Bird first discovered in SC is officially extinct, US Fish and Wildlife Service says

Patrick McCreless
·2 min read
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The Bachman’s warbler, first identified in South Carolina nearly 200 years ago, is likely extinct, federal officials announced on Monday.

The rare North American songbird was one of 21 species delisted from the Endangered Species Act due to extinction, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most of the species were listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 80s and were in very low numbers or likely already extinct at time of listing, the agency wrote in a Monday press release.

“Federal protection came too late to reverse these species’ decline, and it’s a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late,” Service Director Martha Williams said in the press release. “As we commemorate 50 years of the Endangered Species Act this year, we are reminded of the Act’s purpose to be a safety net that stops the journey toward extinction. The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act’s protection.”

To view the full list of 21 extinct species, click here.

The Bachman’s warbler in SC

Much of the history of the Bachman’s warbler is tied to South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Encyclopedia. Described as having a distinctive bright-yellow face and a dark, curved beak, the bird was discovered by the Rev. John Bachman in 1832 on the Edisto River, a few miles north of Jacksonborough. John J. Audubon painted a male of the species in 1833 and named it after Bachman.

The bird was believed to have been a common species in the Southeast, inhabiting the edges or open interiors of swamps. By 1900, the species had become rare, possibly because of extensive destruction of hardwood swamps for agriculture, the South Carolina Encyclopedia notes.

While the bird was just officially declared extinct, the last acceptable report of it being sighted was in 1958, when it was photographed in Charleston County. Still, in 1967, the Bachman’s warbler was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act.