Archives

The updates for 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 have been archived separately.

The information below includes the date and a brief description of each significant change, a link to the relevant page, and that page's updated version number. Neither minor spelling corrections nor additions to the references are noted on this page.

December 2009

December 31

Many of these changes are prompted by version 2.3 of the IOC list.

The Bornean Swiftlet, Collocalia dodgei, is split from Cave Swiftlet, Collocalia linchi. See Moyle et al. (2008).
[Apodidae, Apodiformes, 2.52]

Due to Bolton (2007), I've split the Band-rumped Storm-Petrels into several parts, one of which doesn't have an established English name.

Note that I haven't gone as far as splitting Grant's Storm-Petrel.
[Hydrobatidae, Pelecanae II, 2.52]

The order Upupiformes, which corresponds to Sibley-Ahlquist-Monroe's Bucerotimorphae, has been renamed Bucerotiformes to match usage in the IOC list and Tree of Life. [Bucerotiformes, Anomalogonates I, 2.52d]

I'm following the IOC split of Velasquez's Woodpecker, Melanerpes santacruzi, from Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, based on Garcia-Trejo et al. (2009). I have also rearranged Melanerpes a bit in line with their analysis, and that of Overton and Rhoades (2006).
[Picidae, Piciformes, 2.53]

Maghreb Lark, Galerida randonii, is another IOC split, this time from Crested Lark, Galerida cristata. See Guillaumet et al. (2005, 2006, 2008).
[Alaudidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.51]

Another IOC change is to split Rufous-backed Wren, Campylorhynchus capistratus, and Sclater's Wren, Campylorhynchus humilis, from Rufous-naped Wren, Campylorhynchus rufinucha. See Vázquez-Miranda et al. (2009).
[Troglodytidae, Certhioidea, 2.51]

I also recognize the IOC split of Bahama Oriole, Icterus northropi, from Cuban Oriole, Icterus dominicensis. See Sturge (2009). The AOU's NACC lumps these and some other West Indian orioles as Greater Antillean Oriole, Icterus dominicensis. I also reconsidered the case of Ochre Oriole, Icterus fuertesi, splitting it from Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, to try to maintain a consistent standard.
[Icteridae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.52]

December 20

The latest IOC list (2.3) has prompted a number of changes. Others are still under consideration. For most of today's splits I had been waiting to see what IOC would do before going ahead with them.

Hainan Peacock-Pheasant, Polyplectron katsumatae, has been split from Gray Peacock-Pheasant, Polyplectron bicalcaratum, based on Chang et al. (2008).
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.52]

Willard's Sooty-Boubou, Laniarius willardi, has been split from Mountain Sooty-Boubou, Laniarius poensis based on Voelker et al. (2010b).
[Malaconotidae, Corvida I, 2.54]

The Bronze Parotia, Parotia berlepschi, has been split from Queen Carola's Parotia, Parotia carolae, as in HBW-14.
[Paradisaeidae, Corvida II, 2.55]

David's Fulvetta, Alcippe davidi, Yunnan Fulvetta, Alcippe fratercula, and Huet's Fulvetta, Alcippe hueti, have been split from Gray-cheeked Fulvetta, Alcippe morrisonia, based on Zou et al. (2007) and Song et al. (2009).
[Pellorneidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.52]

Both Shelly's Sparrow, Passer shelleyi, and Kordofan Sparrow, Passer cordofanicus, have been split from Kenya Sparrow, Passer rufocinctus, as in HBW-14.
Passeridae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.51]

There are two spelling corrections to scientific names: Gray-chested Dove, Leptotila cassinii, not cassini, and Himalayan Owl, Strix nivicolum, not nivicola. I haven't yet decided what to do with the Dwarf Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus nainus. IOC has joined the large group using nanus. However, it is not at all clear to me that this is correct. See zoonomen.net.

IOC has switched to the AOU names for the following species, which allows me to eliminate the double names: Lesser (Darwin's) Rhea, Rhea pennata, Yellow-billed (Speckled) Teal, Anas flavirostris, Helmeted (Southern Helmeted) Curassow, Pauxi pauxi, Horned (Northern Helmeted) Curassow, Pauxi unicornis, Blue-billed (Blue-knobbed) Curassow, Crax alberti, Red-billed (Red-knobbed) Curassow, Crax blumenbachii, Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Ruby Topaz), Chrysolampis mosquitus, (Black-breasted) Plovercrest, Stephanoxis lalandi, Speckled Rail (Crake), Coturnicops notatus, Gray (Gray-lined) Hawk, Asturina nitida, White-tailed (Western White-tailed) Trogon, Trogon chionurus, Green-backed (Amazonian White-tailed) Trogon, Trogon viridis, and Maroon-bellied (Reddish-bellied) Parakeet, Pyrrhura frontalis.

IOC has also changed a number of other English names. The corresponding new names on the TIF list follow with the old names in parentheses. Chinese (Severtzov's) Grouse, Tetrastes sewerzowi, Pinon's (Pinon) Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula pinon, Zoe's (Zoe) Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula zoeae, Yellowish (Bismarck) Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula subflavescens, New Caledonian (Red-crowned) Parakeet, Cyanoramphus saisseti, Red-crowned (Red-fronted) Parakeet, Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae, Kawall's Parrot / Kawall's (White-cheeked) Amazon, Amazona kawalli, d'Orbigny's Chat-Tyrant/ D'Orbigny's Chat-Tyrant, Ochthoeca oenanthoides, where IOC added the variant spelling, Papuan Black Myzomela (Black Myzomela), Myzomela nigrita, Red-headed Myzomela / Black-bellied Myzomela (Myzomela erythrocephala), where the first name is used in Australia, African Shrike-flycatcher (Shrike-flycatcher), Megabyas flammulatus, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher (Flycatcher), Bias musicus, Stripe-headed Rhabdornis (Creeper), Rhabdornis mystacalis, Stripe-breasted Rhabdornis (Creeper), Rhabdornis inornatus, Long-billed Rhabdornis (Creeper), Rhabdornis grandis, Red-and-black (Peleng) Thrush, Geokichla mendenik Green-backed (Chinese) Flycatcher, Ficedula elisae, Eastern Golden-Weaver (Yellow Weaver), Ploceus subaureus, Holub's (African) Golden-Weaver, Ploceus xanthops, Cuckoo Finch (Weaver), Anomalospiza imberbis, Pictorella Mannikin (Munia), Heteromunia pectoralis. and Sind (Jungle) Sparrow, Passer pyrrhonotus.

December 18

The family name for the New Zealand Parrots has been changed to Strigopidae from Nestoridae. It seems that Strigopidae has had priority since Bonaparte (1850, vol. 1, p. 8).
[strigopidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.52]

December 14

Corrected position of Heliolais. The csv file has also been fixed.
[Cisticolidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.55]

December 13

The scientific name of the Large Woodshrike has been corrected to Tephrodornis virgatus (was T. gularis). The gender of the two Philentoma has also been corrected.
[Vangidae, Corvida I, 2.53]

December 10

I've adjusted the position of the Rheas due to Phillips et al. (2010).
[Paleognaths, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.52]

The cranes have been rearranged based on Krajewski et al. (2010).
[Gruidae, Pelecanae I, 2.53]

The Greater Scythebill moves to a new genus, Drymotoxeres (Claramunt et al., 2010). The remaining Campylorhamphus scythebills have been reordered. I've also expanded the text and made a few corrections, including bringing the text and diagrams back in agreement.
[Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.54]

December 9

The manakins have been revised based on a tree due to Hackett in recent paper by Anciães and Peterson (2009). This has allowed me to include a species-level phylogeny. I've adjusted the genus limits, with several Neopelma moving to Tyranneutes, Corapipo merged into Masius, Chloropipo separated from Xenopipo (with X. holochlora moving to Lepidothrix), and Dixiphia, Ceratopipra, and Machaeropterus all being merged into Pipra.
[Pipridae, Tyrannida I, 2.51]

The newly discovered Limestone Leaf-Warbler, Seicercus calciatilis, (Phylloscopus calciatilis) has been added to the list (Alström et al., 2010). I changed the genus name because it falls in the Seicercus branch of Phylloscopus + Seicercus.
[Phylloscopidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.54]

The English name Yellow-shouldered Oriole, Icterus pyrrhopterus, has been changed to Variable Oriole.
[Icteridae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.51]

December 8

A hypothetical species-level phylogeny has been added for the fantails, based on Nyári et al. (2009).
[Rhipiduridae, Corvida II, 2.54a]

December 7

I updated the Maluridae to match the csv file of Aug 17. I've also moved some of the Acanthizidae around. This is partly due to the recent paper by Norman et al. (2009b), partly by looking at older papers such as Nicholls et al. (2000), and partly from a closer reading of Christidis and Boles (2008). As a result, I also now use their generic limits, with the heathwrens in Hylacola and the Speckled Warbler in Chthonicola.
[Maluridae, Basal Oscines, 2.52;
Acanthizidae, Basal Oscines, 2.52]

The fantails have been reordered based on Nyári et al. (2009).
[Rhipiduridae, Corvida II, 2.54]

Another change due to Norman et al. (2009b) involves the Australasian robins, where the ground-robins have been moved to the head of the family list.
[Petroicidae, Basal Passerida, 2.52]

December 5

The recent paper by Irestedt et al. (2009b) has lead to several changes in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. The split of Margarornini and Pygarrhichadini is now supported by both Moyle et al. (2009b) and Irestedt et al. (2009b), with Margarornini now placed following Philydorini. The two papers differ on the position of Furnariini, but Irestedt et al.'s placement is more strongly supported, so Furnariini now follows Margarornini. The previously un-sequenced Clibanornis has been moved from Synallaxini to Philydorini, sister to Hylocryptus. In Synallaxini, Sylviorthorhynchus has been merged into Leptasthenura. Irestedt et al. provide further information on the Asthenes situation. It is clear that the previous version was paraphyletic, even though some species had been moved elsewhere. Irestedt et al. provide further information and I've made some educated guesses about which clades are monophyletic. Some of Asthenes has moved into Siptornoides, and some into Schizoeaca. Schizoeaca has also absorbed Oreophylax.
[Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.53]

November 2009

November 30

The English name of Aegotheles salvadorii has been corrected to Salvadori's Owlet-nightjar.
[Aegothelidae 2.51a]

Psilorhamphus has been moved next to Liosceles as in Ericson et al. (2010).
[Rhinocryptidae, Furnariida II, 2.52]

The scientific name of Socotra Cisticola has been correccted to Cisticola haesitatus.
[Cisticolidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.53a]

November 26

I've made some changes to the Asian bulbuls (Pycnonotinae) based on the MA thesis by Oliveros (2009). Highlights include merging Brachypodius and Euptilosus into Microtarsus and moving the Philippine members of Ixos into Hypsipetes (which now includes Microscelis).
[Pycnonotidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.53]

November 22

Bonaccorso et al. (2010) has been incorporated into the treatment of the Cyanocorax and Psilorhinus jays. As a result, Calocitta has been included in Psilorhinus. The paper also gave another piece of evidence in favor of splitting Green Jay, Cyanocorax luxuosus, and Inca Jay, Cyanocorax yncas. I have taken the opportunity to do so.
[Corvidae, Corvida II, 2.53]

November 21

The hummingbird tribe Lesbiini (Coquettes), which previously contained many taxa that had not been sequenced, has been rearranged using Kirchman et al. (2009). As part of this rearrangement, Chalcostigma and Oreonympha have been merged into Oxypogon. Further, the Bogota Sunangel now needs a new genus name.
[Trochilidae, Metaves III, Apodiformes, 2.51]

The spelling of the scientific name of the White-tailed Warbler has been corrected to Poliolais lopesi (from lopezi).
[Cisticolidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.52b]

The Muscicapidae, which remain in an unsatisfactory state, have had some improvements made based on the recent papers by Bowie, R. Outlaw, and Voelker. One paper, Voelker et al. (2010), led to some rearrangement of the forest-robins. This resulted in the disappearance of Dryocichloides, now folded into Sheppardia, and the addition of the Olive-flanked Robin-Chat to Caffrornis (they prefer the genus name Callene, but I can't see how that can be correct). A second paper by the same group, Outlaw et al. (2010), analyzed the chats and wheatears. As a result, Oenanthe has expanded at the expense of Cercomela, with the remaining Cercomela moving to Emarginata. They also found that the Mountain Wheatear is not part of Oenanthe. For the present, I've put it in the monotypic genus Dromolaea. Finally, the Moorland Chat is now in a monotypic genus, Pinarochroa. Of course, all this led to some further rearrangement, as did their close look at Oenanthe. The results are on the Muscicapoidea II page.
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.52]

The Thraupinae section of the Tanagers has had some changes as a result of Sedano and Burns (2010). Most notably, Thaupis and Buthraupis have been distributed among other genera.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.53]

November 20

The family name Megaluridae has been corrected to Locustellidae as used in the latest BOU taxonomic recommendations.
[Locustellidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.50b]

November 16

The temporary genus designation Myiophobus2 has been replaced by Nephelomyias, as proposed by Ohlson et al. (2009) in today's Zootaxa.
[Tyrannidae: Tyrannida II, 2.52]

November 12

I've updated the ducks, geese, and swans based on Gonzalez et al. (2009b)
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.51]

November 4

Pachycephala has be re-ordered to better match Jøsson et al. (2010).
[Pachycephalidae, Corvida I, 2.52]

October 2009

Birding in Australia, no updates this month.

September 2009

September 18

Rubeho Warbler, Scepomycter rubehoensis, is split from Winifred's Warbler, Scepomycter winifredae, based on Bowie et al. (2009).
[Cisticolidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.52]

September 16

The Paradisaeidae have been reordered based on Irestedt et al. (2009). Two species of Ptiloris have been moved to Lophorina as a result.
[Paradisaeidae, Corvida II, 2.52]

September 10

The Common Gallinule, Gallinula galeata, of the New World and Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, of the Old World have been split.
[Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.52]

Anticipating SACC decisions, hyphens have been removed from: Rufous Crab Hawk, Buteogallus aequinoctialis; Many-colored Rush Tyrant, Tachuris rubrigastra; Crowned Slaty Flycatcher, Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus; Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant, Muscipipra vetula Drab Water Tyrant, Ochthornis littoralis; Short-tailed Field Tyrant, Muscigralla brevicauda; Many-colored Chaco Finch, Saltatricula multicolor; Black-backed Bush Tanager, Cnemoscopus rubrirostris; Long-tailed Reed Finch, Donacospiza albifrons; and Gray-hooded Bush Tanager, Cnemoscopus rubrirostris. I have also removed a hyphen from White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Arundinicola leucocephala, which has been added to the SACC proposal.

To better conform with the IOC list, hyphens were also removed from Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher, Corythornis madagascariensis; Spot-breasted Pied Woodpecker, Dendrocopos analis; Stresemann's Bush Crow, Zavattariornis stresemanni; Moustached Grass Warbler, Melocichla mentalis; Ja River Scrub Warbler, Bradypterus grandis; Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Bradypterus cinnamomeus; White-throated Mountain Babbler, Kupeornis gilberti; Fiscal Flycatcher, Sigelus silens; Angolan Cave Chat, Xenocopsychus ansorgei; and Congo Moor Chat, Myrmecocichla tholloni.

September 7

Snowy Plover, Charadrius nivosus, is split from Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, based on Küpper et al. (2009).
[Charadriidae, Charadriiformes, 2.52]

The order of the Myiopagis Elaenias has been adjusted to match Rheindt et al. (2009b).
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.51]

September 2

Witt (2004) provides a phylogeny for the Motmots, Jacamars, and Puffbirds. All three families have been rearranged accordingly. The Highland Motmot, Momotus aequatorialis, has been split from the Blue-crowned Motmot, Momotus momota. Additional splits from M. momota are likely.
[Momotidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.52;
Galbulidae, Anomalogonates II, 2.52;
Bucconidae, Anomalogonates II, 2.52]

September 1

The recent paper by Braun and Huddleston (2009) includes all of the potoos. As a result the Rufous Potoo, Nyctibius bracteatus, is now moved to the front of the potoos.
[Nyctibiidae, Metaves II: Strisores, 2.52]

Based on Mauck and Burns (2009), I've moved the Indigo Flower-piercer to Diglossa (from Diglossopis) and rearranged the species in Diglossopis and Diglossa.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.52]

August 2009

August 28

I've updated the English names using version 2.2 of the IOC list. Many of the changes are concentrated in the New Guinea region, where they are coordinating with local checklist compliers. These name changes affect the following familes:

Following IOC 2.2 and BLI, I split the Enggano Scops Owl, Otus enganensis from Simeulue Scops-Owl, Otus umbra; Bougainville Crow, Corvus meeki, from White-billed Crow, Corvus woodfordi; and Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis bakeri, from White-breasted Parrotbill, Paradoxornis ruficeps (formerly Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill).
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.51;
Corvidae, Corvida II, 2.51].

While making the IOC updates, I also corrected the spelling of Macronus (Timaliidae).

I've incorporated Schwiezer et al. (2009) into the parrot page. This places a couple of the genera a bit more solidly, but muddies the waters concerning the arrangement, but not composition, of the subfamilies and tribes. As a result, they've moved about some.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.51]

The recently established genus Geocerthia (Chesser et al., 2009) has been separated from Upucerthia.
Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.51].

August 22

The order of the Ramphastos toucans has been adjusted to conform with Patané et al. (2009).
[Ramphastidae, Piciformes, 2.51]

August 19

There are two changes from the SACC. They have changed the name of the Diademed Plover back to Diademed Sandpiper-Plover and have split the Gray-throated Warbling-Finch, Poospiza cabanisi, from Red-rumped Warbling-Finch, Poospiza lateralis, with the latter now called Buff-throated Warbling Finch.
[Charadriidae, Charadriiformes, 2.51
Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.51]

August 17

I have finished the current upgrade cycle, adding as many genus-level trees as I could. The taxonomy now seems more stable, so I'm calling the result version 2.5 and have updated the file version numbers accordingly. The list comparison has not been updated, and so still uses the old numbers.

August 15

There are a couple of corrections to scientific names. The genus Kieneria is replaced by Pyrgisoma and Acanthidops bairdii becomes Acanthidops bairdi.
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.14d; Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.16a]

August 14

The last few Orioles have been rearranged based on Sturge et al. (2009), which has slightly better taxon sampling than Omland et al. (1999).
[Icteridae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.15]

August 2

At this point, the upgrade to genus-level phylogenies is done and the csv files have been updated accordingly. There are still 18 families that lack such a phylogeny. In some cases I've tried to develop one, but the resulting tree seemed just too shaky to use. There was too much guesswork. These families will have to wait until I get more information about them. In most cases, that means waiting for it to be published.

The Tyrannidae have been revised. This is based on a number of papers, including Ohlson et al. (2008), Rheindt et al. (2008a), Tello and Bates (2007), and the recent Tello et al. (2009). A preliminary version of the changes had been inadvertently posted earlier, so I bumped the version again to distinguish them.
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.06]

July 2009

July 31

The storks have been handled using Slikas (1997).
[Ciconiidae, Pelecanae II, 2.28]

I've provided a genus-level tree for Certhioidea. This led to putting the Wallcreeper first, and to reversing the two gnatwren genera.
[Certhioidea, 2.14]

July 30

I've adjusted the position of the Tui Parakeet, Brotogeris sanctithomae, based on the forthcoming paper by Ribas et al. (2009).
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes and Psittaciformes, 2.21]

I added the recently described Bare-faced Bulbul, Pycnonotus hualon (Woxvold et al., 2009). Where exactly this goes in Pycnonotus is unclear and I have temporarily placed it at the end until more information is available. As the authors note, Pycnonotus itself needs revision.
[Pycnonotidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.16]

July 27

A forthcoming paper by Amaral et al. (2009) allows me to refine the treatment of the Buteoninae. A few species move slightly, but the overall picture is pretty similar. They recommend a number of the taxonomic changes previously included in this list, and also name two new genera in order to avoid having a large Buteogallus genus. Comparison of their results with others suggests to me that the position of the Gray Hawk is not as certain as it might be, and that its better to put it in Asturina, as it was only a few years ago.
[Accipitridae, Accipitrimorphae, 2.15]

I've been incorporating the forthcoming paper by Tello et al. (2009). The first set of changes involves the Pipridae (Manakins). They have been reordered and the genera Dixiphia and Ceratopipra have been separated from Pipra. There have been some minor adjustments to the Cotingidae (Cotingas). They also provide additional support for including the Myiobius group and the Sharpbill in Tityridae (Tityras and Becards). I have also decided this is a good time to reverse the order of Tyrannida and Furnariida, putting the larger group (Furnariida) last.
[pipridae & cotingidae, Tyrannida I, 2.06]

July 26

The herons have been reordered some, incorporating Chang et al. (2003). As a result Casmerodius has been split from Ardea and Dupetor merged into Ixobrychus.
[Ardeidae, Pelecanae II, 2.27]

The Oreoicidae are now arranged as in Dumbacher et al. (2008).
[Oreoicidae, Corvida I, 2.19]

July 25

I've added a phylogenetic tree for the vireos, and reordered them accordingly.
[Vireonidae, Corvida I, 2.18]

July 24

The Galliformes have been updated. Some of the changes are to insure that the linear order is properly constructed. The Megapodes have been rearranged based on Birks and Edwards (2002), while the New World quail are based on the tree in Eo et al. (2009).
[Galliformes, 2.09]

July 23

A couple of the Sturnidae genera (Notopholia and Hylopsar) have moved as a result of tree construction.
[Sturnidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.17]

July 22

The family of the day is Cettiidae, which I've rearranged. It seemed best to revive the genus Horeites for most members of Cettia.
[Cettiidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.15]

July 21

The genera Oporornis and Geothlypis have been rearranged based on Escalante et al. (2009). Further, the Chiriqui Yellowthroat, Geothlypis chiriquensis, Black-lored Yellowthroat, Geothlypis auricularis, and Southern Yellowthroat, Geothlypis velata, are split from Masked Yellowthroat, Geothlypis aequinoctialis; Baird's Yellowthroat, Geothlypis bairdi, is split from Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, Geothlypis semiflava.
[Parulidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.14]

July 20

The minivets (Pericrocotus) have been rearranged based on Jønsson et al. (2009).
[Campephagidae, Corvida I, 2.17]

July 18

The linear order in the Icteridae also did not quite follow the rules. Nesopsar and Agelaius have moved up a couple of spots to fix this.
[Icteridae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.13]

July 17

Although the Cardinalidae had a species-level tree, I hadn't noticed that the linear order didn't follow the rules until I added a genus-level tree. The relatively large genus Piranga has been moved down a bit.
[Cardinalidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.16]

July 16

The Psittaciformes are the latest order to get a genus tree. The big adjustments do not reflect phylogenetic changes, but are due to the strictly applying the rules I'm using for forming a linear order from a tree. Two exceptions are Nymphicus and Callocephalon. Most of the rest of the actual changs are in the Arini, involving Cyanoliseus, Enicognathus, Rhynchopsitta, and Ognorhynchus (which is uncertainly placed).
[Psittaciformes, Falconiformes and Psittaciformes, 2.20]

July 15

The addition of a genus tree for the Anseriformes led to some adjustments in the ducks and geese. The genera that moved in the tree are: Plectropterus, Nettapus, Coscoroba, Cereopsis, and Salvadorina. The linear order of Mergellus, Pteronetta, and Cyanochen changed, but the underlying phylogeny remained unchanged.
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.18]

July 14

The Accipitriformes now have a genus-level tree. I made some adjustments in the species order within Accipitridae. This affected Gyps (Ashad et al., 2009), the two Harpagus kites (now in a separate subfamily), and I switched the order of the buteos and accipiters because the accipiter are a larger group. There were also minor adjustments to the position of Chelictinia, Milvus, Megatriorchis and Erythrotriorchis.
[Accipitridae, Accipitrimorphae, 2.14]

July 10

Much of the tree-building is now done, although some large groups are still left. Again, I'll only note those where I moved genera about: hummingbirds, mousebirds, woodpeckers, manakins, tityras, vangas, shrike, penduline-tits, long-tailed tits, and bulbuls.

I also rearranged the Coeligena hummingbirds based on a new paper by Parra et al. (2009).
[Trochilidae, Metaves III, 2.04]

July 8

I continue to add trees for various families. Some of these cause some reordering in the various families involved.

July 7

I've added a genus-level tree for the Coraciiformes. This lead to some reordering in both Coraciidae and Alcedinidae.
[Coraciiformes, Anomalogonates I, 2.19].

I also reversed the order of the two genera in Phoeniculidae.
[Phoeniculidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.19].

Bar-winged Cinclodes, Cinclodes fuscus, is split into Buff-winged Cinclodes, Cinclodes fuscus, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Cinclodes albidiventris, and Cream-winged Cinclodes, Cinclodes albiventris, based on Sanín et al. (2009).
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.14]

I've added a phylogenetic tree for the berrypeckers, and reordered the genera appropriately. The two genera in the satinbirds have also been swapped (smallest first).
[Melanocharitidae,
Cnemophilidae, Basal Passerida, 2.03]

July 5

The csv files have been updated.

July 4

A comprehensive genus-level tree for the Charadriiformes has been added. I also adjusted the position of some families to conform to the rules I'm using for constructing linear orders. This also affected the internal ordering of the avocets & stilts, plovers, painted-snipes, coursers & buttonquail, pratincoles, alcids, and terns. The species are the same, and in the same families. Some are just arranged a bit differently.
[Charadriiformes, 2.11]

The addition of trees for the orioles and whistlers resulted in some minor rearrangement of the whistlers.
[Oriolidae; Pachycephalidae, Corvida I, 2.15]

July 3

I added genus-level trees for the Climacterida and Maluridae. This involved some rearrangement of both the Ptilonorhynchidae and Maluridae.
[Ptilonorhynchidae; Maluridae, Basal Oscines, 2.07]

I also added a genus-level tree for Passeridae, but no rearrangement was required.
[Passeridae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.12h]

July 2

The Artamidae have been reordered and simplified.
[Artamidae, Corvida I, 2.14]

A recent paper by Fuchs et al. (2009) confirms Nyári et al.'s (2009) analysis that the Yellow-bellied Fantail is one of the Stenostiridae. As a result, I've added a tree for the Stenostiridae, and a little biogeographic discussion.
[Stenostiridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.19]

July 1

A genus-level tree has been added for the cuckoos. The Centropodinae now follow the Couinae (smaller group first).
[Cuculidae, Pelecanae I, 2.15]

I'm adopting ten splits that both IOC and BLI accept.

June 2009

June 30

Using the recent paper by Moyle et al. (2009), I've rearranged the entire Furnariida (especially the antbirds).
[Furnariida I, 2.02; Furnariida II, 2.13]

June 27

A second English name was added for a handful of Australian species in order to better match Christidis and Boles (2008).

The Torresian Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula spilorrhoa, has been split from Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula bicolor. It didn't make sense to not include this while including other members of the bicolor superspecies.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.16].

I added a fair amount of text concerning possible splits of the Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers.
[Parulidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.12]

I've incorporated the new paper by Burns and Racicot (2009) about Tachyphonini. The Tachyphonini have been rearranged and gained Black-goggled Tanager and Crimson-breasted Finch from the incertae sedis tanagers.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.15]

June 26

I've finished the updating of the English names to include applicable IOC names, sometimes as alternates.

June 24

I continue to focus on updating the English names. However, there are also two taxonomic changes: Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner, Automolus rufipectus, has been split from Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Automolus rubiginosus (SACC).
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.12]

A recent paper by Nyári et al. (2009) found that the Yellow-bellied Fantail is not a fantail, but rather one of the Stenostiridae. Accordingly, it takes the scientific name Chelidorhynx hypoxantha.
[Rhipiduridae, Corvida II, 2.13; Stenostiridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.18]

June 16

One name correction worth noting is the change from Baka Indigobird to Barka Indigobird for Vidua larvaticola. When Payne originally named the bird he meant to use the Hausa term for which the standard spelling is “Barka”.
[Viduidae, Core Passeroidea I, 2.03b]

June 14

I've started updating English names to better match the IOC names. There are about 1100 names to consider, and they have to be compared to names in actual use, particularly AOU and BOU names, before decisions are made. This means the process will take a while. Minor name changes, including dropping alternative names, will not be explicity noted here. However, I will update the file version numbers with letters (e.g., 2.14b) as I do for other minor non-taxonomic changes.

The Eurostopodidae have been merged into the Caprimulgidae. The Caprimulgidae have been rearranged, with the genus Caprimulgus being divided into three parts.
[Caprimulgiformes, Strisores, 2.13]

June 13

Based on Piacentini et al. (2009), I'm recognizing Tapajos Hermit, Phaethornis aethopyga, as a species rather than a hybrid between Reddish Hermit, Phaethornis ruber, and Streak-throated Hermit, Phaethornis rupurumii.
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.03]

The newly described Rio Orinoco Spinetail, Synallaxis beverlyae is added to the list (see Hilty and Ascanio, 2009).
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.11]

The species limits of Paroaria have been changed based on Dávalos et al. (2009). I've separated Masked Cardinal, Paroaria nigrogenis, from Red-capped Cardinal and merged Yellow-billed Cardinal into Red-capped Cardinal. Thus Red-capped Cardinal includes the subspecies gularis, cervicalis, capitata, and fuscipes.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.14]

June 11

Based on forthcoming paper by Kennedy et al. (2009), I've made some slight adjustments to the cormorant tree. The order the species appear in is not affected.
[Phalacrocoracidae, Pelecanae II, 2.25]

June 7

I've updated a few species names to reflect the fact that AOU didn't change certain names after all in the 50th supplement. This affects Graylag Goose, Common Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, and Eurasian Starling,

I've rearranged the tinamous to better reflect the phylogenetic hypothesis I'm using.
[Tinamidae, 2.17, Paleognaths and Anseriformes]

There are two splits in the Procellariidae: Desertas Petrel, Pterodroma deserta, from Fea's Petrel, Pterodroma feae, and Heinroth's Shearwater, Puffinus heinrothi, from Tropical Shearwater, Puffinus bailloni. I've also rearranged the Procellariidae a bit.
[Procellariidae, Pelecanae II, 2.24]

May 2009

May 30

Deleted the extra Fiji Bush-Warbler, Cettia ruficapilla. The world csv file has been udpated to reflect this.
[Cettiidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.11]

May 26

Today's updates focus on extinct species. BirdLife International maintains a list of extinct species. Little information is available for most of the extinct Caribbean, South Atlantic, and Mascarene species. Except for some well-known species, what to do with them is still under consideration.

A few other species from the BLI list failed to make the cut due to various uncertainties. Little is known about Miller's Rail, Porzana nigra. There are questions whether The Norfolk Island Ground-Dove, Gallicolumba norfolciensis, is a form of the Common Emerald-Dove, Chalcophaps indica (showing how little is known of it). Finally, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that the Tasman Booby, Sula tasmani, is anything other than a form of Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra. Incrediably, it has been argued that breeding on a sand beach is one thing that separates S. tasmani from S. dactylatra! Obviously the author had never been to the Dry Tortugas.

That leaves 8 species to add to the list (and sadly, one to reclassify), bringing the total of extinct species on the TiF list to 105.

[Ptilonorhynchidae, Acanthizidae, and Meliphagidae, Basal Oscines, 2.05]

Based on Cibois et al. (2004), 4 extinct species of Pomarea monarchs of the central Pacific are added.

Fatuhiva Monarch was known as Large Monarch in previous versions of the list.
[Monarchidae, Corvida II, 2.12]

[Acrocephalidae and Megaluridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.17]

May 24

I've incorporated Njabo and Sorenson (2009) into the Turaco section. This involves some minor rearrangement of the Musophagidae.
[Musophagidae, Pelecanae II, 2.23]

The English name of Malagasy Harrier, Circus macrosceles, becomes Madagascan Harrier for consistently with other Madagascan species.
[Accipitridae, Vultures and Hawks, 2.13a]

The new paper by Loynes et al. (2009) led to some changes in the Australasian Robins. Besides the large-scale changes, Tregellasia has been merged into Eopsaltria and Peneoenanthe into Peneothello.
[Petroicidae, Basal Passerida, 2.02]

There are two more splits in the stonechat complex. Madagascan Stonechat, Saxicola sibilla, is split from African Stonechat, Saxicola torquatus (Woog et al., 2008). Siberian Stonechat is split into East Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola stejnegeri, and West Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maurus (Zink et al., 2009).
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.12]

May 22

The Northern Storm-Petrels (Hydrobatidae) have been rearranged, which has involved some generic changes. I've also changed my view on the Band-rumped (Madeiran) Storm-Petrel complex. As a result, I now consider Monteiro's Storm-Petrel to be a subspecies.
[Hydrobatidae, Pelecanae II, 2.22]

Horizorhinus, Lioptilus, and Pseudoalcippe are merged into Sylvia based on Voelker et al (2009), together with Böhning-Gaese et al. (2003) and Johansson et al. (2009b).
[Sylviidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.24]

Nias Hill-Myna, Gracula robusta, and Enggano Hill-Myna, Gracula enganensis, are split from Common Hill-Myna, Gracula religiosa. This follows Feare and Craig (1998), IOC, and, according to their website, HBW-14.
[Sturnidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.16]

May 20

Based on Payne (2005), the Kai Coucal, Centropus spilopterus, is now lumped into Pheasant Coucal, Centropus phasianinus.
[Cuculidae, Pelecanae I, 2.14]

May 19

The Falconidae (particularly Falco) have been rearranged and tree diagrams added.
[Falconidae, Falconiformes and Psittaciformes, 2.19]

May 18

Following the IOC, Papuan Harrier, Circus spilothorax, has been split from Swamp Harrier, Circus approximans. I've also rearranged the harriers a bit.
[Accipitridae, Vultures and Hawks, 2.13]

Also following IOC, who cite an unpublished manuscript by Dutson, Gregory and Boles, the Bismarck Crow, Corvus insularis, is split from Torresian Crow, Corvus orru.
[Corvidae, Corvida II, 2.11]

The name of Turdus nudigenis is changed to Spectacled Thrush (from Bare-eyed Thrush) to avoid duplication with Turdus tephronotus.
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.11b]

May 15

I've reordered the Mesites to conform to my ordering rules, while the Columbidae now better reflect the genetic results. I've also added a genus-level tree for them.
[Mesitornithidae, Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.15]

Prompted by the 2.1 version of the IOC list and a recent proposal to the SACC, I've made the following changes in the Albatrosses.

[Diomedeidae, Pelecanae II, 2.21]

Several species recognized by König and Weick (2008) have been added:

[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.17]

Another IOC split I've adopted is that of the Bismarck Thicketbird, Megalurulus grosvenori, from Vanuatu Thicketbird, Megalurulus whitneyi. [Megaluridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.16]

May 13

Based on Collar et al. (2009), I have lumped the Degodi Bushlark, Mirafra degodiensis, into Gillett's Bushlark, Mirafra gilletti.
[Alaudidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.15]

The Illadopsis Thrush-Babblers have been rearranged slightly based on Nguembock et al. (2009b), who also note that the Pale-bellied Thrush-Babbler, Illadopsis rufipennis may consist of more than one species.
[Pellorneidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.23]

May 12

I've made some adjustments in the Furnariidae, including putting the woodcreepers before the true ovenbirds. A genus-level tentative phylogenic tree has also been added. I have separated four former Asthenes as Siptornoides since at least one of them does not truly belong to Asthenes. They've all been put in Siptornoides before on morphological grounds, so I thought it made sense to move the whole lot.
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.10]

May 11

I've updated the species order in the Amazonini to better reflect the molecular data and a species-level tree diagram has been added. The Amazonini section now includes a brief summary of the current situation regarding the Yellow-headed Amazon complex, and some ways to deal with it.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes and Psittaciformes, 2.18]

May 7, 10

I have finally managed to find a fairly reasonable way to combine the evidence concerning white-eyes from Moyle et al. (2009) and Warren et al. (2006). Besides some rearrangement, this meant separating much of Lophozosterops as Oreosterops, merging Chlorocharis and Woodfordia into Zosterops, and promoting 7 subspecies to species status:

Many of these subspecies have sometimes been considered species, and have English The extinct Seychelles Yellow White-eye seems to have last been seen around 1890. (Some errors were corrected on May 10.)
[Zosteropidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.22]

May 1

I added some material concerning treatment of the vangas as one family, rather than the three used by IOC and the 9th edition of Roberson's Family List.
[Vangidae, Corvida I, 2.12a]

I've updated the text concerning Scotocerca, to better explain why I've put it in the Acrocephalidae.
[Acrocephalidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.14a]

April 2009

April 29

Due to Fregin et al. (2009), I've made some changes to the Acrocephalidae. The major changes are that the Papyrus Yellow-Warbler is now in Calamonastides instead of Chloropeta. The remaining Chloropeta have been merged into Iduna, and Phragamaticola is now considered sister to Iduna.
[Acrocephalidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.14]

April 23

Stephen Nawrocki's excel spreadsheet of the TIF list and the following csv format lists have been updated:

April 19

The name Malaconotoidea (Malaconotinae, Swainson, 1824) replaces Campephagoidea (Campephagidae, Vigors, 1825) on priority grounds. I've also added material concerning the Mohouidae.
[Mohouidae, Corvida I, 2.12]

Moved Ifrita and Melampitta from Corcoracidae to Monarchidae, based on several papers including Norman et al. (2009a).
[Corcoracidae, Monarchidae, Corvida II, 2.10]

There are three changes that the SACC is likely to pass. One is to lump Lara Tapaculo, Scytalopus fuscicauda, into Merida Tapaculo, Scytalopus meridanus.
[Rhinocryptidae, Suboscines II, 2.09]

The second is to split Patagonian Forest Earthcreeper, Upucerthia saturatior, from Scale-throated Earthcreeper, Upucerthia dumetaria.
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.09]

The other lumps Narosky's Seedeater, Sporophila zelichi, into Marsh Seedeater, Sporophila palustris, as a color morph.
[Thraupidae, Thraupid Group, 2.13]

April 16

The TIF checklist currently groups the birds in 42 orders and 235 families. Both order-level and family-level trees are now availalbe in pdf format.

Some families have been moved slightly in order to better conform to the rule that the smallest branch is placed first at each dichotomous node, at least down to the family level. These include Apterygidae (kiwis), Ibidorhynchidae (ibisbill), Rynchopidae (skimmers), Sternidae (terns), and Laridae (gulls).
[PALEOGNATHS and ANSERIFORMES, 2.16; CHARADRIIFORMES, 2.10]

April 15

The treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae) had been inadvertently placed following the swifts. The order has been reversed to agree with the tree.
[Hemiprocnidae, Metaves III, 2.02]

April 12

Since the use of "Sheppardia" and "Cossypha" for species formerly placed in those genera is potentially confusing, I'm now referring to them as Dryocichloides and Caffrornis, respectively. However, I'm not entirely certain I'm correctly applying these names. I have reason to think that C. caffra has been designated as the type of Caffrornis, but no confirmation. Dryocichloides is more problematic as 3 additional species are sometimes included that are potentially the actual type species.
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.11]

April 11

The recent paper by Norman et al. (2009a) has prompted some changes in the Corvida. The Mohouidae are separated from Acanthizidae, moving to Corvoidea. The Goldenface, Pachycare flavogriseum moves from Pachycelhalidae to Acanthizidae. Eulacestoma and Falcunculus move from Falcunculidae to Pachycephalidae (Corvoidea). Psophodidae is separated from the former Falcunculidae (moving to Corvoidea), leaving only Ptilorrhoa and Cinclosoma, which take the name Cinclosomatidae. Oreoicidae separated from Campephagidae as basal group in Campephagoidea. Rhagologus moves from Campephagidae to Platysteiridae. Finally, Machaerirhynchidae and Cracticidae are moved into Artamidae, becoming subfamilies.
[Acanthizidae: Basal Oscines, 2.04; Cinclosomatidae: Corvida I, 2.11; Mohouidae: Corvida I, 2.11]

April 9

The Muscicapidae have been reorganized again, based on a wider selection of papers. They are still in a rather unsatisfactory state, but I think this version is an improvement.

Philippine Magpie-Robin, Copsychus mindanensis, is split from Oriental Magpie-Robin, Copsychus saularis, based on Sheldon et al. (2009).
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.10]

April 6

Cabot's Tern, Thalasseus acuflavidus is split from Sandwich Tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis (Efe et al., 2009).
[Sternidae: Charadriiformes, 2.09]

March 2009

March 28

The treatment of Darwin's finches has been updated. The Warbler Finch, Certhidea olivacea, has been split into Green Warbler Finch, Certhidea olivacea, and Gray Warbler Finch, Certhidea fusca.
[Thraupidae, Thraupid Group, 2.12]

March 24

The latest SACC decisions move the White-throated Foliage-gleaner from Automolus to Syndactyla (Syndactyla roraimae) and split Pernambuco Foliage-gleaner, Automolus lammi, from White-eyed Foliage-gleaner, Automolus leucophthalmus.
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.08]

The American sparrows have been updated using the recent paper by DaCosta et al. (2009).
[Passerellidae, Emberizoidae II, 2.14]

March 23

Although they have not yet assigned English names, the SACC has split Red-eyed Thornbird, Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus. One possibility is to call them Orange-eyed Thornbird, Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus, and Ferruginous Thornbird, Phacellodomus ferrugineigula. I think the latter is far more descriptive than another suggestion: Chestnut-eyed Thornbird.
[Furnariidae, Suboscines II, 2.07]

March 19

I've included two AOU spelling/English name changes. Greylag Goose replaces Graylag Goose and San Andres Vireo replaces St. Andrew Vireo.

The Jays have been rearranged. There are also two splits based on recent papers. The Western Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica, is split into Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma woodhouseii, and California Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica; the Mexican Jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina, is split into Transvolcanic Jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina, and Mexican Jay, Aphelocoma wollweberi.
[Corvidae, Corvida II, 2.08]

The biggest changes involve the mockingbirds and starlings. They had previously only been re-arranged using genetic data at the generic level. In most cases, it has been possible to order them at the species level. A 4-part tree is now included to show this. As is generally the case on my species-level trees, the ? marks have not been sequenced.
[Mimidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.15]
[Sturnidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.15]

I slightly reordered the Crossbills, but have not added the South Hills Crossbill.
[Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.12]

March 12

I've used Fleischer et al. (2007) to update the Acrocephalidae tree to reflect DNA sampling of a few more species.
[Acrocephalidae:, Sylvoidea I, 2.13]

The wrens have been reorganized, with the winter wrens moving to Nannus. There are some splits in the winter wrens and house wrens. Winter Wren, Nannus troglodytes, is split into Pacific Wren, Nannus pacificus, Winter Wren, Nannus hiemalis, and Eurasian Wren, Nannus troglodytes. The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is split into Northern House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, Brown-throated Wren, Troglodytes brunneicollis, Southern House Wren, Troglodytes musculus, Cozumel Wren, Troglodytes beani, and Cobb's Wren, Troglodytes cobbi.
[Troglodytidae, Certhioidea, 2.13]

March 6

I've added a tree diagram for the Old World suboscines. [Furnariida I, 2.01a]

March 2

Stephen Nawrocki has updated and enhanced his excel spreadsheet of the TIF world list, reflecting all updates to the TIF list through March 1, 2009.

February 2009

February 26

Larids

The large white-headed gulls have been reordered a bit in conjunction with splitting Heuglin's Gull, Larus heuglini, from Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus graesilli and Mongolian Gull, Larus mongolicus, from Vega Gull, Larus vegae. The gull text has been considerably expanded and a hypothetical tree has been added.
[Laridae: Charadriiformes, 2.08]

AOU NACC name changes

These aren't official yet, but the committee has voted in favor. I'm glad to see the simplified sparrow names. I don't understand the blackbird change. It's as if the committee forgot about the Icterids.

AOU NACC split

African Splits

Most of these are IOC splits that also appear in Sinclair and Ryan (2003) or in Sinclair and Langrand (2003).

There are a number of Bulbul splits, especially in the mountain greenbuls.

Here are the rest.

Other Splits

These all involve species included on the IOC list.

Family Change

Finally, the Cinnamon Ibon, Hypocryptadius cinnamomeus, is moved to Incertae Sedis (see Moyle et al. (2009). We're not sure what it is, but it's not a white-eye. [Incertae Sedis, Sylvioidea III, 2.20]

February 15

I added a mention of the work by Kreigs et al. (2007) and Eo et al. (2009) to the Galliformes section. The Anseriform portion of Eo et al. leaves too much unresolved to cause adjustments to the Anseriformes.
[Galliformes, 2.08b]

The Acrocephalidae have had some reorganization, and a species-level tree is now available. As part of the reorganization, the Streaked Scrub-Warbler, Scotocerca inquieta, has been moved from Cisticolidae to Acrocephalidae based on Barhoum and Burns (2002).
[Acrocephalidae:, Sylvoidea I, 2.11; Cisticolidae:, Sylvoidea II, 2.09]

February 14

The pygmy cormorants have been placed in the genus Microcarbo as in Christidis and Boles (2008) and version 2.0 of the IOC list.
[Phalacrocoracidae, Pelecanae II, 2.19]

Buteo refectus is corrected to Buteo burmanicus (Rasmussen and Anderton, 2005).
[Accipitridae: Vultures and Hawks, 2.12b]

The Lesser and Greater Sooty Owls are lumped into Sooty Owl, Tyto tenebricosa. See Norman et al. (2002). [Tytonidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.15]

The Uhehe Fiscal, Lanius marwitzi, is split from Fiscal Shrike, Lanius collaris, as in HBW-13 and the IOC list.
[Laniidae, Corvida II, 2.06]

The Western Chinese Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus occisinensis, is split from Tickell's Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus affinis, as in Martens et al. (2008). I've also made some adjustments to the arrangement of the Seicercus warblers, and added hypothetical tree diagrams for all of Phylloscopidae.
[Phylloscopidae:, Sylvoidea II, 2.08]

Long-billed Creeper, Rhabdornis grandis, is split from Stripe-breasted Creeper, Rhabdornis inornatus, as in HBW-13 and the IOC list.
[Sturnidae, Muscicapoidea I ,2.13]

The Myadestes solitaires have been rearranged based on Miller et al. (2007). I've also added a tree for the Turdidae genera.
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.08]

February 3

The csv files have been updated. Although it doesn't affect the taxonomy, I've changed a number of names of subfamilies and tribes in an attempt to better conform with the ICZN.

January 2009

January 28

Concerning the cormorants, having said A, I have to say B. In other words, Macquarie Shag, Phalacrocorax purpurascens, Crozet Shag, Phalacrocorax melanogenis, and Heard Shag, Phalacrocorax nivalis are split from Imperial Cormorant, Phalacrocorax atriceps.
[Phalacrocoracidae, : Pelecanae II, 2.18]

Updates from IOC and HBW

I am incorporating some of the species changes from HBW-13 and IOC 2.0

The species name of Blue-chinned Sapphire, Chlorestes notata has been corrected from notatus.
[Trochilidae, Metaves III, 2.01a]

Following Kemp and Delport (2002), Delport et al. (2004), and IOC 2.0, Red-billed Hornbill, Tockus erythrorhynchus is split into

[Bucerotidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.14]

Based on Groombridge et al. (2002) and IOC, Rock Kestrel, Falco rupicolus, is considered a separate species from Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus. The kestrels have also been reordered. Following Boon et al. (2008), one parakeet has also been added. They split Ouvea Parakeet, Eunymphicus uvaeensis, from Horned Parakeet, Eunymphicus cornutus.
[Falconidae, psittaciformes, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.16]

There are several splits in the honeyeaters.

[Meliphagidae, Basal Oscines, 2.03]

Based on Nguembock et al. (2008c) and IOC 2.0,

I also rearranged Laniarius and added a tree diagram for the Malaconotidae.
[Malaconotidae, Corvida I, 2.09]

The species name of Streaked Fantail, Rhipidura verreauxi, has been corrected from spilodera.
[Rhipiduridae, Corvida II, 2.05b]

There are changes in the larks and megalurid warblers.

[Alaudidae, Megaluridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.10]

There are two splits and two English name changes in the long-tailed tits:

[Aegithalidae, Sylvoidea II, 2.07]

January 26

After reading the discussion on Birdforum's taxonomy and nomenclature forum and digging around a bit, it seems likely that Sporagra has priority over Pyrrhomitris. Indeed, Bonaparte referred to Sporagra on the page before he introduced Pyrrhomitris. I've switched the genus name for the South American siskins back to Sporagra.
Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.10]

January 25

The Snowfinches have been moved to the beginning of Passeridae. There are several splits in the Rufous Sparrow complex (Passer motitensis). The narrowly defined Rufous Sparrow gets a name change to Great Sparrow.

[Passeridae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.09]

There are a number of changes in the Fringillidae. The Drepanidini have been rearranged. The Pyrrhulini have been divided into Pyrrhulini and Carpodacini. Pinicola has been split into Pinicola (in Pyrrhulini) and Propyrrhula (in Carpodacini). The Dark-breasted Rosefinch is placed in Procarduelis (joined by Blanford's Rosefinch). The genus Carpodacus has been divided into several pieces.

There has also been some rearrangement in the Carduelini, where two of the scientific names have been changed to conform with the recent AOU proposal rather than the suggestions of Nguembock et al. (2009). Thus Astragalinus, Cabanis 1851, replaces Pseudomitris, Cassin 1865; and Pyrrhomitris, Bonaparte 1850, replaces Sporagra, Reichenbach, 1850. Also, a number of tree diagrams have been added to Fringillidae and Motacillidae
[Motacillidae, Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.09]

Due to priority, Passerellidae, Cabanis and Heine, 1850-51 [Passerella Swainson, 1837] replaces Arremonidae, Sundevall, 1872 [Arremon Vieillot, 1816] as the name of the American Sparrows.
[Passerellidae, Emberizoidae II, 2.13]

January 19

Extra Siamese Partridge deleted.
[Phasianidae, Galliformes 2.08]

Stephen Nawrocki has provided a more user-friendly excel spreadsheet of the entire list as of Jan 16.

January 17

In order to better conform to my conventions concerning the linear order, I've moved Viduidae ahead of Estrildidae. I've also done some rearrangement of the Ploceidae and the Estrildidae, as well as adding explantory material.
[Core Passeroidea I, 2.02]

Following HBW-13, I've added some species to the sunbirds. These additions had previously been made to the csv files.
[Nectariniidae], Basal Passeroidea, 2.02

January 16

Urothraupis has been returned to the tanagers, based on Bledsoe (1988). I've also updated the csv files.
[Arremonidae Emberizoidae II, 2.12; Thraupidae, Thraupid Group, 2.11]

January 14

The grackles have been updated based on Powell et al. (2008).
[Icteridae, Emberizoidae I, 2.11].

The text for the Pnoepygidae, the babbler introduction, and Incertae sedis: Passerida have been revised in light of the comments on Birdforum.

January 11

The recent paper by Gelang et al. (2009) has led to a re-examination of all of Sylviodea, and some rearrangement of the various groups and establishment of Pellorneidae as a family. I've also refreshed the csv files to include these changes.
[Sylvoidea I, 2.09; Sylvoidea II, 2.07; Sylvoidea III, 2.19]

January 10

I continue to integrate the results of Gelang et al. (2009) into the taxonomy. The new Wren-Babbler family Pnoegypidae is established.
[Pnoepygidae, Sylviodea II, 2.06]

There is also some reordering of the Timaliidae. Timaliinae becomes the basal clade. Elsewhere in the Timaliidae, Dumetia moves into Timaliidae and Cutia moves into Leiothrichini.
[Timaliidae, Sylviodea III, 2.18]

The Zosteropidae, particularly Zosterops, have been rearranged in an attempt to incorporate more of the molecular data.
[Zosteropidae, Sylviodea III, 2.18]

January 9

The Sylviidae have been updated based on Gelang et al. (2009). The monotypic genera Parophasma and Myzornis have been moved into Sylviidae.
[Sylviidae, Sylviodea III, 2.17]

January 7

The cormorants have been rearranged in accordance with Kennedy et al. (2000). Further, King Cormorant, Phalacrocorax albiventer, was merged into Imperial Cormorant, Phalacrocorax atriceps; Antarctic Shag, Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis, and South Georgia Shag, Phalacrocorax georgianus, were split from Imperial Cormorant, Phalacrocorax atriceps.
[Phalacrocoracidae: Pelecanae II, 2.17]

January 5

Gannets and Boobies reordered to conform to the method I'm using to construct the linear order.
[Sulidae, Pelecanae II, 2.16]

January 2

A reference for Finsch's Duck has been added.
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.15]