d ever see one in a Magnolia tree. Again leaning into the most eye-catching characteristic of this beautiful species’ male, I’d like to suggest MASKED WARBLER.
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER—I’m not touching this one. It’s already entrenched in birders’ lexicon, as well it should be given the species’ abundance.
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER—Yup! Stunning.
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER—Well, both male and female have a diagnostic little white handkerchief, but birders should have to do a little homework and to remember females rarely sport the male’s wonderful colors. No change needed here.
CERULEAN WARBLER—More wonderful color! Except many newbies may not know “cerulean” is a hue of blue. I guess we could try Sky Warbler, but I sure like how “cerulean” rolls off the birder’s tongue, and given how unusual the color is in the birding world, especially among the warblers, I’m sticking with Cerulean Warbler.
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER—It seems only fitting that our most beautiful warbler has been saddled with one of the most obscure honorific names. Anna Blackburn was a British patron of ornithologists whose brother, a collector, sent her a specimen of this species which continues to bear her maiden name. Can there be any doubt FIERY-THROATED WARBLER would be the perfect designation for this striking bird and would differentiate it from the Flame-throated Warbler of Central America.
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER—No problem with this one.
TOWNSEND’S WARBLER—The oddity behind the honorific name of this eye-catching, commonly seen Western warbler, is that it was named for, but not by, John Townsend (Townsend’s Solitaire) who first described it on a trip through the northern Rockies. It was named by Audubon. I think if Cape May can be Chestnut-eared, then Townsend’s should be BLACK-EARED WARBLER.
HERMIT WARBLER—In yet another odd twist of fate and history, this dazzling denizen of West Coast coniferous forests received its name because early ornithologists thought it shy, secretive, and thus rare, rarer than it really is. I love the fanciful, somewhat apropos name, but if we’re trying for diagnostic consistency, this handsome bird should definitely be YELLOW-FACED WARBLER.
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER—No questions here.
GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER—Love it, and would not change it even though its localized distribution as the only endemic nesting bird in Texas’ plethora of recorded species might suggest a geographic name.
GRACE’S WARBLER—Add Grace’s to the list of obscurely honored female relatives of our early bird shooters. Collected by Elliott Coues near Prescott, Arizona, he asked Spencer Baird to name it for his (Coues’) younger sister. Your choice here, YELLOW-BREASTED or YELLOW-CHESTED, or possibly even put “WESTERN” in front of it to alleviate any confusion with the next warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER—Amen! This one is another of our WOW warblers!
KIRTLAND’S WARBLER—By now when you see a name like “Kirtland’s,” your question is “Who the heck was Kirtland?” Although I’ve seen the species twice and have distant, crummy photographs, my experience with it is so limited I still often incorrectly refer to it as “Kirkland’s.” Though populations have recovered and it is no longer listed as an endangered species, in its highly localized Jack Pine habitat around the Great Lakes it survives only by virtue of “perpetual management.” I think JACK PINE WARBLER would be a fitting designation for this rare and beautiful species’ fraught history.
PRAIRIE WARBLER—With warblers, much like real estate, if you want to see one it’s location, location, location, and seeing this one on the open prairie would indeed be rare. Prairie Warblers nest in second growth scrub and old fields, so rather than go with the current misleading habitat designation, the male of this colorful species says “BLACK-STREAKED WARBLER” to me, particularly with the distinctive black crescent under the eye.
BAY-BREASTED WARBLER—Absolutely, as long as birders recognize “bay” is reddish-brown.
BLACKPOLL WARBLER—Absolutely, as long as birder recognize “poll” is an archaic term for head.
PINE WARBLER—This is a habitat designation that is right on, even to the extent that when winter vagrants are found in the Southwest, they are invariably seen in pines. This is one of our few wood-warblers whose winter and summer ranges are almost exclusively in the United States. Let’s keep it PINE WARBLER.
PALM WARBLER—Here we go again. Birders will probably NEVER encounter this species in palms. This is perhaps the most terrestrial of our Wood Warblers, and being rather nondescript, it might best be designated TAIL-WAGGING WARBLER in reference to the constant pumping of that appendage, whether on the ground or on a perch.
YELLOW WARBLER—There are many warblers sporting yellow in their plumage, but this is the one most predominantly that color, so the name seems appropriate.
MOURNING WARBLER—Given the physical similarities between this species and the following two, I think the name here is fine because I’m changing the next two honorific names. It was named by Alexander Wilson because the male’s dark cowl (head and breast) reminded him of the clothes worn in grief for the dead. Just make sure when writing the name you don’t drop the “u” as often happens with Mourning Dove.
MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER—The most noteworthy physical characteristic of this close relative of Mourning Warbler is certainly its white eye arcs, all the more distinctively separated on the dark head of the male, so let’s call this EYE CRESCENT WARBLER, a little cumbersome perhaps, but most birders can’t spell MacGillivray’s anyway, let alone pronounce it correctly.
CONNECTICUT WARBLER—Well you might see this shy, elusive, and uncommon wood-warbler in Connecticut, but only if you’re there in migration and extremely lucky. This is the species which gave me pause renaming Nashville Gray-headed. Connecticut has to be the EYE-RINGED WARBLER. It is noticeably larger than the Gray-headed Warbler (see, I’m already schooling myself), and it is a ground dweller, poorly studied and declining in the East.
KENTUCKY WARBLER—Alexander Wilson again, in Kentucky of course, “collected” this eye-catching bird on his amazing 3000 mile journey down the Ohio River by rowboat, then on horseback over the Natchez Trace in 1810. Not a migrant, this species actually breeds in Kentucky, but there’s no way this bird cannot be renamed YELLOW-SPECTACLED WARBLER.
CANADA WARBLER—This is a tough one. Canada Warbler’s breeding range is not limited to Canada and, it too, has been described as having yellow spectacles. What stands out to me on this species’ beautiful plumage is the black necklace on the bright yellow breast. Since the spectacles aren’t as obvious on this species as on the previous one, I propose BLACK-NECKLACED WARBLER here.
WILSON’S WARBLER—There should be no question this species becomes BLACK-CAPPED WARBLER, but here’s an interesting “did you know” historical side note I came across while researching Alexander Wilson for whom a petral and a plover were also named. In his time he was thought to be a great ornithologist with some artistic talent, whereas Audubon was considered a great artist with some ornithological talent. Presumably they must have both been pretty talented with a shotgun.
HOODED WARBLER—Perhaps our most beautiful “yellow” warbler, its present common name says it all!
WORM-EATING WARBLER—Although I’d love to leave this name as is, every one of our wood-warblers enjoys a juicy worm when they find one. I could also imagine deriving a new name from this species’ primary foraging behavior, poking, often upside down, through dead leaves, but let’s keep it simple and call it TAN-STRIPED WARBLER.
SWAINSON’S WARBLER—More secretive than Connecticut Warbler, and far more nondescript and patchily distributed across its range in Southeastern cane breaks, Bamboo Warbler might work, but it’s estimated only 2% of this species’ historically preferred habitat is left. I’ve seen this warbler in two different places where I’ve photographed Golden Swamp Warbler. How about just PLAIN SWAMP WARBLER?
OVENBIRD—Named for the shape of its nest, a domed structure with the entrance on the side, resembling a Dutch oven, this common name might work, but the bird is typically seen on the ground foraging in leaf litter with its tail cocked up. I’ll give you some choices here, my favorite in caps—Streak-chested Warbler, Russet-crowned Warbler, or WALKING WARBLER, which is descriptive and also kind of fun.
LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH & NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH—These two similar warblers resemble small thrushes, and both live in watery habitats, the former preferring running streams, the latter still bogs. They share loud, ringing calls and characteristically forage on the ground, constantly bobbing up and down. I’d change Louisiana to SOUTHERN WATERTHRUSH, and leave Northern as is.
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT—Why not? We’re all very familiar with the “witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty witch-i-ty” call and the reedy habitats. Some names are both apt and ingrained in birding lexicon.
RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER—Enough said.
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT—Amen again to this chatty one.
AMERICAN REDSTART—I know. It’s confusing because there’s no red on this bird like the Southwest’s Painted Redstart. The second part of this common name comes from the Greek, with the “start” part an old reference to “tail.” So, why not go with BLACK ORANGESTART for this handsome, easily recognizable, acrobatic little gem, its tail flashing, like that of the Painted and our Northern Mockingbird, a behavior for flushing prey?
PAINTED REDSTART—This one is fine except, maybe to be consistent with the new name of the previous species, this one should be known as PAINTED WHITESTART. The white’s in the tail, right?
RED-FACED WARBLER—Perfect again.
OLIVE WARBLER—Although those new to birding may not be aware of it, DNA studies show this species is not related to our wood-warblers at all, so I’m not going to include it in my little exercise here. I will at least point out, though, that nothing about this bird in any of its plumages suggests the color olive, so when the AOS goes about its nomenclature work they should have to ditch both “olive” and “warbler” for this one.
I hope this column will prompt a few birders to engage in this little exercise on their own and have as much fun and refresh their general knowledge about birds as much as I have. This is definitely coming down the pike, and birders should not let their disagreement with the process or the reasons behind it turn them into grumpy old dinosaurs. Just think about all the new bird books you will be able to justify buying by the time it all plays out. Happy new naming!