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Bay-breasted warbler

species of bird

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ27075917
Source-derived summary

The bay-breasted warbler (Setophaga castanea) is a small species of songbird in the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It is one of 35 species in the diverse genus Setophaga. Like all songbirds, or passerines, the species is classified in the order Passeriformes.

Taxonomy

The bay-breasted warbler was formally described and illustrated in 1810 by the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson based on specimens collected in Pennsylvania. Wilson coined the binomial name Sylvia castanea. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "chestnut-coloured". The bay-breasted warbler is now one of over 30 species placed in the genus Setophaga that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827. The species is monotypic, with no subspecies accepted. The genus name Setophaga combines the Ancient Greek σης/sēs, σητος/sētos meaning "moth" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating".

Description

Adult males in breeding plumage are primarily greyish above, with two white wing bars, dark streaks on the back, and a creamy neck patch.

Editorial summary

“Bay-breasted warbler” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bay-breasted, warbler and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1810, 1827—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Bay-breasted, warbler and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Bay-breasted warbler” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Bay-breasted, warbler and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q27075917. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1810 and 1827.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

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  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bay-breasted warbler”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bay-breasted warbler primary sources, Bay-breasted warbler archive and Bay-breasted research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Bay-breasted warbler” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.