Dendroica Departing

As reported in the blog by Kenn Kaufman, the genus Dendroica will cease to exist based on the decision of the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists’ Union.  Basically, genetics dictated the regrouping.

At the Francis Beidler Forest, we have several residents that will be undergoing a name change, including the Black-throated Blue Warbler we saw out the office window in October 2009.  The species names will remain the same, but the genus name will be changed as shown in the [name].

Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia) [Setophaga magnolia]
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens) - images [Setophaga caerulescens]
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) - images [Setophaga coronata]
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens) [Setophaga virens]
Yellow-throated Warbler (Dendroica dominica) - images [Setophaga dominica]
Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus) - images [Setophaga pinus]
Prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor) [Setophaga discolor]
Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) [Setophaga striata]

A brief summary of the changes can be found in Kenn Kaufman's blog.

On a completely different note, one class from today's Charleston County School of the Arts group located all five species of snakes along the boardwalk!

Images by Mark Musselman