Semper's warbler

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Speciesbox | name = Semper's warbler | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Leucopeza semperi'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T22721873A180049729 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22721873A180049729.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | image = LeucopezaSemperiSmit.jpg | image_caption = Illustration by Joseph Smit | genus = Leucopeza | parent_authority = Sclater, PL, 1876 | species = semperi | authority = Sclater, PL, 1876<ref>{{Cite journal | last=Sclater | first=P.L. | author-link=Philip Sclater | date=1876 | title=On some additional species of birds from St. Lucia, West Indies | journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | pages=13–14 [14] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29099104 }}</ref> }}

'''Semper's warbler''' ('''''Leucopeza semperi'''''), local name '''pied-blanc''',<ref name=":2" /> is a possibly extinct passerine bird of the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It is endemic to Saint Lucia, in the Lesser Antilles. It is the only species in the genus '''''Leucopeza'''''.

== Taxonomy == This bird was first described in 1876 by English zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater based on a specimen forwarded to him by the Reverend John E. Semper, an amateur ornithologist who lived in St. Lucia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Zoological Society of London. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28540886#page/42/mode/1up |title=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |last2=London |first2=Zoological Society of |last3=London |first3=Zoological Society of |date=1876 |publisher=Academic Press, [etc.] |volume=1876:Jan.-Apr. |location=London |pages=13–14}}</ref> Semper's warbler is the type species of the monotypic genus ''Leucopeza'', which Sclater introduced at the time of description.

The common name and Latin binomial name commemorate Rev. Semper.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beolens |first=Bo |title=Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds |author2=Watkins, Michael |publisher=Christopher Helm |year=2003 |location=London |page=307}}</ref> The genus name, ''Leucopeza'', combines the Ancient Greek ''leukos'' meaning "white" and ''peza'' meaning "foot".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jobling |first=James A. |url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n224/mode/1up |title=The Helm dictionary of scientific bird names [electronic resource]: from aalge to zusii |date=2010 |publisher=London : Christopher Helm |isbn=978-1-4081-3326-2 |page=224}}</ref>

==Description== Semper's warbler is about 14.5 centimetres (5.7 inches) in length. It has a dark gray head with a pale superciliary, dark gray upperparts, a grayish-white belly, and brown wings and tail, with a grayish olive-brown wash on its flanks. Its dark gray bill is long and pointed. First-year birds are brownish-gray above, with pale buffish brown underparts and a whiter throat. The long legs are pale white to yellow in coloration.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Curson |first=Jon |date=2020 |title=Semper's Warbler (Leucopeza semperi), version 1.0 |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/semwar1/cur/introduction |journal=Birds of the World |language=en |doi=10.2173/bow.semwar1.01 |issn=2771-3105|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Juveniles remain undescribed.

The song remains undescribed. The only documented calls consist of ''tuck-tick-tick-tuck'' noises, as well as chattering sounds made when an individual is alarmed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bond |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetobird00jame/mode/2up |title=A field guide to birds of the West Indies |last2=National Audubon Society |last3=National Wildlife Federation |last4=Roger Tory Peterson Institute |last5=Earl L. Poole |date=1993 |publisher=Boston : Houghton Mifflin |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-395-07431-2 |page=200}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== Semper's warbler is endemic to Saint Lucia, living in the undisturbed undergrowth of lower montane rainforests and elfin woodlands.<ref name="Curson">{{cite book |last1=Curson |first1=Jon |title=New World Warblers |last2=Quinn |first2=David |author-link2=David Quinn (bird artist) |last3=Beadle |first3=David |date=1995 |publisher=Christopher Helm |isbn=0-7136-3932-6 |location=London |page=186}}</ref> Most records of the species come from the Barre de l'Isle ridge, between Piton Flore and Piton Canaries.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Collar |first=N. J. |url=https://archive.org/details/icbpiucnreddatab00coll/mode/2up?view=theater |title=The ICBP/IUCN red data book |last2=International Council for Bird Preservation |last3=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |date=1985 |publisher=Cambridge, U.K. : International Council for Bird Preservation; Gland, Switzerland : International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-56098-267-8 |page=944}}</ref>

==Ecology and behavior== There is next to no information about the ecology of the Semper's warbler. Most if not all of its foraging activity took place in forest understory, generally close to the ground.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Curson |first=Jon |url=https://archive.org/details/newworldwarblers0000curs/mode/2up?view=theater |title=New World warblers |date=1994 |publisher=London : Christopher Helm |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7136-3932-2 |page=186}}</ref> It may nest on or near the ground.<ref name=":0" />

==Status== The Semper's warbler was locally common in the 19th century, but very few reports exist from the 20th century onwards. The introduction of mongooses in St. Lucia in 1884 in an attempt to control populations of fer-de-lance is a likely cause for decline, especially if it is a ground-nesting bird, as is habitat destruction and an increase in human disturbances of habitat following construction of agricultural feeder roads and land use conversion for agriculture.<ref name=":1" />

According to West Indian ornithologist James Bond, it was last collected on the summit of Piton Flores in 1934. Another report was from March 1947, where it was sighted between Piton Lacombe and Piton Canaries.<ref>Greenway, James (1967): ''Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World''</ref> The last confirmed sighting was in 1961, with unconfirmed sightings in 1965, 1989, 1995, and 2003. Some unexplored suitable habitat - montane or elfin forests - for the Semper's warbler does remain on St. Lucia, so it is possible that there is a small remaining population on the island.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * BirdLife International (2020). Species factsheet: [https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sempers-warbler-leucopeza-semperi Semper's Warbler ''Leucopeza semperi'']. Downloaded from datazone.birdlife.org on 03/05/2025.

Semper's warbler Category:Birds of Saint Lucia Category:Endemic fauna of Saint Lucia Semper's warbler Semper's warbler Category:Endemic birds of Saint Lucia