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Fan-tailed warbler

species of bird

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ27075999 ↗
Source-derived summary

The fan-tailed warbler (Basileuterus lachrymosus) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found from Mexico to Nicaragua. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in the U. S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Its "habit of constant tail-fanning and tail-swinging [is] distinctive".

Taxonomy and systematics

The fan-tailed warbler has a complicated taxonomic history that as of July 2026 has not been resolved. Its formally description in 1850 with the binomial Sylvia lachrymosus is credited to Charles Lucien Bonaparte. However, Bonaparte appended "(Basileuterus? lachrymosus, Cabanis)" to the binomial. Cabanis had not published the name and so is not credited with the description despite the species' later assignment to his genus. In 1850 Cabanis had also erected genus Euthlypis, and in 1902 Robert Ridgway assigned the fan-tailed warbler to it, retroactively declaring it the type species of the genus.

Editorial summary

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

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2026, 1850, 1902—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Fan-tailed, warbler and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

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

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q27075999. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2026, 1850 and 1902.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. 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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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fan-tailed warbler”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fan-tailed warbler primary sources, Fan-tailed warbler archive and Fan-tailed 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

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fan-tailed warbler”?
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  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Fan-tailed 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.