Basileuterus lachrymosus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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".
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.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the fan-tailed warbler was basal to the genus Basileuterus. Based on the study, in 2011 taxonomic systems began reassigning it to that genus. As of July 2026 the IOC, BirdLife International... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Warbler sighting in San Salvador on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 149th most-seen of the 153 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Warbler in San Salvador on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fan-tailed 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.
Only San Salvador, in our data
San Salvador is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Fan-tailed Warbler sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fan-tailed Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in San Salvador (5 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.
