Aves—A Taxonomy in Flux

November 2013

November 21

We were pleased to get a mention in the new ABA “Birder's Guide to Listing and Taxonomy”.

November 3

The genus Antilophia has been merged into Chiroxiphia, as Chiroxiphia would otherwise be paraphyletic. Further, the new Chiroxiphia has been rearranged. For both, see Agne (2012).
[Pipridae, Tyrannida I, 2.57]

October 2013

October 27

The CSV files have been updated to version 2.89.

The genus Charadrius has been carved up into Zonibyx, Afroxyechus, Eupoda, Ochthodromus, and of course Charadrius due to the results in Barth et al. (2013). Further, Elseyornis was merged into Thinornis, which also gains the Little Ringed Plover (rather uncertainly). Finally, the New Zealand and Double-banded Plovers have been moved to Anarhynchus from Charadrius. Additional details are in the file.
[Charadriidae, Charadriiformes, 2.68]

October 26

The gender of the Psittacara species has been corrected.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.73e]

The English name of Acrocephalus musae becomes Garrett's Reed-Warbler (was Leeward Islands Reed-Warbler) to better match the IOC.
[Acrocephalidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.74b]

I've incorporated Bryson et al. (2014) on the blue cardinalids. I resorted Amaurospiza and moved the Blue Bunting from Cyanoloxia to Passerina. I followed Bryson et al. in splitting Ecuadorian Seedeater, Amaurospiza aequatorialis, from Blue Seedeater, Amaurospiza concolor, and Rothschild's Grosbeak, Cyanoloxia rothschildii, from Blue-black Grosbeak, Cyanoloxia cyanoides. The latter gives me an armchair tick as I have seen Rothschild's at Alta Floresta (Brazil) and Blue-black in the Canal Zone (Panama). There were a couple of other possible splits which they are not recommending at this time. Nonetheless, I additionally split the Turquoise-fronted Bunting, Passerina indigotica, of western Mexico from Blue Bunting, Passerina parellina.
[Cardinalidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.72]

October 16

I made some adjustments to the Nightjars and Nighthawks based on Sigurdsson (2013). He confirmed that the Setopagis did not form a clade (also suggested by Han et al., 2010). As a result, Setopagis, Eleothreptus, Systellura, and Macropsalis have been submerged into Hydropsalis. Further, three species have been split from the Band-winged Nightjar, Hydropsalis longirostris. They include Tschudi's Nightjar, Hydropsalis decussata, and Tepui Nightjar, Hydropsalis roraimae, both also advocated by Cleere (2010), and Rufous-naped Nightjar, Hydropsalis ruficervix. Sigurdsson (2013) has identified several other taxa that seem to be phylogenetic species (including subspecies of the Lesser Nighthawk and Pauraque). I'm not yet convinced they are biological species and have not included them here.
[Caprimulgidae, Strisores, 2.59]

October 12

I've restructured Corvida and made two adjustments in the surrounding clades based on Aggerbeck et al. (2014). I'll take the surrounding clades first. The parvorders Orthonychida and Pomatostomida have been combined as Orthonychida. This doesn't change the linear order in any way.
[Orthonychida, Basal Oscines, 2.65c]

Secondly, I've moved Callaeoidea up two notches to be the basal Passerida group.
[Callaeoidea, Basal Oscines, 2.55]

This brings us to Corvida. Mohouidae now forms the basal clade in Corvida. I've merged Oreoicidae into Pachycephalidae, moved Cinclosoma into Pachycephalidae. It's followed by the new monotypic family Eulacestomidae (split from Psophodidae). A little farther down the tree, the Paramythiidae (painted berrypeckers) are also split from Psophodidae.

The next change is in Artamidae. The boatbills (Machaerirhynchidae) have been split off and placed slightly farther down the list. Within the narrow Corvoidea, I've reversed the order of the fantails and drongos, split off Ifrita as its own family (Ifritidae) and moved the Crested Jay (Platylophus) into the shrike family.

The diagram below sums up the new arrangement.
[Corvida I, Corvida I, 2.72]
[Corvida II, 2.71]

October 10

The genus name Hafferia (Isler et al., 2013) has been replaced by Akletos (Dunajewski 1948, type melanoceps). Dunajewski named the female as a separate species and genus, not realizing that the male was previously known. The SACC has it listed under “Hybrids and Dubious Taxa”. That Dunajewski named the female should make no difference as far as the Code is concerned, thus Akletos has priority. Note that my version of this genus includes Inundicola, hence the name change.
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.62a]

The arrangement of the chickadees is now based on Harris et al. (2014a). They sequenced a number of additional nuclear genes and found this to be the most likely topology. Mitochondrial genes consistently give a different result where the plumage does not make sense.
[Paridae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.74]

October 8

The CSV files have been updated to version 2.88.

To match IOC, the extinct Mascarene Sheldgoose, Alopochen mauritiana is split into Reunion Sheldgoose, Alopochen kervazoi and Mauritius Sheldgoose, Alopochen mauritiana.

The genus Anas has been rearranged using Mitchell et al. (2014a) and Gonzalez et al. (2009b). Mitchell et al. also discovered that the extinct Chatham Duck, Anas chathamica, belongs in Anas. It has been added.
[Anatidae, Paleognaths and Anseriformes, 2.63].

Zarudny's Sparrow, Passer zarudnyi, has been split from Desert Sparrow, Passer simplex. See Kirwan et al. (2009).
[Passeridae, Core Passeroidea II, 2.65]

I've made a number of corrections to the scientific names based on the 4th edition Howard and Moore checklist (Dickinson and Remsen, 2013).

• African Collared-Dove, Streptopelia risoria becomes roseogrisea; Great Cuckoo-Dove, Reinwardtoena reinwardtii becomes reinwardti; and Dwarf Fruit-Dove, Ptilinopus nanus becomes nainus.
  [Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.68a]
• Todd's Nightjar, Setopagis heterurus becomes heterura; Little Nightjar, Setopagis parvulus becomes parvula; and Cayenne Nightjar, Setopagis maculosus becomes maculosa.
  [Caprimulgidae, Strisores, 2.58a]
• Green-backed Firecrown, Sephanoides sephanoides becomes sephaniodes; and Red-tailed Comet, Sappho sparganura becomes sparganurus.
  [Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.67a]
• Blue Korhaan, Eupodotis coerulescens becomes caerulescens.
  [Otididae, Pelecanae I, 2.61a]
• Galapagos Rail / Galapagos Crake, Laterallus spilonotus becomes spilonota.
  [Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.61a]
• Black Eagle, Ictinaetus malayensis becomes malaiensis.
  [Accipitridae, Accipitrimorphae, 2.59a]
• Romblon Hawk-Owl, Ninox spilonota becomes spilonotus.
  [Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.74a]
• Red-bellied Macaw, Orthopsittaca manilata becomes manilatus; Layard's Parakeet, Psittacula calthropae becomes calthrapae; Red-throated Lorikeet, Charmosyna aureicincta becomes amabilis; and Yellowish-streaked Lory, Chalcopsitta sintillata becomes scintillata.
  [Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.73d]

The English name of Chrysococcyx caprius has been name corrected to Diederik Cuckoo (not Diederick).
[Cuculidae, Pelecanae I, 2.61a]

The English name of Schiffornis aenea has been corrected to Foothill Schiffornis (not Foothills).
[Tityridae, Tyrannida I, 2.56a]

October 6

I've made a number of changes in the Antbird family, most of them based on Isler et al. (2013) study of Myrmeciza. A few changes involve the Microrhopiini. The placeholder Myrmeciza1 is replaced by the new name Aprositornis. Its single species, the Yapacana Antbird, Aprositornis disjuncta, moves from Pyriglenini to Microrhopiini near Myrmophylax. The genus Myrmophylax is split with the Gray-bellied Antbird going to the new genus Ammonastes.

Most of the other changes are within Pyriglenini, which is substantially restructured. Except for the type longipes, all of the remaining Myrmeciza are transferred to new genera. The Chestnut-backed Antbird is the new genus Poliocrania and the Gray-headed Antbird is the new genus Ampelornis. The others all take the old name Sipia: Dull-mantled Antbird, Sipia laemosticta, Magdalena Antbird, Sipia palliata, Stub-tailed Antbird, Sipia berlepschi, and Esmeraldas Antbird, Sipia nigricauda. The genus Schistocichla is merged into Myrmelastes. The placeholder Myrmeciza3 is replaced by Hafferia (Isler et al. suggest a further split of two species into Inundicola). Finally, the White-lined Antbird joins Myrmoborus from "Percnostola".

In Drymophilini, the placeholdholder Myrmeciza4 becomes Sciaphylax, while in Pithyini, I've made one other change, moving Willisornis. This all results in a gain of two genera.
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.62]

Fabre et al. (2014) have recently studied most Arses and Myiagra species. These genera have been rearranged accordingly. Although the Ochre-collared Monarch, Arses insularis, was basal in Arses, their results suggest the other Arses species boundaries need adjustment, possibly involving one or more splits.
[Monarchidae, Corvida II, 2.70]

I've recently corrected a number of errors in the phylogenetic trees. Thanks go to Steve Preddy for his careful examination of them.

October 5

Fixed inconsistent spelling of duvaucelli for Blue-eared Barbet, Psilopogon duvaucelii.
[Megalaimidae, Piciformes, 2.70b]

September 2013

September 26

Based on Mason and Burns (2013) Dolospingus and Oryzoborus have been merged into Sporophila and Sporophila has been rearranged.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.71]

September 5

Cibois et al. (2014) carried out a fairly complete analysis of Ptilinopus, including most Ptilinopus species. The current arrangement of Ptilinopus is based on their results. They suggested a six genus treatment that retained Alectroenas and Drepanoptila. However, this may mean that Ptilinopus is not monophyletic, and it does not materially solve the problem of Ptilinopus heterogeneity. I do not recommend it at this time.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.68]

September 2

The genera Limicola, Philomachus, and Ereunetes have been merged into Calidris to match the AOU, BOU, and H&M 4th edition lists.
[Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes, 2.67]

Hosner et al. (2013c) found a previously undiscovered Robsonius species, the Sierra Madre Ground-Warbler Robsonius thompsoni. I've also adopted their suggested English names as primary names for the other two Robsonius: Bicol Ground-Warbler for Robsonius sorsogonensis and Cordillera Ground-Warbler for Robsonius rabori.
[Locustellidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.73]

I've rearranged the Carpodacini based on Tietze et al. (2013). The species Carpodacus synoicus has been split into Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus and Pale Rosefinch Carpodacus stoliczkae. [Fringillidae, 2.64]

September 1

The Bare-legged Screech-Owl has a new genus name, Margarobyas. This is because the old name Gymnoglaux is actually a junior synonym of Megascops (see Olson and Suárez, 2008; 54th AOU Supplement).
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.74]

The original spelling Ptiliogonys has been restored for the Ptilogonys silky-flycatchers (see Gregory and Dickinson, 2012; 54th AOU Supplement). This changes the family name to Ptiliogonatidae.
[Ptiliogonatidae, Reguloidea and Bombycilloidea, 2.51]

August 2013

August 13

Now that the latest AOU supplement is available, I've followed the AOU and Cicero and Koo (2012) to split the Sage Sparrow, Artemisiospiza belli, into two species: Bell's Sparrow, Artemisiospiza belli, and Sagebrush Sparrow, Artemisiospiza nevadensis.
[Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.62]

August 12

The Amazilia hummingbird complex has been rearranged based on Ornelas et al. (2014). This has simplified the genera used. Some species limits may need further adjustment in the future, and some members of this complex are yet to be sequenced (including Trochilus and perhaps Goldmania and Goethalsia).
[Trochilidae, Apodiformes, 2.67]

August 8

I've incorporated one more SACC name change. The English name of "Myrmeciza3" immaculata is now Blue-lored Antbird (was Andean Immaculate-Antbird)
[Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.61c]

August 3

I've incorporated three recent SACC name changes:

• The English name of Drymophila caudata is now East Andean Antbird (was Long-tailed Antbird).
  [Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.61b]
• The English name of "Myrmeciza3" zeledoni is now Zeledon's Antbird (was Western Immaculate-Antbird).
  [Thamnophilidae, Furnariida I, 2.61b]
• All of the Chlorospingus species take the last name Chlorospingus rather than Bush-Tanager.
  [Passerellidae, Core Passeroidea III, 2.61b]

July 2013

July 27

Back from Panama (Canopy Tower and Lodge). Saw almost 300 species. My life list now stands at 2646.

July 10

Following the 4th edition of the Howard and Moore checklist (Dickinson and Remsen, 2013) I've separated Pogonornis (Billberg 1828,type dubius) from Lybius. Further, based on Moyle (2004), the genus Tricholaema is restricted to the Hairy-breasted Barbet. Two former Tricholaema move to Lybius (Spot-flanked and Black-throated Barbets). The other three former Tricholaema form the genus Notopogonius (Roberts 1922, type leucomelas).
[Lybiidae, Piciformes, 2.70]

July 9

Added subfamilies and tribes to Cracidae.
[Cracidae, Galliformes, 2.65a]

The Arabian Scops-Owl, Otus pamelae, has been separated from the African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis (Pons et al., 2013).
[Strigidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.73]

The Chinese Wren-babbler, Pnoepyga mutica, has been split from the Scaly-breasted Wren-babbler, Pnoepyga albiventer (Päckert et al., 2013a).
[Pnoepygidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.72]

July 6

The Sidamo Lark, Heteromirafra sidamoensis, has been lumped with Archer's Lark, Heteromirafra archeri (Spottiswoode et al., 2013).
[Alaudidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.71]

July 5

I've rearranged the Paridae using Johansson et al. (2013). This has also included splitting the Caspian Tit, Poecile hyrcanus, from the Sombre Tit, Poecile lugubris and following their recommendation to use the additional genera Pardaliparus, Sittiparus, Machlolophus, and Melaniparus.
[Paridae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.70]

July 4

Based on Lutz et al. (2013), the mountain-toucans (Andigena) and yellow-eared toucanets (Selenidera) have been rearranged with the Yellow-eared Toucanet itself being designated as "Selenidera".
[Ramphastidae, Piciformes, 2.69]

I've made some changes to the manakins based on Ohlson et al. (2013b). The genera Ceratopipra, Dixiphia, and Machaeropterus, which had been lumped in Pipra are restored since under the Ohlson et al. topology, Machaeropterus and Pipra (in the narrow sense) are in fact clades (this was not true under the Hackett topology). Further, the newly created genus Cryptopipo is used for the Green Manakin. Finally, Chloropipo has been moved and Lepidothrix is better resolved.
[Pipridae, Tyrannida I, 2.55]

Added the recently described Junin Tapaculo, Scytalopus gettyae (Hosner et al., 2013).
[Rhinocryptidae, Furnariida II, 2.69]

The Geomalia, Geomalia heinrichi, previously listed as a possible sister to Zoothera, has been moved into Zoothera (Olsson and Alström, 2013).
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.72]

Zappey's Flycatcher, Cyanoptila cumatilis, has been split from the Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana (Leader and Carey, 2012).
[Muscicapidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.72]

The yellow-billed Tropeiro Seedeater, Sporophila beltoni, has been split from the dark-billed Plumbeous Seedeater, Sporophila plumbea (Repenning and Fontana, 2013).
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.70]

July 2

To match IOC, the Singing (virescens), Varied (versicolor), and Mangrove Honeyeaters (fasciogularis) are moved from genus Ptilotula to Gavicalis.
[Meliphagidae, Basal Oscines, 2.65b]

July 1

Rather than keep them all in Ictinaetus, I'm following IOC and H&M-4 in putting the Long-crested Eagle in Lophaetus and the three spotted eagles in Clanga.
[Accipitridae, Accipitrimorphae, 2.59]

The fact that the Morningbird is not in Colluricincla causes a change in the scientific name of the Sooty Shrike-thrush. With Colluricincla tenebrosa of Hartlaub and Finsch (1868) no longer using tenebrosa, the Sooty Shrike-thrush retakes the name tenebrosa (Rothschild 1911) which has priority over umbrina (Reichenow 1915).
[Pachycephalidae, Corvida I, 2.71a]

June 2013

June 30

The alternate name Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove is added to Purple Quail-Dove, Geotrygon purpurata.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.67a]

To conform to IOC changes, the English names of the two Ceratogymna Wattled-Hornbills become Black-casqued Hornbill and Yellow-casqued Hornbill.
[Bucerotidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.71a]

A second IOC change is that the Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Iduna natalensis, becomes African Yellow-Warbler.
[Acrocephalidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.69a]

A last IOC name change is that the English names of the two Neocossyphus Rufous-Thrushes becom Red-tailed Ant-Thrush and White-tailed Ant-Thrush (not to be confused with Antthrushes).
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.71b]

June 29

Following H&M-4 (Dickinson and Remsen, 2013) and König and Weick (2008), the poorly known Congo Bay-Owl has been moved to Tyto from Phodilus.
[Tytonidae, Anomalogonates I, 2.72]

June 27

The Solomons Nightjar, Eurostopodus nigripennis, has been split from the White-throated Nightjar, Eurostopodus mystacalis, and the New Caledonian Nightjar, Eurostopodus exul has been added based on a specimen collected in 1939. Both cases are discussed in Cleere (2010). When Gray Nightjar was previously split, insufficient attention was paid to the its third subspecies. That taxon is now split as Palau Nightjar, Caprimulgus phalaena (Cleere, 2010).
[Caprimulgidae, Strisores, 2.58]

There are two changes to the list of Ovenbirds, leaving the species total unchanged. I added the newly discovered Delta Amacuro Softtail, Thripophaga amacurensis (Hilty et al., 2013). I also lumped the Plain-breasted Earthcreeper, Upucerthia jelskii, into Buff-breasted Earthcreeper, Upucerthia validirostris (Areta and Pearman, 2013).
[Furnariidae, Furnariida II, 2.68]

Added the newly discovered Cambodian Tailorbird, Orthotomus chaktomuk (Mahood et al, 2013).
[Cisticolidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.69]

June 25

The recent paper by Fuchs et al. (2013) has led to some changes in the woodpeckers. The most obvious change is that it seems to settle the conflicts concerning the relationship (or not) between Chrysocolaptini and Campephilini. They are in fact sisters, in spite of hybridization confusing the record. I have submerged Chrysocolaptini into Campephilini as is also done by Dickinson and Remsen (2013). Further, the relationships within Picini are now better resolved and there is now enough evidence to separate the New World Dryocopus as Hylatomus.
[Picidae, Piciformes, 2.68]

June 22

Dickinson and Remsen (2013) note that Pyrrhulopsis has priority over Prosopeia. It has been updated.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.73c]

Alström et al. (2013) recently analyzed most of the larks. Besides a comprehensive rearrangement of the family, some generic limits have changed. The Madagascan Lark, Mirafra hova, moved to Eremopterix and the White-winged Lark, Melanocorypha leucoptera, moved to Alauda. Additionally, Pseudalaemon has been subsumed in Spizocorys and the new genus Alaudala has been separated from Calandrella.
[Alaudidae, Paroidea & Sylvioidea I, 2.68]

June 21

I've added a box with the alternate albatross taxonomoy used in the Howard and Moore checklist (Dickinson and Remsen 2013). There has been considerable controversy about whether some of the albatross taxa represent biological species or only phylogenetic species. There's weak evidence for regarding many of them as biological species, but it is only weak evidence.
[Diomedeidae, Pelecanae II, 2.70]

June 20

I've added a section, “45 Orders”, concerning the higher level organization of the TiF tree. I'd been thinking about doing something of this sort for a while, particularly after the McCormack et al. (2013) and Yuri et al. (2013) papers. With the Howard and Moore list (Dickinson and Remsen, 2013) adopting a similar arrangement and the recent appearance of Kimball et al. (2013), this seems like a good time.
[The 45 Orders]

June 18

The Ameline Swiftlet, Aerodramus amelis, has been split from the Uniform Swiftlet, Aerodramus vanikorensis. Also, the Three-toed Swiftlet has been moved to Hydrochous. See Price et al. (2005). I've also rearranged Aerodramus to better reflect Price et al. (2005).
[Apodidae, Apodiformes, 2.66]

The new Howard and Moore checklist (Dickinson and Remsen, 2013) uses Zapornia for the rail clade that I had labeled Limnocorax. They are correct that Zapornia has priority, and I have updated the TiF list accordingly.
[Rallidae, Pelecanae I, 2.61]

June 14

Corrected position of Pied Honeyeater, Certhionyx variegatus (was erroneously listed within Pycnopygius).
[Meliphagidae, Basal Oscines, 2.65]

June 11

Based on Dumbacher and Fleischer (2001), the Variable Pitohui has been split into three species: Southern Variable Pitohui, Pitohui uropygialis, Raja Ampat Pitohui, Pitohui cerviniventris, and Northern Variable Pitohui, Pitohui kirhocephalus.
[Oriolidae, Corvida I, 2.71]

The order within Pheucticus has been updated based on Pulgarín-R et al. (2013). I have split the Orange-colored Grosbeak, Pheucticus aurantiacus, from the (Mexican) Yellow Grosbeak, Pheucticus chrysopeplus. The Orange-colored Grosbeak is monotypic, distinctly orange, and can be found in Chiapis, Mexico and Guatemala.

There is a weaker case for splitting Pheucticus uropygialis from the Black-backed Grosbeak, Pheucticus aureoventris (monotypic) and I have not done so. There's not an identification problem. The rump is variously yellow or mottled in the uropygialis group, black in aureoventris. However, the genetic distance is much smaller here and there are questions about whether crissalis (part of the uropygialis group) interbreeds with chrysogaster in Ecuador. It could be that this complex is best treated as one species rather than three.
[Cardinalidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.70]

June 8

The Asian Barbets, Megalaimidae, have been rearranged based on the species tree in den Tex and Leonard (2013). Moreover, I have adopted 4 of their recommended splits. I could not find any reasonable English names to use, and have accordingly given them temporary names. Who knows? Some of them might even stick.

The splits are: (1) The Sooty Barbet, Caloramphus hayii is split from Brown Barbet, Caloramphus fuliginosus. (2) Blue-eared Barbet, Psilopogon duvaucelii is split from Horsfield's Barbet, Psilopogon australis. The later is considered monotypic. Since cyanotis and duvaucelii are thought to hybridize in Thailand, the remaining races are assigned to species duvaucelii. (3) The Golden-faced Barbet, Psilopogon chrysopsis (monotypic), is split from Golden-whiskered Barbet, Psilopogon chrysopogon. (4) Finally, the local Kra endemic Kra Barbet, Psilopogon chersonesus, is split from the Blue-throated Barbet, Psilopogon asiatica.

Since Psilopogon auricularis and Psilopogon franklinii are believed to hybridize in Vietnam (Annam) and nearby Laos, I will defer judgment on this proposed split.
[Megalaimidae, Piciformes, 2.67]

June 7

Sicalis has been rearranged based on Ryan et al. (2013) and the Stripe-tailed Yellow-Finch has been removed from Sicalis. As there is no available genus name, it is being designated "Sicalis". Note that the TiF list already had the correct treatment of the Melanodera/Rowettia/Nesospiza clade, which is the main subject of Ryan et al. (2013).
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.69]

June 6

Banks et al. (2013) established the name Zentrygon for the not really Geotrygon quail-doves I had previously designated as "Geotrygon". They also established the genus Leptotyrgon for the Olive-backed Quail-Dove. I have also adjusted the order of some of the Zenaidini. I mostly follow Banks et al. for this, but there are some minor differences due to different beliefs about where the untested species fit in, and a simpler way of forming a list from a tree.
[Columbidae, Metaves I, 2.67]

June 4

The Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, has been split into the Atlantic Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis and the Pacific Fulmar, Fulmarus rodgersii, based on Kerr and Dove (2013), who estimated their most recent common ancestor ocurred about 3 million years ago.
[Procellariidae, Pelecanae II, 2.69]

The Grayish Saltator has been split into three species based on Chaves et al. (2013). The three species are Middle American Saltator, Saltator grandis (all Middle American races); Plumbeous Saltator, Saltator plumbeus (presumed to include plumbeus and brewsteri); and Grayish Saltator, Saltator coerulescens (all other races). There may be more than three species here. In particular, plumage suggests that Brewster's may need to be separated from Plumbeous, but there is currently no genetic data. Now that all saltators have been sequenced, I've adjusted the order of the saltators.
[Thraupidae, Core Passeroidea V, 2.68]

June 2

The CSV files have been updated to version 2.87.

The genera Ammoperdix and Caloperdix have been moved based on Wang et al. (2013). The placement of Rhizothera follows H&M-4. The order within Phasianini has been slightly adjusted.
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.65]

May 2013

May 31

I've decided to follow part of Ohlson et al.'s (2013a) recommendations, and recognize 6 new families in the Tyrannida. These include the Sharpbill (Oxyruncidae) and Royal Flycatchers and allies (Onychorhynchidae), previously included in Tityridae, and the Piprites (Pipritidae), Spadebills (Platyrinchidae), Many-colored Rush Tyrant (Tachuridae) and Mionectine Flycatchers (Rhynchocyclidae), all separated from Tyrannidae. The basic point is that each forms a separate and very deep clade (ca. 25-30 million years old).

There has also been some rearrangement of certain genera (e.g., in the Elaeniini) as Ohlson et al. (2013a) resolved some of the differences between Ohlson et al. (2008) and Tello et al. (2009) by using a combined data set.
[Tyrannida I, 2.55]
[Tyrannida II, 2.64]

May 30

I've started to look though first volume of the new Howard and Moore checklist (Dickinson & Remsen, 2013). I must say that I've very happy with the phylogenetic tree on pp. xlii-xliii. It means I can leave the higher-level order alone, at least for the non-passerines.

Working through H&M-4 will take some time, but I have noticed some minor changes in the Psittaciformes. Three of the black-cockatoos have been moved to the genus Zanda (Mathews 1913, type bauinii) due to substantial separation between them and the Calyptorhynchus black-cockatoos. White et al. (2011) estimate the most recent common ancestor at about 15 million years ago. Interesting, the current Zanda diversity appeared very recently, whereas the split between the two Calyptorhynchus is of much longer standing.

The names of two tribes have been corrected. The informal Bolborhynchini has been replaced by Amoropsittacini (Brereton 1963) based on a junior name for Psilopsiagon aymara. Although established before 1961, the term Amazonini never came into common use, and does not replace the older name Androglossini (Sundevall 1872), based on a junior synomyn of Amazona.
[Psittacidae, Falconiformes & Psittaciformes, 2.73b]

May 28

The scientific name of the Orange River Francolin is corrected to Scleroptila gutturalis, which has priority over Scleroptila levaillantoides.
[Phasianidae, Galliformes, 2.64a]

There is some uncertainty about whether the Ua Pou Monarch, Pomarea mira, is extinct. This is now reflected in the list.
[Monarchidae, Corvida II, 2.69c]

The scientific name of the Island Leaf-Warbler is corrected to Seicercus maforensis, which has priority over Seicercus poliocephalus.
[Phylloscopidae Sylvioidea II, 2.70a]

The scientific name of the Tibetan Serin has been corrected to Chionomitris thibetana (was thibetanus).
[Fringillidae, 2.63c]

May 26

Voelker et al. (2013) have analyzed the Catharus clade (Ridgwayia using 2 mitochondrial and 8 nuclear genes. The clade has been rearranged to reflect their results.
[Turdidae, Muscicapoidea II, 2.71]

May 21

A recent trip to Spain brought my life list to 2590.

Portions of Ohlson et al. (2013a) have been incorporated into the TiF checklist. This affects Tyranninae and Fluvicolinae (more of Ohlson et al. will be used later). The genus Tumbezia has been merged into Ochthoeca. Further, Colonia and Myiophobus are now treated as Incertae sedis within Fluvicolinae.
[Tyrannidae, Tyrannida II, 2.63]

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. (2013a) 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