{"id":4207,"date":"2012-08-01T13:41:05","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T17:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=4207"},"modified":"2015-05-14T10:28:49","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T14:28:49","slug":"counterpoint-why-european-warblers-are-better-than-american-warblers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/counterpoint-why-european-warblers-are-better-than-american-warblers\/","title":{"rendered":"Counterpoint: 7 Ways European Warblers Outperform American Warblers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-medium alignnone\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/warblers21.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/warblers21.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/warblers21.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/warblers21-480x426.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"black and white photos of European and American warblers\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n                <figcaption><em>\u00a0If you focus on more than just color, European warblers have a lot going for them.\u00a0Images via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/birdshare\">Birdshare<\/a>: European warblers at left: Arctic Warbler by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/39177293@N03\/7389936410\/\">Bill Thompson<\/a>; Common Chiffchaff by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/etiennelfr\/6928418604\/\">Etienne Littlefair<\/a>; North American warblers at right: Blackburnian Warbler by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mudhen\/4001352867\/\">Danny Bales<\/a>; Prothonotary Warbler by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/a_wing_and_a_prayer\/7184862748\/\">A wing and a prayer<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p><em>Note: Science editor Gus Axelson recently posted about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/2012\/06\/29\/whos-got-the-best-warblers-and-why-europe-vs-america-edition\/\">the warblers of Europe don\u2019t exactly measure up to our spectacular American warblers<\/a>. That got the attention of Wesley Hochachka, who has birded extensively on both sides of the Atlantic\u2014and has even\u00a0visited Hortob\u00e1gy, the Hungarian town whose warblers prompted Gus\u2019s post. Here, Wes\u00a0argues the case for European warblers. For the record, he&#8217;s Canadian.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just to be clear, I don\u2019t have anything against American warblers (which are also called parulids, since they\u2019re in the family Parulidae). I\u2019ve even enjoyed summers doing field research with them, learning among other things that Virginia&#8217;s Warblers are the world&#8217;s most paranoid parents, while Red-faced Warblers are cute but not that bright. And I\u2019ve spent enough time in Europe to have become familiar with most of their warblers.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll admit that European warblers are not the most photogenic of birds. But if you look more than feather-deep, I maintain that in many ways they\u2019re more interesting than American warblers. Here are seven reasons why:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Know thyself<\/strong>: European warblers may confuse <em>us<\/em> by looking the same, but at least <em>they<\/em> aren&#8217;t confused themselves. Multiple species live in the same area without mixing up which species is which. Compare that with North American warblers which, in spite of all that flashy plumage, seem unable to tell themselves apart consistently. <a href=\"http:\/\/elibrary.unm.edu\/sora\/Auk\/v084n04\/p0534-p0543.pdf\">Can a Blackpoll Warbler really be so oblivious that it can\u2019t tell it has mated with a Northern Waterthrush?<\/a>\u00a0 Seriously? And that\u2019s just one of a long line of strange parulid hybrids that have turned up over the years.<span id=\"more-4207\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Textbook species<\/strong>: Once you get to know the European warblers well, you could literally write a whole textbook on evolutionary biology, community ecology, and evolutionary ecology talking about them alone. And I do mean literally\u2014that book was published a few months ago, and it covers this wide range of topics using just a <em>subset<\/em> of the Old World warblers:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.knnvuitgeverij.nl\/EN\/webwinkel\/birds\/0\/13812 \">The Reed Warblers: Diversity in a Uniform Bird Family<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Delectable difficulty<\/strong>: I think European warblers demand (and reward) the close attention of birders, who must consider slight habitat differences, subtle variations in vocalizations, slight behavioral cues, and minimal differences in hues of legs and plumage. What\u2019s the greatest challenge with identifying most breeding-plumage parulids? That\u2019s little more than orienting yourself in the correct direction and opening your eyes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Location, location, location<\/strong>: North Americans aren\u2019t immune to the joys of difficult identifications\u2014but lacking European warblers to challenge them, they are forced to turn to gulls. (Many gulls, I personally think, don&#8217;t even believe in the species concept, let alone abide by it.), This leads to American birders clambering around in garbage dumps to satisfy their ID-lust. In Europe, birders can do all this in the civility of a nice shady copse or garden. Personally, I&#8217;d say that European warblers are a birder&#8217;s bird.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Researchers\u2019 muses:<\/strong> European warblers have made their mark in ornithology in ways American parulids never have. Was a deeper and clearer understanding of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v358\/n6386\/abs\/358493a0.html\">the ecological constraints leading to cooperative breeding<\/a> the result of studies of parulids? No, this came from the Old World Seychelles Warbler. Did we learn that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.springerlink.com\/content\/vq57882787982612\/?MUD=MP\">migratory navigation is genetically hard-wired<\/a> from studying parulids? No again\u2014that claim to fame goes to Blackcaps in Germany. What have we learned about the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v407\/n6801\/full\/407183a0.html\">evolution of obligate brood parasitism<\/a> from parulids and cowbirds? Not a whole lot relative to the elegant work on Common Cuckoos parasitizing Eurasian Reed-warblers and other species. What about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/307\/5708\/414\">mind-bending, species-blurring concepts like ring species<\/a> (a sort of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chinese_whispers\">game of telephone<\/a>\u00a0played with genes)? Was this discovered with parulids? Nope, much of the foundational work was done on Old World warblers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Trailblazing adventurers<\/strong>: Old World warblers have even colonized the New World\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/arctic_warbler\/id\">Arctic Warbler<\/a> breeds from Scandinavia across Russia and into Alaska. (In an extra show of chops, these Alaskan birds migrate back from the Western Hemisphere to southeast Asia each winter.) And then there\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/wrentit\/id\">Wrentit<\/a>: an Old World warbler that lives exclusively in the New World. It\u2019s been hanging out in coastal California and Oregon for\u2026 oh, only about the last several million years. In contrast, parulids have yet to establish any breeding populations outside of the Americas.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Stamina:<\/strong> How long is a parulid\u2019s song? Maybe five seconds.\u00a0And they keep repeating the same song they learned from dad (and various neighbouring males) all their lives.\u00a0Compare that to the Eurasian River Warbler of central Europe. It sings a single song\u2014not a series of songs, but one continuous vocalization\u2014for periods of time that you can measure in the tens of minutes [<a href=\"http:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/audio\/36176\/locustella-fluviatilis-eurasian-river-warbler-netherlands-groningen-arnoud-van-den-berg\">listen<\/a>]. For versatility there&#8217;s the Marsh Warbler, which intermixes its own notes with imitations of dozens of African and European species [<a href=\"http:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/audio\/71611\/acrocephalus-palustris-marsh-warbler-netherlands-noord-holland-arnoud-van-den-berg\">listen<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Basically, what I&#8217;m saying is that Old World warblers\u2014with their subtle background hues, abstinence from garish markings, and all\u2014deserve a lot more respect than that for which a North American bird watcher might give them credit. Anybody want to catch the warblers in Europe next spring? The opportunity to sample Europe&#8217;s diverse cuisines, old cultures, and millennia worth of historical sites\u2026 those would just be distractions from the birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Note: Science editor Gus Axelson recently posted about how the warblers of Europe don\u2019t exactly measure up to our spectacular American warblers. That got the attention of Wesley Hochachka, who<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/counterpoint-why-european-warblers-are-better-than-american-warblers\/\" title=\"ReadCounterpoint: 7 Ways European Warblers Outperform American Warblers\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,15,42],"tags":[141,1089,149,311,645,941,947],"topic":[1042,998],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[1063],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-4207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-discussion","category-you-tell-us","tag-birding","tag-birds","tag-birdwatching","tag-europe","tag-north-america","tag-warblers","tag-wesley-hochachka","topic-bird-watching-news-and-features","topic-news-and-features","content-format-article","cornell-lab-project-bird-population-studies"],"metadata":{"_edit_last":["2","2","2","2","2","2","2"],"_thumbnail_id":["10534"],"associated-posts":[""],"dsq_thread_id":["4029885325"],"_edit_lock":["1435778042:1"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"_wds_meta-robots-adv":[",,,"],"custom-byline":["<em>By 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