Basileuterus
Basileuterus is a genus of New World warblers, best represented in Central and South America. This is one of only two warbler genera that are well represented in the latter continent. Some species formerly considered in this genus are now placed in the genus Myiothlypis. It is likely that the ancestors of this genus colonised South America from the family's heartland in northern Central America even before the two continents were linked, and subsequent speciation provided most of the resident warbler species of that region.
These are mainly robust warblers with a stout bill. The majority of species have olive or grey upperparts and yellow underparts. The head is often strikingly marked with a long broad supercilium, a coloured crown or crown stripes, and often other striking head markings.
Many species are not well-studied, but those for which the breeding habits are known all build a domed nest on a bank or on the ground, so this is presumably typical of the genus as a whole.
Taxonomy
The genus Basileuterus was introduced in 1848 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis to accommodate a single species, Basileuterus vermivorus Cabanis. This is a junior synonym of Setophaga auricapilla Swainson, now treated as a subspecies of the golden-crowned warbler. The genus name is from an Ancient Greek bird name βασιλευτερος/basileuteros meaning "more kingly".Formerly, the two members of the genus Phaeothlypis were sometimes included in Basileuterus.
Species
The genus contains 12 species.| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
| Fan-tailed warbler | Basileuterus lachrymosus | Mexico to Nicaragua | |
| Rufous-capped warbler | Basileuterus rufifrons | Mexico to centra Guatemala | |
| Chestnut-capped warbler | Basileuterus delattrii | south Guatemala to north Colombia and west Venezuela | |
| Black-cheeked warbler | Basileuterus melanogenys | Costa Rica and west Panama | |
| Pirre warbler | Basileuterus ignotus | east Panama and northwest Colombia | |
| Golden-browed warbler | Basileuterus belli | Mexico to Honduras | |
| Golden-crowned warbler | Basileuterus culicivorus | Mexico and south through Central America to northeastern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad | |
| Black-eared warbler | Basileuterus melanotis | Costa Rica and west Panama | |
| Tacarcuna warbler | Basileuterus tacarcunae | east Panama and northwest Colombia | |
| Three-banded warbler | Basileuterus trifasciatus | Ecuador and Peru | |
| Yungas warbler | Basileuterus punctipectus | southeast Peru to south-central Bolivia | |
| Three-striped warbler | Basileuterus tristriatus | Venezuela to central Peru |