A FOCUS ON NATURE TOURS FEATURE
with updates  Sept 2012  July 2012, July 2011, and July 2010 

Some Recent Bird Taxonomy Changes, 
including two Murrelets where there was one

And new taxonomy from the BOU (the British Ornithologists Union)
and in a new book about owls   


This feature, composed by Armas Hill, relates to updates and revisions of bird taxonomy and nomenclature during the 3 years from 2012 back through 2010.
The changes have been incorporated in the lists and photo galleries of birds linked at the end of the feature.  

September 2012:

In September 2012, the British Ornithologists Union (the BOU) "split" the Cory's Shearwater into 3 species:

- the Cory's Shearwater, Calonectris borealis, breeding on north Atlantic islands, in the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, going, when not breeding, into the western Atlantic Ocean

- the Scopoli's Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea, breeding in the Mediterranean Sea, going, when not breeding, into the Atlantic Ocean

- the Cape Verde Shearwater, Calonectris edwardsii    
(the last of these was already recognized by the American Ornithologists Union, the AOU, in 2006)

In the field, the Scopoli's Sheawater can appear appreciably smaller billed than the Cory's Shearwater.
However, it must be noted that both the Cory's Shearwater and the Scopoli's Shearwater have marked sexual dimorphism, so that a small female Cory's Shearwater can overlap in bill-size with a male Scopoli's Shearwater.
But, because the Scopoli's Shearwater has a smaller head, its bill can look large.
The Cory's Shearwater has been said to be the largest shearwater. The wingspan of the Cory's Shearwater is from 113 to 124 cm. That of the Scopoli's Shearwater is from 110 to 121 cm.   

Under similar conditions, the flight of the Scopoli's Shearwater is lighter and less lumbering than that of the Cory's Shearwater, with somewhat quicker wingbeats.

Off North America, the Scopoli's Shearwater is said to occur as an uncommon to rare nonbreeding visitor, mostly from May to October, in warmer waters from Florida north to New England, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
It likely occurs in the North American range of the Cory's Shearwater that is much more numerous. 


Continuing with the recent taxonomic changes by the BOU, the British Ornithologists Union:

This month, they "split" the Band-rumped Storm Petrel into 3 species:

- the Madeiran Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma castro, breeding in the summer, from June to October, on the Madeira archipelago and the northeastern Canary Islands

- the Cape Verde Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma jabejabe, breeding on the Cape Verde Islands, little known but said to have 2 genetically distinct populations

- the Monteiros Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma monteioroi, breeding on the Azores Islands, described formally in 2008

From the recently-published book, "Petrels, Albatrosses, & Storm-Petrels of North America, A Photographic Guide", by Steve Howell, the following:

Recent studies have found considerable diversity within the Band-rumped Storm Petrel complex, with at least 9 distinct populations, with at least 5 in the Atlantic Ocean and 4 in the Pacific Ocean. 
Several, maybe all, of these populations are distinct enough to be recognized as species. Identification at sea however can still be described as problematic.

Another North Atlantic population, breeding in the winter, that has been called the "Grant's Storm Petrel" has yet to be described. It nests from October to March in the eastern North Atlantic islands of the Azores, Berlangas, the Canary Islands, the Madeiran archipelago, and the Selvagens.

The "Grant's Storm Petrel" has certainly been found in oceanic waters offshore from eastern North America. The wing molt schedule of most Gulf Stream and Gulf of Mexico birds is consistent with the Grant's. It ranges at sea mainly from May to August in warm waters of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Other populations of what has been the Band-rumped Storm Petrel may well occur off eastern North America including the Madeiran Storm Petrel, which may be an uncommon to rare non-breeding visitor to the Gulf Stream off North Carolina and maybe elsewhere, probably from May to August.  


Other recent BOU taxonomic changes include:

The splitting of the Somali Courser, Cursorius somalensis, from the Cream-colored Courser, Cursorius cursor.
We've seen the Cream-colored Courser (a nice bird!) during FONT tours in the Canary Islands.

From the Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis, that occurs in Alaska, two splits:
1) the Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, Phyllopscopus examinandus, and
2) the Japanese Leaf Warbler, Phyllopscopus xanthodryas
Both of these "new species" have been seen during FONT tours in Japan.

In the area of the western Mediterranean, the Marmora's Warbler has been split to:
1) the Balearic Warbler, Sylvia balearica, on the Balearic Islands, and
2) the Marmora's Warbler, Sylvia sarda, on Corsica, Sardinia, and in southern France

In the Eurasian Nuthatch there has been a "split". With the new Siberian Nuthatch, Sitta asiatica.

The Siberian Nuthatch has been seen numerous times during FONT Japan Tours in Hokkaido.
The range of the Siberian Nuthatch is from the Ural Mountains east to the Sea of Okhotsk, south to northern Mongolia, northwestern Manchuria, and the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Siberian Nuthatch

A new subspecies has been created for the European Storm Petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus.
It is: the Mediterranean Storm Petrel, Hydrobates melitensis, breeding on the Cabrera archipelago of the Balearic Islands off northeastern Spain.

And, lastly, here, the BOU has put the Ruff, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and the Broad-billed Sandpiper into the genus Calidris. These 3 species have had their own unique genera.   

The American Barn Owl

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ANYWHERE ABOUT OWLS WAS PUBLISHED EARLIER THIS YEAR, IN 2012.

It is entitled "Owls of the World, A Photographic Guide", by Heimo Mikkola. In the book, the photographs of virtually every OWL in the world, are tremendous, and the text is informative and excellent.
Heimo Mikkola is an owl expert who has been studying OWLS for a long time. Another book of his, "Owls of Europe" has long been in my library. It was published in 1983.

In the 2012 book, there is some interesting "new" taxonomy, including:
the American Barn Owl split from that in the Old World, along with some other Barn Owls in the area of the Caribbean,
the splitting of owls in the Galapagos Islands, both the Barn and the Short-eared Owls, 
and the splitting of the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl into various "species" including the Ridgway's Pygmy Owl in Central America, and the Chaco Pygmy Owl in, among other places, southwestern Brazil.
A number of other adjustments have been made to screech owls and other pygmy owls in Central & South America.
The Mottled Owl is treated as an exclusively South American species, with now the Mexican Wood Owl in Mexico & Central America.  
In all, there are 249 different OWLS in the book.

July 2012: 

"One Murrelet becomes Two, and what became of Caprimulgus?"

Now here's a name to try to say quickly:  "Scripps's Murrelet".
It's now the name of what was part of the Xantu's Murrelet. Now Mr. Xantu only has a hummingbird for a namesake.
The Scripps's Murrelet, Synthliboramphus scrippsi, occurs at sea in California. It ranges outside the breeding season north, rarely, to northern California, and more rarely to Oregon and Washington State.
It breeds on islands off southern California: San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Barbara, San Clemente, and formerly Santa Catalina, and in western Baja California, Mexico on San Benito, and Coronado and San Jeronimo islands. On larger islands (such as San Miguel, Santa Cruz, and San Clemente), it is confined largely or entirely to offshore rocks.

The other half of what was the Xantu's Murrelet is now the Guadalupe Murrelet, Synthliboramphus hypoleucus. It breeds on offshore rocks and islands off western Baja California, Mexico from Guadalupe Island south to the San Benito islands. Breeding is unconfirmed on San Martin Island, in Baja California, and San Clemente and Santa Barbara Islands in California, USA.
It presumably winters offshore within the breeding range along the Pacific coast of Baja California.   

Other changes in the 53rd Supplement of the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds, July 2012, include the following:

If you've been in Costa Rica and you've seen what have has been the Gray Hawk in both the northern and the southern parts of the country, you can add a species to your list.  
From northern Costa Rica north to Arizona and Texas, and rarely New Mexico, it is still the Gray Hawk, with the scientific name of Buteo plagiatus.
From southern Costa Rica south into South America, it is now the Gray-lined Hawk, Buteo nitidus.
South of Costa Rica, it is in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, the Guianas. It is further south, west of the Andes to western Ecuador and east of the Andes to Paraguay, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil.

An immature Gray Hawk
photographed during a FONT tour in Mexico

If you've been in Costa Rica, you may have another adjustment to your bird-list. It is now the Costa Rican Brush Finch, Arremon costaricensis, in southwestern Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama, and the Black-headed Brush Finch, Arremon atricapillus, further east in Panama. Both of these were part of the Stripe-headed Brush Finch of further south, in South America, Arremon torquatus.   

If you've been to the Galapagos Islands, the Galapagos Shearwater, now Puffinus subalaris, has been split from the Audubon's Shearwater. Genetics have shown it to be more closely related to the Christmas Island Shearwater.

Other changes in 2012 relate to genera:

The genus of the Calliope Hummingbird is now Selasphorus, the same genus as the Rufous, Allen's, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. The Calliope was in a genus of its own, Stelluta.

Calliope Hummingbird

Three North American finches are now in a new genus. The Purple, Cassin's, and House Finch are now Haemorhous. Previously they were in Carpodacus, an Old World genus containing the Common, or Scarlet, Rosefinch and other similar species.

House Finch, in North America, now in Haemorhous

 



Pallas's Rosefinch, in Japan, still in Carpodacus

 

Some of us learned Caprimulgus as the genus for the crepuscular and nocturnal birds known as "goatsuckers". That Latin word, Caprimulgus, means "goat-milker". 
Aristotle, among others, a long time ago, accepted the belief of shepherds that the birds would fly to the udders of goats for their milk, and thus the name.
Of course, in reality, those birds, both in the Old World and the New World, feed on flying insects. 

Not due of nomenclature, but for anatomical reasons, Caprimulgus is gone in the New World. The new genus of most of those birds is now Antrostomus, and for some others, Hydropsalis.
Those in Antrostomas include: the Chuck-wills-widow, the Eastern Whip-poor-will, the Mexican Whip-poor-will, and the Buff-collared Nightjar.  
Others in Mexico and Central and/or South America are: Rufous Nightjar, Tawny-collared Nightjar, Yucatan Nightjar, and the Dusky Nightjar.  
Those on Caribbean islands are the Greater Antillean Nightjar, and the very rare & localized Puerto Rican Nightjar.
Birds formerly in Caprimulgus that are now in the new genus Hydropsalis include: the White-tailed Nightjar and the Spot-tailed Nightjar.   
  

   

A Rufous Nightjar during a FONT tour,
in the New World, now Antrostomas

  

A Grey Nightjar during a FONT tour,
in the Old World, still Caprimulgus

15 species of wrens, of Central & South America, and Mexico, are now in new genera: 
Now in Pheugopedius, these Wrens: Black-throated, Black-bellied, Rufous-breasted, Spot-breasted, Sooty-headed, and Happy (guessing it's "happy" now to be there).
Now in Thryophilus, these Wrens: Sinaloa (that's the rarity that was found a couple years ago in southern Arizona), Rufus-and-white, and Banded.
Now in Cantorchilus, these Wrens: Stripe-throated, Stripe-breasted, Plain, Bay, Riverside, and Buff-breasted.
All of these wrens were in the now-defunct genus Thryothorus.

Some raptors in Central and South America are now in different, or new, genera.
The Montane Solitary Eagle has been merged into Buteogallus, the genus of the Black Hawks (the Common and the Great) and others.
For the Plumbeous Hawk, of Panama for example, one now has to type more letters as Leucopternis plumbeus has become Cryptoleucopteryx plumbeus.
Also exiting Leucopternis have been the White Hawk, now Pseudastur albicollis, and the Barred Hawk, now Morphnarchus princeps.
Cryptoleucopteryx, Pseudaster, and Morphnarchus are all new genera, and each of the 3 species just mentioned, the Plumbeous Hawk, the White Hawk, and the Barred Hawk are the only members of their genera.

White Hawk

The Central American Smoky-brown Woodpecker has been moved from the Veniliornis genus to Picoides. 

Also in the AOU 2012 Checklist, there is the first NEW bird species to have been found in the United States in nearly four decades, 37 years.
But the bird was identified in a museum collection! It has been seen in life, but not often.
The bird is the Byron's Shearwater, Puffinus byroni. It was described in 2011, but from a specimen that had been collected in 1963 on Midway Atoll, northwest of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
At that time, that small shearwater was thought to be a Little Shearwater. Later, a second specimen was tagged and recorded on Midway in 1990.

In February of 2012, DNA tests on 6 specimens of Puffinus byroni, found on the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, alive and dead between 1997 and 2011, determined the birds to be Byron's Shearwaters.
It is assumed that the species still survives in the uninhabited Japanese Ogasawara Islands.

July 2011 & July 2010:

"Once again a Gallinule, and Tanagers no longer so; also Wrens, Whip-poor-wills, and more" 

As of July 2011, according the American Ornithologists Union (the AOU), it is the Common Gallinule throughout the Americas, Gallinula galeata, distinct from the Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, of the Old World.
After all, it is GALLINULA galeata!

A juvenile Common Gallinule
(photo by Doris Potter)

And now the Snowy Plover of the Americas, Charadrius nivosus, is distinct from the Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, of the Old World.

The Mexican Jay in the US has a new scientific name, Aphelocoma wollweberi, as a portion of its population in Mexico has been split into a new species, the Transvolcanic Jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina.  

Further to the south, if you've seen the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan in Costa Rica, you may be interested that it is now part of the more-southerly Black-mandibled Toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus.  

If in the West Indies or northern South America, you've seen what has been called the American Bare-eyed Thrush, it now has a new name, the Spectacled Thrush. It is still Turdus nudigenis.

Among the Wood Warblers, throughout the Americas, there has been a major taxonomic revision. In North America, no species have been "lost", and none have been "gained", but there have been some notable changes as to the genera.
"Parula" is still in the common English names for the Northern and Tropical Parulas, but the genus is now gone.
What has been a large genus, Dendroica, is now gone.
The birds that have been in it, as well as the two Parulas, are now in the genus where, until now, there has only been one bird, the American Redstart. That now large genus is Setophaga.    

The genus Wilsonia no longer exists. From it, the Hooded Warbler is now in Setophaga, while the Canada Warbler and the Wilson's Warbler are now in Cardellina, where previously there was only the Red-faced Warbler that only reaches the US in Arizona.
Also now in the expanded Cardellina genus is the Red Warbler in Mexico, and if you've never seen the dainty Pink-headed Warbler in Guatemala, you might like to know that it is in Cardellina as well. The Red and the Pink-headed Warblers were in the now defunct genus, Ergaticus.  

The Connecticut Warbler is now the only member of the Oporornis genus. The similar Mourning and MacGillivray's Warblers, along with the Kentucky Warbler, have now gone to Geothlypis, the genus of the Yellowthroats.     

If you've seen the Barbuda Warbler or the Saint Lucia Warbler on those respective Caribbean islands, or the Adelaide's or Elfin Woods Warbler in Puerto Rico, or the Arrowhead Warbler in Jamaica, or the Vitelline Warbler in the Cayman Islands, or the Plumbeous Warbler on Dominica or Guadeloupe, they are all now in the genus Setophaga, rather than Dendroica.

In Mexico and Guatemala, the Fan-tailed Warbler, formerly the sole member of Euthlypis, is now in the genus Basileuterus, along with, among others, the warbler that has the largest range of any in the Americas, the Golden-crowned Warbler, that has also now been called the Stripe-crowned Warbler.  

In the Bahamas, there is now a new species. The Bahama Warbler, Setophaga flavescens, is now distinct from the Yellow-throated Warbler, formerly Dendroica, now Setophaga dominica.   

According to the July 2011 AOU List, the Yellow-breasted Chat is still a "problematic" warbler, and the Mountain Chickadee remains as it has been, one species. 

And now, the tanagers that are "no longer tanagers": The Flame-colored Tanager (above) and the Summer Tanager (below) and others in the genus Piranga are now in the Cardinal family (Cardinalidae), having left the family of Tanagers (Thraupidae) during the AOU changes in July 2010. More of the changes made in 2010 follow, including other tanagers moved to the family of cardinals.

(upper photo by Ruben Campos, lower photo by Howard Eskin) 



  

Usually, when people travel with us on tours, they add "new birds to their list", seeing what they have not seen previously.
Sometimes, however, such "new birds" can be added later in the comfort, let's say, of an armchair at home.
The new 51st Supplement of the AOU (American Ornithologists Union) Bird Checklist came out in 2010, and among the changes were these:

If you've seen what has been the Winter Wren in parts of Alaska and elsewhere in western North America, you can now mark it down as the Pacific Wren, Troglodytes pacificus.
Pacificus, which was a subspecies of the Winter Wren, was first described by Spencer Baird in 1864. There are 9 subspecies of the Pacific Wren, with a number of them restricted to Alaskan islands in the Pacific.  

The Winter Wren continues in eastern North America, but now with the scientific name, Troglodytes hiemalis.
What we've called the Winter Wren in North America, has been "the Wren", in the Old World, Troglodytes troglodytes. Now that bird is the Eurasian Wren. It is the only wren outside the New World. In the Americas, there are about 75 species of wrens.

The Eurasian Wren, however, has a range in places as far flung as Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Japan, and Taiwan It has about 30 subspecies, and there may yet be more splits relating to it. 
In eastern Asia, there are subspecies on the northern & southern Kuril islands and the Commander Islands.
The subspecies on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, T. t. alascensis, described by Baird in 1869, may be of the Eurasian Wren.
 
The genus for at least some of the Eurasian Wren may become Nannus, from Troglodytes. Some changes may yet happen with that widespread species, which has been in both the Old World & the New World, beyond the changes that have been approved by the AOU. 

A Winter Wren
photographed in eastern North America
(photo by Howard Eskin)

If you've seen or heard a whip-poor-will in the American Southwest, or in Mexico or Guatemala, you can now mark it down as the Mexican Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus arizonae, distinct from the Eastern Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, which breeds in eastern North America. 
The Mexican Whip-poor-will is a bird of montane pine forests from the southwest US to Honduras.

Also notable in the 2010 AOU adjustments, as noted above, is that what we have called "tanagers" in North America are no longer in the "tanager" family, Thraupidae.  They were moved to the "cardinal" family, Cardinalidae.

In addition to the 4 species of "tanagers" normally residing in North America, at least during part of the year, some others in the Piranga genus in Central & South America are also making the move. Their family ties notwithstanding, they are all still keeping "tanager" as their common names.
The "real tanagers" are now inhabitants of just Central & South America, and some Caribbean islands. 

Still to be called "Tanagers", the birds in the genus Piranga, that are making the move to the Cardinal family, Cardinalidae include the Scarlet, Summer, Western, Hepatic, Tooth-billed (of southern Central America), Red (of South America), Flame-colored, Rose-throated, White-winged, Red-headed, and Red-hooded. 
Others that made the move to Cardinalidae are the ant-tanagers, in the genus Habia, and those tanagers in the genus Chlorothraupis (the Carimol's, Olive, Lemon-spectacled, and Ochre-breasted).     
Moving from Cardinalidae are the saltators, in the genus Saltator, to a "place unknown". 

The following is from a narrative written in 2010 by Armas Hill, relating to the FONT Japan Tour in May of that year, and referring to yet more taxonomic changes. What is in burgundy print is from that narrative, and then, after that, more again relating to the 2010 AOU updates.  

In the book, "Birds of East Asia", by Mark Brazil, some notable taxonomic "splits" of bird species include the following. A number of these are also reflected in the 51st Supplement to the AOU (American Ornithologists Union) Checklist.
   

Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Anas zonorhyncha
from Spot-billed Duck, Anas poecilorhyncha

Eastern Cattle Egret, Bubulcus coromandus
from Western Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis

Eastern Water Rail, Rallus indicus
from Water Rail, Rallus aquaticus

Eastern Buzzard, Buteo japonicus
from Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo

Eastern Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa melanuroides
from Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa

Eastern Grass Owl, Tyto longimembris
from Grass Owl, Tyto capensis

Eastern Great Tit, Parus minor
from the now Northern Great Tit, Parus major

Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla tschutschensis
from the Western Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava

Also:

Black-eared Kite, Milvus lineatus
from Black Kite, Milvus migrans

Northern Harrier, Circus hudsonius (of North America)
from Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus

Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maurus
from Eurasian Stonechat, Saxicola torquatus.

For those of us in North America, it's notable that some of the birds just listed have occurred on our continent, especially in Alaska: the Eastern Spot-billed Duck, the Eastern Black-tailed Godwit, the more-regular Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and the Siberian Stonechat.

Eastern Spot-billed Ducks photographed during a FONT tour in Japan

As to others having occurred in Alaska, I do not know but maybe the Eastern Cattle Egret has. Maybe someone else knows as to that.

Regarding the Eastern Cattle Egret, it is larger than the Western Cattle Egret, with a longer bill, neck and legs. The breeding plumage of the Western Cattle Egret is never as orange as that of the Eastern Cattle Egret. The legs of the Western Cattle Egret are yellowish or grayish-olive, and never black as those of the Eastern Cattle Egret can be.

A Western Cattle Egret.
This species is believed to have come 
to the Americas on its own from Africa.
(photo by Howard Eskin) 

Also in the "Birds of East Asia", by Mark Brazil, the Black Scoter, Melanitta americana, is split from the Common Scoter, Melanitta nigra. It is the Black Scoter that occurs in North America, while the Common Scoter is in Europe. Along the Japanese coast in the winter, and breeding in Siberia, it is the Black Scoter, the otherwise "American bird".   

Just as the terns have recently been placed into more genera, so have, in Brazil's book, the gulls:
Into Chroicocephas from Larus: Black-headed Gull, Bonaparte's Gull.
Into Leucophaeus from Larus: Laughing Gull, Franklin's Gull.
Into Hydrocoloeus from Larus: Little Gull.

The genus Chroicocephas also applies now to the Gray-hooded Gull of South America & Africa. and Leucophaeus applies to the Gray Gull of South America.

Gray-hooded Gulls on a beach, 
photographed during a FONT tour in southern Brazil  
(photo by Marie Gardner)

For another species that has occurred on occasion in North America, mostly in Alaska, the genus has been changed:
The Red-flanked Bluetail is now in Luscinia rather than Tarsiger. The Luscinia genus is also that of the Bluethroat and the Siberian Rubythroat.

A Red-flanked Bluetail photographed during a FONT tour in Japan
  

The 2 species of Jackdaws (the Western and the Daurian) are now in the genus Coloeus, instead of Corvus.

Western Jackdaw
(photo by Andy Ednie)

The Snow & McKay's Buntings are now in the genus Calcarius (with the Longspurs), instead of Plectrophenax.

Snow Bunting 
(photo by Howard Eskin)

The McCown's Longspur, of North America, now has its own genus, Rhynchophanes, as it is said to be more closely related to the Snow Bunting than to the other longspurs. 

McCown's Longspur

The longspurs & the Snow Bunting now have a family of their own, the CALCARIIDAE, which is placed in proper order after the Olive Warbler and before the New World Warblers.  

Among the New World Warblers, some now belong to a new genus, Oreothlypis. In it are: Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Virginia's, Colima, Lucy's, and the Crescent-chested (of Mexico & northern Central America) and the Flame-throated (of southern central America). 

Nashville Warbler

The two waterthrushes are now in a genus of their own, Parkesia. And, so, now, the Ovenbird is the sole member of its genus, Seiurus.

Ovenbird
(photo by Marie Gardner)

Some New World Sparrows are now in a new genus, but they remain in the same family. Sparrows in the new genus Peucaea are: Rufous-winged, Cassin's, Botteri's, and Bachman's, along with these in Mexico and Central America: Cinnamon-tailed, Black-chested, Bridled, and Stripe-headed.
The Five-striped Sparrow is now in the genus Amphispiza, along with the Sage and Black-throated Sparrows. 

The Brown Jay now has its own genus, Psilorhinus. It was, with others, in Cyanocorax.      

The "brown towhees", the Canyon, California, Abert's, and the White-throated of Mexico, have been transferred from the genus Pipilo to Melozone, the genus of the ground sparrows of Mexico and Central America. 

Canyon Towhee
(photo by Howard Eskin)

No longer in the genus Carduelis, the siskins and goldfinches are in the genus Spinus. Also from Carduelis, the redpolls are in the genus Acanthis, and the greenfinches, mostly in Eurasia, are in Chloris. 

American Goldfinch
(photo by Howard Eskin)

Lastly, the AOU has now determined that Puffinus gravis should now have the common name of Great Shearwater, as it has been elsewhere. We've known it as the Greater Shearwater.

Great Shearwater
(photo by Alan Brady)

All of the changes that have been noted here, and some others, are now noted in the relevant bird-lists elsewhere in this web-site, for Asia, Europe, and North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. (Links follow) 

Links to Lists & Photo Galleries of Birds in the FONT Website:

BRAZIL:    Part #1:  Tinamous to Doves    Part #2:  Macaws to Flycatchers  
Part #3:   Antshrikes to Grosbeaks  

CARIBBEAN:    Part #1:  Guineafowl to Hummingbirds     Part #2:  Trogons to Buntings

CENTRAL AMERICA:    Part #1:  Tinamous to Doves     Part #2:  Macaws to Woodpeckers

Part #3:  Manakins to Thrushes     Part #4:  Thrushes to Buntings

EUROPE:    Part #1: Grouse to Puffin     Part #2: Sandgrouse to Buntings

JAPAN:    Part #1:  Pheasants to Pittas     Part #2:  Minivets to Buntings

MEXICO:    Part #1:  Tinamous to Shorebirds     Part #2:  Jaegers to Flycatchers

Part #3:  Manakins to Buntings

NORTH AMERICA:    Part #1:  Grouse to Anhinga     Part #2: Condor to Shorebirds 

Part #3:  Jaegers to Flycatchers     Part #4:  Owls to Flycatchers

Part #5:  Shrikes to Pipits     Part #6: Olive Warbler to Buntings


Other Links:

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours      FONT Past Tour Highlights 

 

To Top of Page