Birdfinding.info ⇒ Highly localized, but fairly easy to find in remnant pine forests in its small range. On Grand Bahama, the most reliable sites are Lucayan Estates (a.k.a., the Emlen Tract) and Owl’s Hole. On Abaco, it is generally present in wooded areas from Little Harbour southward, and in the Blue Hole area at the north end of the island.
Bahama Warbler
Setophaga flavescens
Endemic to Grand Bahama and Abaco, where it is largely restricted to Caribbean Pine forests.
Identification
Bears an obvious resemblance to the closely related Yellow-throated Warbler, with a similar facial pattern and overall coloration.
Bahama Warbler differs structurally from Yellow-throated, most notably in having an exceptionally long, slightly down-curved bill and a long tail. Often forages like a creeper, sticking to trunks and large branches, probing the bark.
Bahama Warbler. (Abaco; November 25, 2017.) © Dubi Shapiro
Its upperparts are mostly gray, often tinged brownish. Usually shows just a single white wingbar on the upper coverts, sometimes also faint, narrow wingbar below. Its underparts are mostly yellow from the throat to the belly, where it shades to white.
Bahama Warbler. (Lucayan Estates, Grand Bahama; February 9, 2017.) © Larry Therrien
Bahama Warbler. (Abaco; November 25, 2017.) © Dubi Shapiro
Bahama Warbler. (Blue Hole, North Abaco, Bahamas; May 25, 2017.) © Brendon Fogarty
Bahama Warbler. (South Abaco; May 19, 2016.) © Andrew Spencer
Bahama Warbler. (Abaco; November 25, 2017.) © Dubi Shapiro
Bahama Warbler. (Lucayan Estates, Grand Bahama; February 9, 2017.) © Larry Therrien
Bahama Warbler. (Lucayan Estates, Grand Bahama, Bahamas; April 21, 2007.) © Tom Benson
Notes
Monotypic species. Formerly considered a subspecies of Yellow-throated Warbler.
References
del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and J.S. Marks. 2019. Bahama Warbler (Setophaga flavescens). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/1344160. (Accessed April 6, 2019.)
Dunn, J.L., and K.L. Garrett. 1997. A Field Guide to Warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
eBird. 2019. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed April 6, 2019.)
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.