Archives

The updates for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 have been archived separately.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 2011

December 14

The csv files have been update (2.79).

Some misspellings of Latin names have been corrected (thanks Peter).

December 13 (updated)

The recent paper by Alström et al. (2011d) has prompted several changes. I've transfered the Pale-footed Bush-Warbler to Hemitesia, Gray-sided Bush-Warbler to Oligura, and designated Chestnut-crowned Bush-Warbler as “Cettia”. The former Cettia warblers that I had previously placed in Horeites are now in Horornis as the group no longer contains the Horeites type species (brunnifrons). I also moved the race canturians from the Manchurian Bush-Warbler (now Horornis borealis) to the Japanese Bush-Warbler, Horornis diphone. Additionally, there has been some rearrangement of the order within Cettia.
[Cettiidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.67]

December 12

The Great Grebe has been moved to genus Podicephorus (Bochenski, 1994) and the grebe genera have been rearranged based on Fjeldså (2004).
[Podicipedidae, Metaves I, 2.62]

The hyphen has been removed from the English name of Japanese Green Woodpecker, Picus awokera. Based on Pons et al. (2011) and Perktas et al. (2011), the Iberian Green Woodpecker, Picus sharpei, is split from European Green-Woodpecker, Picus viridis.
[Picidae, Piciformes, 2.62]

December 11

A typographic error in the scientific name of Jamaican Pauraque / Jamaican Poorwill has been corrected. It is now Siphonorhis americana, not americanua.
[Caprimulgidae, Strisores, 2.56h]

November 2011

November 17

There are several name updates from IOC. Two involve English names. Isabella Oriole (Oriolus isabellae) becomes Isabela Oriole
[Oriolidae, Corvida I, 2.66a]
and Plain-tailed Warbler (Seicercus soror) becomes Alstrom's Warbler.
[Phylloscopidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.66a]

There are also a few scientific name corrections in the tanager family. These restore the original spelling. Rufous-sided Warbling-Finch is Poospiza hypocondria, not hypochondria; Cinereous Finch is Piezorina cinerea, not Piezorhina; Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch is Sicalis uropigyalis, not uropygialis. [Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.62a]

November 12

The species limits in the Great Egrets have been realigned based on Pratt (2011). In other words, the American Egret, Casmerodius egretta, is split from (Western) Great Egret, Casmerodius albus and the Eastern Great Egret, Casmerodius modestus becomes a subspecies of Casmerodius albus. The African subspecies melanorhynchos remains in Casmerodius albus.
[Ardeidae, Pelecanae II, 2.63]

November 11

Following up on a comment on BirdForum: Golden-rumped Euphonia, Euphonia cyanocephala, Antillean Euphonia, Euphonia musica, and Elegant Euphonia, Euphonia elegantissima have been transferred to genus Cyanophonia. This is consistent with Zuccon et al. (2012).
[Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.58]

November 10

Rheindt et al. (2011b) found that the Kentish Plover complex includes at least 4 species: Snowy Plover, Charadrius nivosus; Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus; White-fronted Plover, Charadrius marginatus; Malaysian Plover, Charadrius peronii. The species order has been adjusted to reflect this.
[Charadriidae, Charadriiformes, 2.58]

November 9

I've made some additional rearrangement of the Ibises and Spoonbills based on Krattinger (2010). In particular, there are once again two subfamilies, but one includes the New World-only ibis genera, the other includes everything else (spoonbills too).
[Threskiornithidae, Pelecanae II, 2.62]

November 4

Based on Toon et al. (2012), Cinclosoma has been rearranged and two additional species are recognized. Western Quail-thrush, Cinclosoma marginatum is split from Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush, Cinclosoma castaneothorax, and Nullabor Quail-thrush, Cinclosoma alisteri, is split from Cinnamon Quail-thrush, Cinclosoma cinnamomeum.
[Psophodidae, Corvida I, 2.66]

November 3

I've swapped Turnagra and Sphecotheres based on Zuccon and Ericson (2012).
[Oriolidae, Corvida I, 2.65]

November 2

After reading the recent papers by Lerner et al. (2011) and Zuccon et al. (2012), I've re-examined the entire Fringillidae. There's been some rearrangement at the tribal level, with Carpodacini being pulled out of Pyrrhulini and Burricini being submerged into Carduelini.

Finally, I've added some alternate names for the Hawaiian Honeycreepers. These include both English names not used by AOU and one new Hawaiian name. The names are:

[Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.57]

November 1

The scientific name of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper has been corrected to Limicola acuminata (from acuminatus).
[Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes, 2.57a]

October 2011

October 30

Recent SACC decisions have changed the English names of three parrots.

[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.62]

October 26

The newly discovered Varzea Thrush, Turdus sanchezorum, has been added to the list (O'Neill et al., 2011).
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.65]

After reading SACC proposal #507, I realized I'd made a mistake leaving the Band-tailed Sierra Finch in Corydospiza. It is now inclued in Rhopospina. Also, the hyphen has been removed from Sierra Finch as it no longer reflects phylogeny.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.62]

October 25

The English name of Campylopterus curvipennis has been corrected to Curve-winged Sabrewing.
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.61a]

October 20

Several additional IOC English name changes have been adopted:

The Moheli Bulbul, Hypsipetes moheliensis, has been split from the Comoros Bulbul (now Grand Comoro Bulbul), Hypsipetes parvirostris. Further, Hypsipetes has been rearranged in view of Warren et al. (2005).
[Pycnonotidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.66]

October 14

The csv files have been updated (version 2.78).

Mayr's term Aequornithes (Mayr, 2011) has been adopted for the clade I previously called Pelecanimorphae.

The scientific name of the Great Parrotbill is Conostoma aemodium not oemodium.
[Sylviidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.61b]

October 12

In view of Lee et al. (2011), it is time to include a species-level tree for the Maluridae. There were only slight changes to the phylogeny, mosting involving the Short-tailed Grasswren and Purple-crowned Fairywren. The linear order has somewhat changed, but much of that is driven by stricter enforcement of the rules for creating linear orders. [Maluridae, Basal Oscines, 2.63]

September 2011

September 28

Although Ohlson et al. (2011) is not available yet, the abstract makes clear that the Kinglet Calyptura belongs in Tyrannidae, not Cotingidae. It has been moved accordingly.
[Cotingidae, Tyrannida I, 2.53]
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.56]

September 26

I decided it made more sense to leave the position of several branches in the Phasianidae unresolved at a slightly higher level, and have promoted the tribes former placed in Gallinae to subfamilies. This has no effect on the linear order of species.
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.57]

September 22

The skuas and jaegers have been reordered to better fit the available information, including Cohen et al. (1997) and Braun and Brumfield (1998).
[Stercorariidae, Charadriiformes, 2.57]

I've made a minor correction to the order of the Manacus manakins, so that it matches Anciães and Peterson (2009), as it was supposed to already.
[Pipridae, Tyrannida I, 2.52]

Some of the Passerina buntings have been reordered based on Carling and Brumfield (2008).
[Cardinalidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.61]

September 20

The Italian Sparrow, Passer italiae, is recognized as a species distinct from both House and Spanish Sparrow.
[Passeridae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.56]

September 14

The csv files have been updated again (thanks to Peter K. for corrections).

I've made a couple of minor corrections to the phylogeny and done some reordering of Parulidae in order to better follow my preferred procedure for creating linear orderings (smallest groups first, breaking ties according to northwesternmost point in breeding range). This makes the order quite a bit more like the latest AOU version. I also added a mention of recent publications about the yellow-rumped complex. I'm sticking with the IOC treatment for now, but can't say that the AOU is necessarily wrong. In case anyone wonders, I'm not in a hurry to adjust the genus names in Parulini. While merging Parula and Dendroica is not unreasonable, including Setophaga and Wilsonia seems to me a step too far. Also, someone should really propose a name for the three oddball “Dendorica” The names will be reconsidered when SACC gets around to addressing it.
[Parulidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.58]

September 12

The csv files have been updated.

The temporary genus name “Amazilia” (not to be confused with true Amazilia) has been replaced by Chionomesa (Simon 1921, type lactea).
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.61]

Several alternate names have been removed due to IOC name changes. Birds affected include three owls: Rufous Owl, Ninox rufa, Powerful Owl, Ninox strenua; and four brush-finches: Sierra Nevada Brush-Finch, Arremon basilicus, Perija Brush-Finch, Arremon perijanus, Caracas Brush-Finch, Arremon phaeopleurus, and Paria Brush-Finch, Arremon phygas. I've also removed the alternate name from Gray-browed Brush-Finch, Arremon assimilis.
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.64a]
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.58b]

September 10

The Negros Scops-Owl, Otus nigrorum, and Everett's Scops-Owl, Otus everetti have been split from Philippine Scops-Owl, Otus megalotis. See Miranda et al. (2011). Based on the same paper, Giant Scops-Owl, Otus gurneyi has been moved near Japanese Scops-Owl, Otus semitorques. Also, the Mexican Barred Owl, Ciccaba sartorii has been split from Northern Barred Owl, Ciccaba varia. See Barrowclough et al. (2011).
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.64]

Johansson et al. (2011) have found that the extinct Piopios belong in the Orioles (Oriolidae), not the Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae). I also made some minor changes in Oriolus to better conform to Jønsson et al. (2010d).
[Oriolidae, Corvida I, 2.64]
[Ptilonorhynchidae, Basal Oscines, 2.62]

Phragamaticola (Thick-billed Warbler) has been merged into Iduna as this seems to be the preferred treatment.
[Acrocephalidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.61]

September 8

The gender has been corrected for Spotted Wren-babbler, now Elachura formosa, and Rufous-throated Wren-babbler, now Elachura caudata.
[Pnoepygidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.60a]

September 7

As pointed out by Zuccon in the current Bulletin of the British Ornithologist's Club [131(3): 196-199], the name Ficedula sordida (Godwin-Austen, 1874) has priority over Ficedula amabilis (Deignan 1947) as the scientific name of the Slaty-backed Flycatcher. It has been changed accordingly.
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.64]

September 6

The Acanthizidae have been returned to the Pardalotidae based on recent analyses by Gardner et al. (2010), Jønsson et al. (2011b) and Nyári (2011). These taxa had formerly belonged in a single family, Pardalotidae, together with the bristlebirds. Although the bristlebirds do not belong, the remainder form a clade. Given that the differences between the pardalotes and the rest are small, it makes sense to put them back in a single family. I have also adjusted the species order within the Pardalotidae to take account of Nyári (2011). This entails moving the Ashy Gerygone, formerly Gerygone cinerea to Acanthiza.
[Pardalotidae, Basal Oscines, 2.61]

August 2011

August 30

I've done some restructuring of the honeyeaters using Nyári and Joseph (2011). This includes promoting the tribes of the previous version to subfamilies (in a 5-way polytomy) and continuing the dismemberment of Lichenstomus begun by Gardner et al. (2010). This involves introducing 3 additional genera: Bolemoreus, Caligavis, and Stomiopera. The first of these was newly named for this purpose by Nyári and Joseph (2011).
[Meliphagidae, Basal Oscines, 2.60]

August 25

The initial Passerimorphae pages now includes mention of evidence supporting the clade, including the recent papers by Nabholz et al. (2011) and Suh et al. (2011).
[Passerimorphae, 2.61]

August 24

Based on Moyle et al. (2011) and Jønsson and Fjeldså (2006a), I've moved the spiderhunter to the front of Nectariniidae. Moyle et al. (2011) also supports the split of Bornean Spiderhunter, Arachnothera everetti, from Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter, Arachnothera affinis. Their evidence also suggests that Hypogramma should be subsumed in Arachnothera, as is done here (with an English name update).
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 2.56]

August 19

I have made some changes to the Australasian Robins using the comprehensive analysis by Christidis et al. (2011). The New Guinea Scrub-Robin, Drymodes beccarii, has been split from Northern Scrub-Robin, Drymodes superciliaris. I have restored the widely-used genera Heteromyias and Peneoenanthe, submerged Monachella into Microeca, and placed the Black-throated Robin in Plesiodryas and Banded Yellow Robin in Gennaeodryas. If you think these are a lot, you should read what else Christidis et al. suggest.
[Petroicidae, Basal Passerida, 2.54]

August 17

Lovette et al. (2011) has been incorporated into the treatment of the mockingbirds and thrashers. The linear order has been slightly adjusted, both based on Lovette et al. (for Cozumel Thrasher) and to conform better to the rules I use for creating linear orders from phylogenies.
[Mimidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.52]

August 15

Based on Ribas et al. (2012), the Napo Trumpeter, Psophia napensis, has been split from the Gray-winged Trumpeter, Psophia crepitans; The Pale-winged Trumpeter has been split into Ochre-winged Trumpeter, Psophia ochroptera, and White-winged Trumpeter, Psophia leucoptera; and the Dark-winged Trumpeter has been split into Green-winged Trumpeter, Psophia viridis, and Dusky Trumpeter, Psophia obscura.
[Psophiidae, Pelecanae I, 2.61]

August 14

The New Zealand Storm-Petrel has been moved into genus Fregetta from Pealeornis (monotypic). I have also provided a tree diagram for the Southern Storm-Petrels.
[Oceanitidae, Pelecanae II, 2.61]

August 3

The csv files have been updated.

Based on Gastañaga et al. (2011), Sira Curassow, Pauxi koepckeae, from the Sira Mountains in Peru, has been split from Horned Curassow, Pauxi unicornis.
[Cracidae, Galliformes, 2.57]

Based on Rheindt et al. (2011), the Maroon-chinned Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus subgularis is split into 3 species: Oberholser's Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus epius, Banggai Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus subgularis, and Sula Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus mangoliensis.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.61]

Following Leader (2011), the Fork-tailed Swift, Apus pacificus, has been split into 4 species: Blyth's Swift, Apus leuconyx, Salim Ali's Swift, Apus salimalii, Pacific Swift, Apus pacificus, and Cook's Swift, Apus cooki.
[Apodidae, Apodiformes, 2.60]

Based on Millsap et al. (2011), the Gray Hawk, formerly Asturina nitida, has been split into Gray Hawk, Asturina plagiata and Gray-lined Hawk, Asturina nitida.
[Accipitridae, Accipitrimorphae, 2.54]

Speckle-faced Parrot, Pionus tumultuosus, has been split into Plum-crowned Parrot, Pionus tumultuosus, and White-capped Parrot, Pionus seniloides. The SACC previously rejected this split on grounds of insufficient evidence. Ribas et al. (2007a) found that the genetic distance between these species was comparable to other Pionus species pairs.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.60]

Sula Pitta, Erythropitta dohertyi, is now treated as a subspecies of Red-bellied Pitta, Erythropitta erythrogaster, because of a lack of vocal differences (Rheindt et al., 2010).
[Pittidae, Passeriformes I, 2.53]

Magdalena Antbird, Myrmeciza palliata, has been split from Dull-mantled Antbird, Myrmeciza laemosticta. See SACC #475. [Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.55]

The SACC has ruled (#479) in favor of the name Grallaria urraoensis rather than Grallaria fenwickorum for Fenwick's Antpitta / Urrao Antpitta. The SACC name, Urrao Antpitta, Grallaria urraoensis, is now used here.
[Grallariidae, Furnariida II, 2.64c]

There are several changes to the Reed-Warblers based on Cibois et al. (2011). The Saipan Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus hiwae, Pagan Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus yamashinae, and Mangareva Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus astrolabii are split from Nightingale Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius. Also, the Leeward Islands Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus musae and Moorea Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus longirostris are split from Tahiti Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus caffer. Note that most of these taxa are now extinct. Cibois et al. also added sequenced more of the extant reed-warblers than previously (esp. A. luscinius, syrinx, and rehsei) and the phylogeny has been adjusted accordingly.
[Acrocephalidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.60]

Based on Garcia-Moreno et al. (2001, 2003), White-browed Hemispingus, “Hemispingus” auricularis, is split from Black-capped Hemispingus, “Hemispingus” atropileus, and Piura Hemispingus, Hemispingus piurae, including macrophrys, is split from Black-eared Hemispingus, Hemispingus melanotis.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.60]

There are also several IOC English name changes for version 2.10:

July 2011

July 30

Following the recent SACC decision, Atlapetes rufinucha, is now simply Bolivian Brush-Finch. Note that IOC still uses Rufous-naped Brush-Finch for Atlapetes latinuchus.
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.58a]

July 29

Some people have had problems reading the Psittaciformes pdf. I have regenerated it in an attempt to solve that problem. Please let me know if you continue to have problems.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.59]

The scientific name of the Kentucky Warbler is corrected to Geothlypis formosa, from formosus (Geothlypis is feminine).

Now that my summer travel is done (Ecuadorian Andes, Machu Picchu, Galápagos), I'll be slowly catching up with recent developments, including the latest IOC updates. I'm starting by incorporating Campagna et al. (2011). This analysis of the sierra-finches leads to a reorganization of the whole Diglossini group. Note that Idiopsar is also now in Diglossini, where it gains two of the sierra-finches.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.59]

July 8

English name changes announced by IOC (for 2.9 list):

Scientific name corrections from Zoonomen:

Orange-tufted Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flammifera) and Pale Spiderhunter (Arachnothera dilutior) are split from Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra). See Lohman et al. (2010) and Rahman et al. (2010).
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 2.53]

July 7

The Blue-moustached Bee-eater, Merops mentalis, has been split from Blue-headed Bee-eater, Merops muelleri, based on Marks et al. (2007).
[Meropidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.63]

The Uhehe Fiscal, Lanius marwitzi, is merged into the Common Fiscal. However, the Common Fiscal is then split into Northern Fiscal, Lanius humeralis, and Southern Fiscal, Lanius collaris (including marwitzi). See Fuchs et al. (2011c), which also leads to some rearrangement of Laniidae.
[Laniidae: Corvida II, 2.63]

July 6

The position of Bullock's Oriole, Icterus galbula, has been adjusted based on Jacobsen and Omland (2011).
[Icteridae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.58]

Two of the sierra-finches have been placed in Rhopospina, which has priority over Corydospiza (thanks to James Jobling for pointing this out).
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.58]

The gender of the following scientific names has been corrected. See David, N., and M. Gosselin (2011), Gender agreement of avian species-group names under Article 31.2.2 of the ICZN Code, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 131, 103-115.

Also the scientific name of Glittering-bellied Emerald is corrected to Chlorostilbon lucidus, from aureoventris as recommended in Pacheco, J.F., and B.M. Whitney (2006), Mandatory changes to the scientific names of three Neotropical birds, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 126, 242-244. See SACC proposal #490 for more.

June 2011

June 18

The gender of Ring-necked Francolin, Scleroptila streptophora has been corrected from streptophorus.
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.56a]

June 17

I've carried out a more comprehensive revision of the Galliformes to better incorporate recent publications, particularly Kimball et al. (2011). Here are the major changes:

[Galliformes, 2.56]

There's a gender correction for the Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner. It should be A. ruficaudata, not ruficaudatum.
[Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.64a].

June 16

A new species of shearwater has been discovered: Bryan's Shearwater, Puffinus bryani. It was found by closely examining a specimen taken in the Midway Islands (Pyle et al., 2011) that had been originally identified as Little Shearwater.
[Procellariidae, Pelecanae II, 2.60]

The new papers by Voelker and Light (2011) and by Yeung et al. (2011) have allowed construction of a species-level tree for the Sylviidae, with help from Gelang et al. (2009) and Pasquet et al. (2006). Of course, this necessitated reordering the Sylviidae. I also changed scientific name of Moltoni's Warbler to C. moltonii (from subalpina) due to undertainty about the identity of the lost subalpina type specimen.
[Sylviidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.61]

June 15

Anticipating that the SACC proposal on English names for the Stripe-headed Brush-Finch will pass, I have updated the primary names to match the SACC proposal. The IOC list still uses the previous names, so I will them as secondary names. It would not surprise me if IOC updates the names once SACC settles on them.
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.58]

June 7

The csv files have been updated.

The recent paper by Derryberry et al. (2011) analyzes DNA from almost all of the Furnariidae. Not surprising, this leads to some changes. The topology is covered in more detail in the family account. Further, a total of 21 species change genus. Nine species change genus due to mergers: Simoxenops has been merged into Syndactyla; Hyloctistes merged into Automolus; Gyalophylax, Poecilurus, and Siptornopsis merged into Synallaxis (I'd previously separated Poecilurus from Synallaxis in an attempt to avoid suspected paraphyly). Twelve species change genus due to adjustments of generic boundaries. Fully half of these involve Philydor: The Ochre-breasted and Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaners move to Anabacerthia, Buff-fronted and Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaners move to Ancistrops, and Rufous-rumped and Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaners move to Megaxenops. Additionally, Automolus loses 2 species, Ruddy and Santa Marta Foliage-gleaners move to Hylocryptus; Cranioleuca loses two species, Sulphur-throated Spinetail moves to Limnoctites and Speckled Spinetail moves to Thripophaga; Hylocryptus also loses 1, Chestnut-capped Foliage-gleaner is now in Clibanornis; and finally Thripophaga loses Russet-mantled Softtail to Cranioleuca.
[Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.64].

June 6

Some of the African White-eyes have been moved due to Melo et al. (2011), which also provides evidence in favor of spliting Sao Tome White-eye, Zosterops feae, from Principe White-eye, Zosterops ficedulinus, and Forest White-eye, Zosterops stenocricotus, from African Yellow White-eye, Zosterops senegalensis. I also reconsidered the Anjouan White-eye, Zosterops anjuanensis, and have split if from Malagasy White-eye, Zosterops maderaspatanus.
[Zosteropidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.60]

June 4

I've done an interim rearrangement of the Ibises and Spoonbills to reflect some of the results from Krattinger (2010).
[Threskiornithidae, Pelecanae II, 2.59]

IOC names (the second name below) have been added to the following extinct species:

May 2011

May 21

There are two scientific name corrections (thank you IOC):

  1. The scientific name of Blue Korhaan is corrected to Eupodotis coerulescens) from caerulescens.
    [Otididae, Pelecanae I, 2.55b]
  2. The scientific name of Chestnut-backed Owlet is corrected to Taenioglaux castanotum from castanonotum.
    [Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.62a]

May 20

The Forest-Falcons have been rearranged based on Fuchs et al. (2011b).
[Falconidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.59]

Following a preliminary vote by the AOU's NACC, I've merged Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Ramphastos swainsonii, with Black-mandibled Toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus. The SACC has followed this treatment for some time, and seems to be a more consistent way to treat the toucan taxa.
[Ramphastidae, Piciformes, 2.60]

There are some English name updates correcting an error and improving compatibility with AOU and IOC. I've replaced “Tahitian” with “Tahiti”. This affects the following species: Tahiti Swiftlet, Aerodramus leucophaeus; Tahiti Rail, Gallirallus pacificus; Tahiti Petrel, Pseudobulweria rostrata; Tahiti Sandpiper, Prosobonia leucoptera; Tahiti Monarch, Pomarea nigra; Tahiti Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus caffer. Also, Tristan da Cunha Moorhen, Gallinula nesiotis, becomes Tristan Moorhen; Canary Island Oystercatcher, Haematopus meadewaldoi, becomes Canary Islands Oystercatcher; Ua Pou Monarch, Pomarea mira, becomes Huapu Monarch.

May 11

Following the recommendation of Benz and Robbins (2011), I've split Ochre-backed Woodpecker, Celeus ochraceus, from Blond-crested Woodpecker, Celeus flavescens. They also provide a complete phylogeny of Celeus, which I have rearranged accordingly.
[Picidae, Piciformes, 2.59]

May 5

Based on Fuchs et al. (2011a), the green-headed Usambara Greenbul, Phyllastrephus albigula, is split from the gray-headed Tiny Greenbul, Phyllastrephus debilis.
[Pycnonotidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.65]

May 4

Viseshakul et al. (2011) examined included all hornbill genera in their cytochrome-b analysis of over half of all hornbill species. The hornbills have been rearranged accordingly.
[Bucerotidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.62]

May 3

I've been studying some of the South American birds in preparation for summer travel to Ecuador and Peru. As a result, I've decided to make a couple of adjustments to the tyrannulets.

The Gray-capped Tyrannulet has been returned to Phyllomyias from Xanthomyias. Although no genetic information is available, it is generally thought to be closely related to the Sooty-headed Tyrannulet, Phyllomyias griseiceps.

I've also merged most of the former Mecocerculus tyrannulets into Xanthomyias (formerly part of Phyllomyias). The genetic evidence is sparse, but suggests these are more closely related to each other than anything else (Ohlson et al., 2008; Rheindt et al., 2008a; Tello et al., 2009). The birds are pretty similar, so it seems reasonable to place them all in one genus.
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.55]

April 2011

April 28

After further thought, I've lumped the extinct Kangaroo Island Emu, Dromaius baudinianus, into the Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae. It doesn't appear to have been any more different from the Eum than the King Island Emu was, so I am treating them the same.
[Dromaiidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.58]

Following recent updates to the IOC list, Black-banded Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus alligator, has been split from Banded Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus cinctus. Given present knowledge, it's fairly arbitrary whether to split or lump these allopatric forms. However, one is in Australia, the other in the Lesser Sundas, and the current tendency is for such forms to be split.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.60]

Following Hockey et al. (2005, aka Roberts VII), Barrow's Korhaan, Eupodotis barrowii, is considered a subspecies of White-bellied Bustard, Eupodotis senegalensis.
[Otididae, Pelecanae I, 2.55]

The Tsingy Wood Rail, Canirallus beankaensis, has been newly discovered within the Madagascan Wood Rail complex. See Goodman et al. (2011).
[Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.55]

Drovetski et al. (2004) and Alström et al. (2011b) found substantial genetic differences between the Sakhalin Warbler, Locustella amnicola, and Gray's Grasshopper-Warbler, Locustella fasciolata. These had been suspected to be separate species, and so are split here.
[Locustellidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.58].

April 18

The extinct King Island Emu, Dromaius ater, is now considered a subspecies of the Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae. See Heupink et al. (2011).
[Dromaiidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.57]

Several English names are updated due to IOC name changes.

April 11

Persian Shearwater, Puffinus persicus, and Bannerman's Shearwater, Puffinus bannermani, are split from Tropical Shearwater, Puffinus bailloni. The Macaronesian Shearwater has been split into Boyd's Shearwater, Puffinus boydi, and Barolo Shearwater, Puffinus baroli. Further, Puffinus has been rearranged a bit.
[Procellariidae, Pelecanae II, 2.58]

April 7

The alternate English name for Paroaria nigrogenis of Black-eared Cardinal has been removed. It is now simply Masked Cardinal, as used by SACC and IOC.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.57c]

April 6

Horsfield's Thrush, Zoothera horsfieldi, has been merged into Scaly Thrush, Zoothera dauma. There is insufficient evidence to treat as a separate species. See Collar (2004). Also, Grayson's Thrush, Turdus graysoni, has been merged with Rufous-backed Robin / Rufous-backed Thrush, Turdus rufopalliatus. Although it may be a distinct species, solid evidence is lacking.
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.63]

Eastern Olive-Sunbird, Cyanomitra olivacea, and Western Olive-Sunbird, Cyanomitra obscura, are merged into Olive Sunbird, Cyanomitra olivacea, based on Bowie et al. (2004).
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 2.54]

April 4

Driskell et al. (2011) has been incorporated into fairywren taxonomy. In particular, the two broad-billed fairywrens have been placed in a separate genus, Chenorhamphus.
[Maluridae, Basal Oscines, 2.59]

April 3

The results of Johnson and Weckstein (2011) have led to a break-up of the genus Geotrygon (quail-doves).
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.58]

April 1

The csv files have been updated.

March 2011

March 31

The genera Anser and Branta have been rearranged based on Paxinos et al. (2002) and Gonzalez et al. (2009b).
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.56]

March 29

The Tiger-Parrots have been placed in their own tribe. See Joseph et al. (2011).
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.58]

March 28

The Cockatoos have been rearranged using White et al. (2011).
[Cacatuidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.57]

March 26

The scientific name of the African Collared-Dove is changed to Streptopelia risoria (from roseogrisea) following ICZN Opinion 2215.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.57d]

Based on Bonaccorso et al. (2011), the Chestnut-tipped Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus derbianus, is split into Whitely's Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus whitelianus Derby's Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus derbianus (aka Earl of Derby's Toucanet).
[Ramphastidae, Piciformes, 2.58]

Some English names have been updated to conform to IOC usage:

March 18

The English names of Japanese Warbler, Seicercus xanthodryas and Kamchatka Warbler, Seicercus examinandus have been changed to Japanese Leaf-Warbler and Kamchatka Leaf-Warbler, as recommended by Alström et al (2011c).
[Phylloscopidae, Sylvioidea II, 2.64]

The genus name of Sage Sparrow is corrected to Artemisiospiza belli) corrected to (from Artemisospiza). See Klicka and Banks (2011).
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.57]

March 7

The Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Campylopterus curvipennis, has been split into Curve-billed Sabrewing, Campylopterus curvipennis (sister to Long-tailed Sabrewing, Campylopterus excellens) and Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Campylopterus pampa, based on Gonzalez et al. (2011) and Navarro-Sig\"uenza, and Peterson (2004).
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.59]

March 6

Changed Parrot-Finch to Parrotfinch to match the IOC and Howard-Moore lists.
[Estrildidae, Core Passeroidea I, 2.57]

March 5

The name Celebesia (Riley, 1918) is preoccupied by Celebesia Bolivar 1917. It's been changed to Celebesica, the replacement name introduced by Strand in 1928.
[Campephagidae, Corvida I, 2.63]

February 2011

February 23

Spelling of Rhabdornithini corrected.
[Sturnidae, Muscicapoidea I, 2.51d]

February 21

As I add authors and dates for subfamilies and tribes, I have noticed some cases where I seem to have the wrong name. Today's example is Melanerpini replacing Dendropicini.
[Picidae, Anomalogonates II, 2.57f]

February 20

Based on Isler and Whitney (2011), I've split the Scale-backed Antbird, Willisornis poecilinotus, into Common Scale-backed Antbird, Willisornis poecilinotus, and Xingu Scale-backed Antbird, Willisornis vidua. I've also adjusted the tribes in the antbirds to correct priority and highlight the professional ant-followers.
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.54].

February 18

I've added authors for the names of the various bird orders. These appear in the order headings. One result has been to replace the name Scolopaci with Limicoli. Other that Brodkorb (1963-78), I haven't found much literature on this, and there are bound to be errors, so email me with the appropriate information if you think I've cited the wrong person.

After reading the discussion concerning SACC proposal #473, I've decided to lump both Hocking's Parakeet, Aratinga hockingi, and Chapman's Parakeet, Aratinga alticola, back into the Mitred Parakeet, Aratinga mitrata. Although these may well be separate species, I'd like to see some additional evidence.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.56]

The superfamily name Pachycephaloidea has been changed to Orioloidea, which has priority.
[Corvida I, 2.62]

The Indian Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus brunnescens, has been merged with the Clamorous Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus stentoreus. Although there is some evidence they are separate species (Rasmussen and Anderton, 2005), I think the whole stentoreus complex really needs further study, especially in view of the phylogeny in Helbig and Seibold (1999).
[Acrocephalidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.58]

The SACC is considering a proposal to split the Stripe-headed Brush-Finch, Arremon torquatus, into 8 species. So far it has strong support, and the evidence seems sufficiently convincing to go ahead with this one. The English names are taken from the group names in the latest Clements checklist (6.5), with one correction noted on their website. The split yields:

[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea IV, 2.56]

February 10

There are three minor updates from the IOC list:

  1. Chabert's Vanga, Leptopterus chabert becomes Chabert Vanga.
    [Vangidae, Corvida I, 2.61a]
  2. The IOC name of Hume's Groundpecker, Pseudopodoces humilis, is changed from Groundpecker to Ground Tit.
    [Paridae, Sylvioidea I, 2.57b]
  3. The scientific name of Lemon-breasted Canary corrected to Ochrospiza citrinipectus from citrinipecta. Apparently citrinipectus is invariable.
    [Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.55b]

The csv files have been updated to include these changes.

February 7

Using Reddy and Moyle (2011), I've moved Crescent-chested Babbler, Stachyridopsis melanothorax, to Stachyridopis (formerly Stachyris). I don't yet have a clear sense as to what changes are required in Pomatorhinus (the focus of their paper), so that will wait a while.
[Timaliidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.59].

February 4

I've used Jønsson et al. (2011b) to adjust the order within the corvid radiation. Besides the order of the corvid families, this has led to other changes. Both Corvoidea and Malaconotoidea have been restricted along the lines of Cracraft et al. (2004). The families Cinclosomatidae and Paramythiidae have been merged into Psophodidae, and Eulacestoma has been moved there also. Three genera are now considered incertae sedis: Rhagolopus, Platylophus, and Melampitta.
[Basal Oscines, 2.58;
[Corvida I, 2.61;
[Corvida II, 2.62].

Attributions have been added for all of the families. Four monotypic families seem not to have been formally named. These are listed as “Informal”. One of them, Hyliotidae, may have a name issue as Hyliotinae was used by Reitter for a beetle subfamily. Given that Swainson's Hyliota has priority over Reitter's, I'm not sure about the status of Reitter's Hyliotinae.

The csv files have been updated to include these changes.

January 2011

January 23, 30

The csv files have been updated.

January 22

Jønsson et al. (2011) recommended separating Gallicolumba into a restricted Gallicolumba (bleeding-hearts) and Alopecoenas (Australasian ground-doves). However, I preferred to further separate one of the clades as Pampusanna.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.57].

January 20

The Restinga Antwren, Formicivora littoralis, has been lumped into Serra Antwren, Formicivora serrana. See Firme and Raposa (2011).
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.53].

The Locustellidae have been rearranged using Alström et al. (2011b). Among other things, this involves merging Dromaeocercus into Bradypterus and splitting Bowdleria and Poodytes from Megalurus, with some former members of Megalurus moving to Cincloramphus.
[Locustellidae, Sylvioidea I, 2.57].

January 19

Based on David et al. (2010), two scientific names have been corrected. Barred Dove is now Geopelia maugeus (not maugei) and Purple-winged Ground-Dove is Claravis geoffroyi (not godefrida). [Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.56a].

The widely used White-vented Storm-Petrel has been added as an alternate name for Elliot's Storm-Petrel, Oceanites gracilis.
[Oceanitidae, Pelecanae II, 2.58].

January 8

The Rallidae have been given a preliminary reorganization to better take existing genetic studies into account. This should be regarded as a first draft.
[Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.54]

January 3

Following SACC, Colombian Chachalaca, Ortalis columbiana is split from Speckled Chachalaca, Ortalis guttata.
[Cracidae, Galliformes, 2.55]