Aves—A Taxonomy in Flux

Archives of ‘What's New’ Items

The updates for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 have been archived separately.

Comparison with IOC list, version 3.3

As of March 20, 2013, the TIF list contains 10631 species. The differences between the TIF and IOC lists involve about 200 species (98 species removed, 104 species added, compared to IOC 3.3). Of the 98 species on the IOC list that I have not included, about 75% are New World species that neither of the AOU committees has accepted. I will slowly be reconsidering both these and the extinct species. Adding all of the extras would bring the TIF list to 10729 species, 104 more than the current IOC list. Of those 102, 38 are on IOC's proposed or accepted split/new species list, 7 have been lumped on the IOC list, and 2 are extinct taxa not on the IOC list. This leaves 57 other splits or new species (some have previously been considered for addition to the IOC list).

IOC English Names

Although I started with the Howard-Moore list, I am now using the IOC list as a baseline. Every species gets an IOC-style name. That doesn't mean its the only name, or that it exactly matches the IOC name. Four percent of the species have two names. This usually happens because of differences between the IOC name and the AOU name (NACC or SACC). In such cases, I usually give the IOC name second. A few other non-IOC names have also been retained.

Some IOC-style names don't exactly match the true IOC name due to differences in taxonomy. For example, IOC recognizes two species of Laniisoma—Brazilian Laniisoma and Andean Laniisoma. In this case, I currently follow SACC taxonomy which has only one Laniisoma. However, their English name is entirely different (Shrike-like Cotinga). Keeping in mind that the species has been known as the Elegant Mourner, I added the IOC-ish English name Elegant Laniisoma.

The IOC-style names have been fully Americanized (gray, not grey; AOU-style hyphenation). I'm also a little more aggressive than AOU in adding hyphens to break up words that don't scan well. I'm also more aggressive than IOC at removing hyphens when they seem unnecessary. They may not always look the same, but they are pronounced the same. In a few cases where proper names are used as adjectives by the IOC, and an adjectival form is available, I substituted the adjectival form (e.g., Madagascan for Madagascar).

Spreadsheets

Stephen Nawrocki has updated his enhanced excel spreadsheet of the TIF world list to Version 2.79. Numbering now matches the csv files.

Four lists are also available in csv format:

• World (2.86 April 29, 2013)
• AOU (2.86 April 29, 2013)
• ABA (2.86 April 29, 2013)
• South America (2.86 April 29, 2013)

The ABA and AOU lists include only ABA or AOU species, but in TiF order. The South American list has a slightly different species list than the AOU SACC's working list.

May 2013

May 4

I changed the English name of Lanius meridionalis to Iberian Gray Shrike since it is monotypic in the TiF list.
[Laniidae, Corvida II, 2.69b]

April 2013

April 30

The specific epithet of Luzon Sunbird has been corrected to Aethopyga jefferyi (not jefferyi).
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 2.61b]

April 29

The csv files have been updated to version 2.86.

April 27

The genus name Nyctastes has been corrected to Nystactes (spotted by J. Penhallurick).
[Bucconidae, Piciformes, 2.66a]

Urantowka et al. (2013) found that the Blue-crowned Parakeet is sister to Diopsittaca. I've placed it in the monotypic genus Thectocercus (Ridgway 1912).
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.73]

April 19

I made some additional gender corrections thanks to Peter Kovalik.

• Limnocorax is masculine, affecting 6 species [Rallidae, 2.60a]
• Smithiglaux and Taenioglaux are feminine, affecting 5 species [Strigidae, 2.71b]
• nenday is invariable, thus the Nanday Parakeet is Aratinga nenday [Psittacidae, 2.72a]
• The Plumbeous Water-Redstart is Phoenicurus fuliginosus, not fuliginosa [Muscicapidae, 2.70a]

The Wallcreeper is family Tichodromidae, not Tichodromididae. It was originally established as the subfamily Tichodromia by Swainson, 1827 (Swainson did not use modern subfamily endings).
[Tichodromidae, Certhioidea, 2.54b]

The accentors have been rearranged based on Drovetski et al. (2013).
[Prunellidae, Core Passeroidea I, 2.59]

April 5

Five species have been removed from Streptopelia and placed in Spilopelia (Laughing and Spotted Doves) and Nesoenas (Malagasy Turtle-Dove, Pink Pigeon, and Rodrigues Pigeon). Although the latter two are often placed in Nesoenas, the Malagasy Turtle-Dove is usually in Streptopelia. This change is based on Johnson et al. (2001), Cheke (2005) and Gonzalez et al. (2009a).
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.66]

There is one genus spelling correction spotted by John Penhallurick: Baikal Teal, Sibirionetta formosa
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.61a].

Peter Kovalik has contributed a number of gender corrections:

• Analisoma and Edolisoma are neuter, affecting 10 species [Campephagidae, 2.70a]
• Spotted Thrush-Babbler becomes Illadopsis turdina [Pellorneidae, 2.69a]
• Red-collared Babbler becomes Turdoides rufocincta [Leiothrichidae, 2.69a]
• Apo Myna becomes Goodfellowia miranda [Sturnidae, 2.53a]
• Tristan Thrush becomes Turdus eremita [Turdidae, 2.70a]
• Thick-billed Flowerpecker becomes Pachyglossa agilis [Dicaeidae, 2.61a]
• Oahu Amakihi becomes Chlorodrepanis flava [Fringillidae, 2.63b]

March 2013

March 20

The Mistletoe Tyrannulet, Zimmerius parvus, Specious Tyrannulet, Zimmerius improbus, (inc tamae), and Venezuelan Tyrannulet, Zimmerius petersi, are split from Paltry Tyrannulet, Zimmerius vilissimus. See Rheindt et al. (2013).

The English name of Elaenia olivina has been changed to Tepui Elaenia from Roraiman Elaenia to match the IOC list. The Chilean Elaenia, Elaenia chilensis, is treated as a distinct species based on Rheindt et al. (2008b, 2009a). Further, the Hispaniolan Elaenia, Elaenia cherriei, has been split from the Greater Antillean Elaenia, Elaenia fallax, based on genetics (see Rheindt et al., 2008b) and distinctive vocalizations. The restricted Greater Antillean Elaenia is then endemic to Jamaica (note that there's already a Jamaican Elaenia).

Based on Garrido et al. (2009), the Loggerhead Kingbird has been split into three species: Western Loggerhead Kingbird, Tyrannus caudifasciatus, Hispaniolan Kingbird, Tyrannus gabbii, and Puerto Rican Kingbird, Tyrannus taylori.
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.62]

March 19

The Purple Quail-Dove, Geotrygon purpurata, has been split from Sapphire Quail-Dove, Geotrygon saphirina based on the recently passed SACC proposal #566.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.65]

The Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania colombica, and Green-crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania fannyi, have been merged into Crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania colombica. See SACC proposal #558. Note that AOU's NACC has not acted on this yet.
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.65]

The Chestnut-capped Puffbird is placed in genus Cyphos (Spix 1824) rather than Argicus (Cabanis and Heine 1863) because Cyphos is not preoccupied by Cyphus under current ICZN rules.
[Bucconidae, Piciformes, 2.66]

Western Slaty-Antshrike, Thamnophilus atrinucha, is renamed Black-crowned Antshrike (SACC #570).
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.61a]

There seems to be insufficient reason to consider Northern Parrotbill, Paradoxornis polivanovi, as a separate species from Reed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis heudei, so they are merged as Reed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis heudei (see Penhallurick and Robson, 2009; Yeung et al., 2011).
[Paradoxornithidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.69]

March 18

I've added a link for Peter Kovalik's spreadsheet that compares 5 world lists: IOC 3.3, Clements 6.7, TiF 2.85, BirdLife 5, and IBC/HBW.

March 8

I've made some minor adjustments to the order in Arenariinae (Turnstones and Stints) that brings it closer to the proposed AOU ordering.
[Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes, 2.66]

March 5

Prompted by a discussion with John Penhallurick, I've added a discussion of why I don't use Zosterops rendovae for either the Solomons or Gray-throated White-eye.
[Zosteropidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.68a]

March 1

Based on Nylander et al. (2008), the Chinese Blackbird, Turdus mandarinus, including the subspecies sowerbyi, but not intermedius, has been split from the Eurasian Blackbird, Turdus merula, and the Taiwan Thrush, Turdus niveiceps, has been split from the Island Thrush, Turdus poliocephalus. I've also done some rearrangement of the Olive Thrush complex.
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.70]

February 2013

February 24

The Hornbills (Bucerotidae) have been reordered based on the of Gonzalez et al. (2013), which includes all hornbill species. The Black Dwarf-Hornbill, Tockus hartlaubi, moves to the monotypic Horizocerus. The Sulawesi Hornbill, Penelopides exarhatus, moves to Cranobrontes (Riley 1921). However, since exarhatus is the type of Rhabdotorrhinus (Meyer and Wiglesworth 1898), the whole genus now takes the name Rhabdotorrhinus. I have also followed Hübner et al. (2003) and Gonzalez et al. in splitting Tockus into the whistlers (Lophoceros) and cluckers (Tockus). Note the genus name Lophoceros (Ehrenberg 1833) has priority over their suggested Rhynchaceros (Gloger 1842).
[Bucerotidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.71]

February 17

Today's changes focus on the superfamily Malaconotiodea, which has been the subject of a recent paper by Fuchs et al. (2012b). I've changed the family order to follow Fuchs et al.

The Mottled Whistler (Rhagologus) has move to Artamidae, as sister to the boatbills (with some uncertainty). The genus Gymnorhina (Australian Magpie) has been merged with Cracticus and Strepera has been reordered (see Kearns et al., 2013). The Black Butcherbird has been split into New Guinea Black-Butcherbird, Cracticus quoyi, and Australian Black-Butcherbird, Cracticus spaldingi (see Kearns et al., 2011) while the Silver-backed and Black-backed Butcherbirds (Cracticus argenteus and mentalis) have been lumped with the Gray Butcherbird, Cracticus torquatus (see Kearns et al, 2013).
[Artamidae, Corvida I, 2.70]

The order of genera in Malaconotidae has been updated using Fuchs et al. (2012b).
[Malaconotidae, Corvida I, 2.70]

Based on Fuchs et al. (2012b), the genus Dyaphorophyia has been restored, but left some taxa in Platysteira. The new Dyaphorophyia includes three wattle-eyes (tonsa, hormophora, castanea).
[Platysteiridae, Corvida I, 2.70]

In the Vangidae, I've placed the Philentomas in a separate subfamily, Philentominae and reordered the species in Xenopirostris and Newtonia based on Jønsson et al. (2012).
[Vangidae, Corvida I, 2.70]

February 15

Phabinae has been demoted to a tribe as the papers by Fulton et al. (2012) and Gibb and Penny (2010) have raised questions about whether the Pereira et al. (2007) topology is entirely correct. However, Pereira et al. seem to have the best dataset for examining the overall topology, and I continue to generally follow it.

I've used Moyle et al. (2013) to rearrange Phabini. This includes returning Pampusanna to Gallicolumba and separating the Crested Pigeon in the genus Ocyphaps.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.64]

The order of the species in the Lesser Whitethroat complex has been slightly adjusted based on Olsson et al. (2013). Along with this comes some reassignment of subspecies to better reflect the genetics.
[Sylviidae, Sylvioidea III, 2.68]

February 14

Added the newly discovered Rinjani Scops-Owl, Otus jolandae, to the list. See Sangster et al. (2013).
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.70]

February 13

Based on Hosner et al. (2013) Aethopyga has been rearranged and five additional species are recognized:

• Crimson Sunbird, Aethopyga siparaja, is split from Magnificent Sunbird, Aethopyga magnifica.
• Maroon-naped Sunbird, Aethopyga guimarasensis, is split from Flaming Sunbird, Aethopyga flagrans.
• Bohol Sunbird, Aethopyga decorosa, and Luzon Sunbird, Aethopyga jeffreyi, are split from Metallic-winged Sunbird, Aethopyga pulcherrima.
• Tboli Sunbird, Aethopyga tibolii, is split from Apo Sunbird, Aethopyga boltoni.

[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 2.61]

February 9

Three recently extinct species added to the IOC list in version 3.3 have been also added to the TiF list.

• Hawkins's Rail, Gallirallus hawkinsi. See Olson (1975), Cooper and Tennyson (2004), and Tennyson (2004). [Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.60]
• Bermuda Saw-whet Owl, Aegolius gradyi. See Olson (2012). [Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.69]
• Bermuda Towhee, Pipilo naufragus. See Olson and Wingate (2012). [Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.61]

January 2013

January 27

The order within the tinamous has been changed to follow Bertelli and Porzecanski (2004) more closely. Thanks to Keith Bennett for catching the error.
[Tinamiformes, Paleognaths & Anseriformes, 2.61]

January 25

The csv files have been updated to version 2.85.

The scientific name of the Mascarene Coot is corrected to Fulica newtonii (was F. newtoni).
[Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.59b]

The scientific name of the Hooded Dotterel is corrected to Thinornis cucullatus (was T. rubricollis).
[Charadriidae, Charadriiformes, 2.65a]

Although the SACC is still deliberating, some progress has been made toward replacing the temporary names for the various Schiffornis species. Thus Schiffornis olivacea become Guianan Schiffornis (was Olivaceous Schiffornis) and Schiffornis stenorhyncha becomes Russet-winged Schiffornis (was Rufous-winged Schiffornis).
[Tityridae, Tyrannida I, 2.54a]

The following English names are changed to match IOC changes.

• The alternate name Eastern Curlew has been removed from Far Eastern Curlew, Numenius madagascariensis (Scolopacidae).
• Tarictic Hornbill, Penelopides panini, becomes Visayan Hornbill (Bucerotidae).
• Yodeling Honeyeater, Gymnomyza viridis, becomes Giant Honeyeater (Meliphagidae).
• Brown-throated Treecreeper, Certhia discolor, becomes Sikkim Treecreeper (Certhiidae).

January 21

The Hapalopsittaca tree is resolved and the position of Graydidascalus and Alipiopsitta has been adjusted following Quintero et al. (2013).
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.72]

In anticipation of some with the next edition of the IOC list, I've merged Erythrina, Haematospiza, and Chaunoproctus into Carpodacus. This means that all of the Carpodacini rosefinches are now in genus Carpodacus (there are also two rosefinches in Pyrrhulini). I've also merged Neospiza, Dendrospiza, Pseudochloroptila, and Ochrospiza into Crithagra on the grounds that they are weakly differentiated. There is no change in the linear order.
[Fringillidae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.63]

January 20

The genus Polyplectron has been rearranged based on Davison et al. (2012) and Kimball et al. (2011).
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.64]

I have finally decided how to incorporate Barker et al. (2013). This was complicated by the fact that, even though this is the most complete analysis of the nine-primaried oscines, it still leaves many unanswered questions. There is a lot of disagreement between the gene trees, likely due to rapid speciation. This means that much uncertainly still remains. The highlights follow.

Barker et al. recommended using several new families. I've adopted two of those, establishing Rhodinocichlidae for the Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Rhodinocichla rosea, and elevating and expanding Phaenicophilinae for the Palm-Tanagers and some other West Indian species. However, I've also declined to follow several other recommendations. Thus Nesospingus and Spindalis are included in Phaenicophilidae rather than getting their own families, the Yellow-breasted Chat, Icteria virens, is moved to Icteridae as a subfamily, rather than getting its own family, and both Zeledonia and Teretistris are left unclassified near Icteridae and Parulidae rather than getting their own families. Finally, the family I previously referred to as Lamprospinzidae now has an official name: Mitrospingidae.

Some reorganization of the families was then needed to fit all this in. The revised Emberizoidae look like this:

TiF Emberizoidae Phylogeny

Several other taxa have been shuffled around above the generic level:

• The Olive-green Tanager, Orthogonys chloricterus, has moved to Mitrospingidae from Thraupidae.
• The new tribe Incaspizini is formed from Incaspiza, Porphyrospiza, and Rhopospina, all formerly in Poospizini. Incaspizini is basal in the Thraupinae branch.
• The tribes in Dacninae have been reordered according to size (except Conirostrini and Diglossini) as I no longer think we have any solid information about their relationships, other than being in the same subfamily.
• The Coal-crested Finch, Charitospiza eucosma, gets its own tribe Charitispizini. It had been Incertae sedis in Thraupidae.
• The Blue-backed Tanager, Cyanicterus cyanicterus, and Scarlet-throated Tanager, Compsothraupis loricata have moved to Nemosiini. Both had been Incertae sedis in Thraupidae. As a result, the genus Compsothraupis is merged into Sericossypha.
• The Black-masked Finch, Coryphaspiza melanotis, moved to Emberizoidini. It had been Incertae sedis in Thraupidae.
• The Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak, Parkerthraustes humeralis, Brown Tanager, Orchesticus abeillei, and Plushcap, Catamblyrhynchus diadema are now in Hemithraupini. The grosbeak had been in Saltatorinae, the other two had been Incertae sedis in Thraupidae.
• Both Creurgops move to Tachyphonini from Poospizini.

Various other changes have been included, including a reordering of the blackbird tribes and subfamilies based on Price et al. (2010) and Barker et al. (2013). This version is a more sensible arrangement, with all the caciques and oropendolas grouped together again. Most of the other changes involve minor changes in order. Also, thanks go to Liam Hughes who sent me some corrections for subgeneric names in Emberiza. These have been incorporated in the current version.

These changes affect three files:

• Core Passeroidea III, 2.60
• Core Passeroidea IV, 2.62
• Core Passeroidea V, 2.67