Setophaga pensylvanica
Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The chestnut-sided warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern United States.
The chestnut-sided warbler was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla pensylvanica. Linnaeus based his account on the "Red-throated fly-catcher" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his book Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards had received specimens from the American naturalist William Bartram that had been collected in Pennsylvania. The chestnut-sided warbler is now one of more than 30 species placed in the genus Setophaga that was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalist William Swainson. The genus name Setophaga combines the Ancient Greek σης/sēs, σητος/sētos meaning "moth" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Setophaga icterocephala is a junior synonym of S. pennsylvanicus, and is no longer used. The... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sea Life Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-sided Warbler sighting in San José on a given day, based on 1,481 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 56th most-seen of the 379 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-sided Warbler in San José on a given day, against under 5% in May to August, the lowest months. That is one of San José's wettest months, with about 300 mm of rain against 20 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-sided Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 30 cities where we can rate Chestnut-sided Warbler sightings, San José ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Chicago (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Setophaga
The closest relatives of the Chestnut-sided Warbler that you can see in San José (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are Yellow Warbler (about 40%) and Northern Yellow Warbler (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-sided Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in San José (1,481 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
