2024 eBird Taxonomy Update

As part of our commitment to data quality, accessibility, and ease of use, we strive to use an integrated taxonomy across eBird, Macaulay Library, Birds of the World, Merlin and other Cornell Lab of Ornithology projects. Our 2024 update includes 3 newly-recognized species (one is newly-described), 141 species gained because of splits, and 16 species lost through lumps, resulting in a net gain of 128 species and a new total of 11,145 species worldwide.

The update process is ongoing — please do not start editing your lists until we alert you that the process is complete. This includes your My eBird lists, range maps, bar charts, region and hotspot lists; data entry should be behaving normally, but you may notice unexpected species appearing on eBird Alerts as eBirders continue to learn the new taxonomy (this issue will diminish with time). If you see unfamiliar bird names in the list, please refer to the story below to understand the change and why it happened. If you still see records appearing in unexpected ways please write to us.

Also, please check out these two important pieces of news in celebration of Taxonomy Time from the Birds of the World team (and note that they have already released accounts for all new species from this update; navigate there easily from eBird by clicking the link at the bottom of any species page, like this one).

Open access period: This year, we are opening Birds of the World for an extended period to allow for deeper exploration of these species. For those that don’t already have access, BOW open access will be from 12:00 pm ET Oct 23 to 11:59 am ET on Oct 28. Feel free to share this news within your community.

Taxonomy webinar: In related news, our taxonomy team (Pam Rasmussen, Marshall Iliff, and Shawn Billerman) will give their annual What’s New in Avian Taxonomy webinar on 14 November at noon ET. At that time, we’ll again leave the site open from 14–18 November to encourage more exploration. Registration link for the webinar is here. The webinar will be in English.

2024 eBird Taxonomic Update

This year’s update is v2024 of the eBird/Clements Checklist. The eBird/Clements Checklist is an integrated global taxonomy for the birds of the world, including all species and subspecies, as well as additional taxa useful to field birders to report in eBird. The list of species available in eBird is the eBird Taxonomy (v2024) and includes all species, subspecies groups (which we call identifiable sub-specific forms or ISSF), hybrids, intergrades, spuhs (e.g., scoter sp.), slashes (e.g., Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher), domestics, and forms. The Clements Checklist includes only species and subspecies, along with subspecies groups which are further identified as monotypic (consisting of one subspecies) or polytypic (consisting of more than one subspecies). Read more about the eBird Taxonomy.

The Clements Checklist provides two update pages (overview and 2024 updates & corrections) and also provides all three files (eBird/Clements, Clements, and eBird) for download, each as either an Excel spreadsheet or comma-delimited (csv) format.

The Clements Checklist 2024 updates & corrections provides details (including references) for all species splits and lumps, new species descriptions, revisions to subspecies groups (ISSFs) or subspecies, and other changes relevant to the Clements Checklist. We refer anyone wishing to learn more about these splits to that page.

A list of all the taxonomic changes is below. This year’s changes incorporate the latest supplement to the AOS-NACC checklist, the 65th supplement as well as many changes adopted by AOS-SACC as revisions to the South American Checklist through through 27 July 2024.

The below summary is largely in sync with the above Clements update; references are not listed in full, but are included in the Clements update. Since this is a long article, here is a short index:

• Introduction
• Languages
• Species splits
• Species lumps
• New species
• Subspecies reshuffles
• Shuffles of other taxa and subspecies group lumps
• New subspecies groups
• New hybrids and intergrades
• New forms
• New domestics
• New slashes and spuhs
• Common Name changes
• Scientific Name changes
• Additional changes

SUMMARY

The below article is a long, detailed accounting of all taxonomic changes in this cycle. Many of the changes are in Indonesia and Melanesia, where island-specific species diversity is shown to be higher and higher each year, and much of the remainder are elsewhere in Southeast Asia and Africa. Indonesia alone should see its total species list increase by 26 (31 species gained through splits, 5 lost from lumps; 56 total species are affected by splits or lumps in this cycle in Indonesia!). Below are two tables with a quick summary of changes away from those areas:

 

 

INTRODUCTION

When the taxonomy is updated in eBird, many of the changes are fairly simple to implement. When a common name changes, a scientific name changes, or when the taxonomic sequence is revised, those changes roll through and appear in eBird output fairly quickly. Staying on top of name changes is a challenge, and consulting Avibase is one of the best ways to keep track. Just type any bird name in Avibase and Avibase will show you the history of that name, and—if it differs from eBird—it will show what the eBird equivalent is for that name. Try it with «Louisiana Heron», for example.

When species are ‘lumped’ (e.g., two taxonomic entities that used to be considered separate species, but are now one), eBird usually retains the former species as an identifiable group. In these cases, your records may shift to the lumped form and your totals may (or may not) drop by one. The actual entity that you observed and reported has not changed in any way other than being changed from species to subspecies. For example, this year, those who have birded in the Northern Hemisphere (and New Zealand) will notice that your previous reports of Lesser Redpoll Acanthis cabaret, Hoary Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni and Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea, have changed to Redpoll Acanthis flammea, but note that each will still carry the subspecies group (formerly species) expressed as Redpoll (Lesser) Acanthis flammea cabaret,  Redpoll (Hoary) Acanthis flammea hornemanni/exilipes and Redpoll (Common) Acanthis flammea [flammea Group].

When splits occur, the process is more complicated. In most cases, we have had subspecies options available for reporting in anticipation of the split. All records reported to a subspecies group level update automatically to the new species. When a bird is reported at the broader species level (without a subspecies listed on your entry), and then that species is split, we update the records in eBird to one of the «child» species whenever possible. We try to be very conservative with this. When two species do not overlap in range (i.e., they are allopatric) we go ahead and make the change. When the species do overlap (i.e., are sympatric), and do not have clear seasonal or habitat differences, we usually do not make the change. This results in your records being left as the more conservative «slash» option. An example this year is Red-rumped Swallow. Birds breeding in Europe are distinctive in plumage, having a full rufous collar and bicolored rump, and become European Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula. Migratory birds from India and ne. Kazakhstan to the east are more heavily streaked, darker in the face, and have a uniform chestnut rump and are lumped with Striated Swallow to become Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica. Those in sub-Saharan Africa have more extensive dark caps and are largely unstreaked below, and become African Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis melanocrissus. Duriong breeding season most records can be safely assigned, although both European and Eastern may breed in nw. India (e.g., Ladakh), Pakistan, and e. Kazakhstan, so some records In those regions will be assigned to European/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/daurica. A much trickier problem is sub-Saharan Africa where African and European Red-rumped overlap extensively In winter and—worse—birders do not have a history of distinguishing between the taxa as subspecies groups. As a result, a large number of records from that region will be left as European/African Red-rumped Swallow unless photos or other factors (behavior, presence at known breeding site, etc.) can help clarify the species-level identification.  These slash options are a very important part of data integrity at eBird.

If you want to review your records of European Red-rumped Swallow, Eastern Red-rumped Swallow, or African Red-rumped Swallow, there are a couple ways to do this through the My eBird tools. The easiest is to go to My eBird, click on your Life List number, and then use the search option at the top to find whichever species you are looking for. You can then review the records in full. Importantly, in 2023 we added the ability to also view all your records of hybrids, slash, and spuh taxa. Reviewing slash taxa is especially useful during eBird Taxonomy Updates, and to find your European/African Red-rumped Swallow records please go to My eBird > Life List and then expand the «Detailed Stats» option and then select «Additional Taxa». The search at the top of the page is a species-level search, so sorting taxonomically and searching on the page (perhaps using a browser search) will help you find any European/African Red-rumped Swallow. Click «View all» to see all your records. Note that we do provide direct links to relevant slashes from this year’s splits and the direct link for the European/African Red-rumped Swallow slash is this: https://ebird.org/lifelist?r=world&time=life&spp=y01284.

 

There are some other ways to find your records too. If you know the checklist it is on, you can find the list in «Manage My Checklists» and edit it as needed. If you can find your checklist on the range map then you can just click on the marker for your list and open it from there. Another option to review your records is to go to My eBird and then click Download My Data from the left side. This downloads your entire eBird database as a CSV file that can be opened in Excel or a similar spreadsheet program. From there, you should easily be able to sort by name or search for any species or taxon you are looking for to find your records. Then you can scroll to the correct date or just replace the Submission ID in the URL for a checklist view.

Finally, there are some significant changes to taxonomic sequence this year, as the sequence of orders is revised to match some new family trees for all birds. Also, the linear sequence of species within a few other families are adjusted (see details at the end of this article), most notably in Caprimulgidae (nightjars), Rallidae (rails), Cathartiformes (new world vultures) and Accipitriformes (hawks), Meropidae (bee-eaters), and Turdus thrushes. See the Clements narrative for more details on these changes.

This may be a bit disorienting if you have memorized the sequence of species, but please be aware that Quick Entry makes it very easy to find and enter any species during data entry. Did you know that typing «37 weca» in eBird mobile will quickly add 37 Western Capercaillies to whatever total you have already entered? (Learn how!). Also, learning to search for a species within your browser may be helpful too, since this works to quickly jump to a species in any species list (e.g., bar chart, Location Explorer) on eBird.

GLOBAL CHECKLIST ALIGNMENT

There are three or more major world taxonomies, including BirdLife International Checklist, the IOC World Bird List, and eBird/Clements Checklist. Importantly, this revision continues the collaborative process of aligning global bird checklists, with the goal of a single consensus taxonomy. The AviList (formerly Working Group Avian Checklists or WGAC) involves representatives from eBird/Clements, BirdLife International, the IOC World Bird List, Avibase, AOS-NACC, AOS-SACC, and other global experts in taxonomy, nomenclature, and classification. Phase I is now complete, with 100% of species-level differences between these taxonomies now explicitly reviewed and decided on by the AviList committee. Formal publication of version 1 of AviList is expected in 2025. Future versions will continue to maintain species-level taxonomy and Phase II will begin to address subspecies and other taxonomic ranks. It will take at least another year (maybe two) for eBird to fully incorporate these changes but we are committed to improving the clarity, efficiency, and accuracy of bird taxonomy through support for this team effort.

LANGUAGES

We provide bird names in eBird for some 62 languages (e.g., Arabic, Bulgarian, Thai, etc.), as well as 45 additional regional versions of some languages (total 107). For example, Pluvialis squatarola is known as Black-bellied Plover in our taxonomy, but known by its winter dress in some areas such as the United Kingdom, where it’s called Grey Plover. You can access name preferences under «Preferences» from most eBird pages, which is also where you can set the names to show as common names or scientific names. One option is English (IOC), which gives a full translation of species names into the IOC World Bird List (v14.2) nomenclature. Note that these names are exact taxonomic matches, so they reflect as slashes when a species is split by IOC and not by eBird; similarly, species split by eBird will appear as subspecies groups for IOC. Our Bird Names in eBird article explains more about regional common name preferences.

SPECIES SPLITS

The species below were split in eBird. To see a map of the new species, click «map». To see your personal lists in My eBird, just make sure you are logged in and click «My Records». If you have seen the species but don’t have any records shown, then please enter your sightings! Full details for all below accounts can be seen at the Clements Updates & Corrections page. We encourage all birders to carefully review the below splits and check your personal records and to update them if you think we made an error.

As with last year, we are documenting more explicitly the logic rules we have used to make bulk changes that assign records to a given species (later, the normal review process may help to correct or refine records, especially those with photos). These are highlighted in red-orange text: Regional Record Change Logic. In almost all cases (except very obvious errors by users and/or reviewers) we have retained the original identification by the observer. If the observer specified a subspecies, which later was split to become a species, that identification is retained. If the observer did not specify a subspecies, then we have tended to convert the record to the expected species if and only if the alternative species is impossible or extremely remote. However, since the probability of bird occurrence across space and time has infinite shades of gray, we need to make judgment calls. As an example, all Mexico records of Brown Booby (Sula sula, sensu lato) from the Pacific coast should pertain to the expected taxon, Cocos Booby (Sula brewsteri) and we are not aware of any photos that pertain to Brown Booby from the Pacific coast of North America between Costa Rica and British Columbia (Alaska has one though!). But Brown Booby is a common breeder in Hawaii, where Cocos Booby is rare, so in Hawaii we assume records pertain to Brown unless they were specifically identified as Cocos Booby. But at sea in between, and in parts of the Panama Canal Zone where the two oceans connect, we are more cautious with records and treat them as Brown/Cocos Booby. 

Below are the splits for this update:

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Spot-bellied Bobwhite Colinus leucopogon of northern Central America is split from widespread Crested Bobwhite Colinus cristatus, which occurs from sw. Costa Rica through Panama and much of northern South America (introduced in some Caribbean islands). While their songs are similar, their plumages are quite different. The only country with both species is Costa Rica, where Spot-bellied is common in fields in the northwest (e.g., Guanacaste and northern Puntarenas) while Crested Bobwhite is known from just a few eBird records from the southern half of Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. 

• Spot-bellied Bobwhite Colinus leucopogon [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Central America, from s. Guatemala to west-central Costa Rica
• Crested Bobwhite Colinus cristatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: sw. Costa Rica to sw. Colombia, n. Brazil, and the Guianas

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Burchell’s Coucal Centropus burchellii is split from White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus. These two species differ strikingly in plumage: White-browed is well-named and had a broad and obvious supercilium on a very white-streaked head, while Burchell’s has an all-black head similar to several other coucals (e.g., Senegal Coucal C. senegalensis and even the larger Coppery-tailed Coucal C. cupreicaudus; Blue-headed Coucal C. monachus is also similar but does not overlap in range). To identify Burchell’s in areas of overlap, focus on voice, size (Burchell’s and Senegal are much smaller than Blue-headed) and the barred uppertail area (Senegal is black in his area).

• White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE:sw. Arabia and Socotra Island south through East Africa to Uganda, n. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Angola
• Burchell’s Coucal Centropus burchellii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: e. Tanzania to South Africa and west to e. Zimbabwe, s. Malawi, s. Zambia, and e. Botswana

These two species seem to come in contact over a broad area, so careful eBird records and photos will help elucidate their ranges. Hybrids occur with regularity across a broad swath where these two species approach each other. We encourage reporting of birds with intermediate characters as hybrids and using the slash option in areas where either species—or hybrids—could occur.

• White-browed/Burchell’s Coucal Centropus superciliosus/burchellii [map] [media] [my records]
• White-browed x Burchell’s Coucal (hybrid) Centropus superciliosus x burchellii [map] [media] [my records]

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Split monotypic Olive-capped Coua Coua olivaceiceps from Red-capped Coua Coua ruficeps. These two ground-loving cuckoos (sort of like colorful roadrunners) are Madagascar endemics, where there are 8 other species of surviving coua as well. They are well-separated by range and habitat, occurring on the drier western side, with Olive-capped occupying the southwestern quadrant and Red-capped isolated to a patch in the northwest. Since their ranges don’t overlap, there is no confusion between these two species, but in reviewing these records we found a large number of erroneous coua reports from visiting birders, presumably because eBird filters in Madagascar are not yet well-tuned to catch errors (please be careful with your entries!).

• Red-capped Coua Coua ruficeps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: lowlands of northwestern Madagascar
• Olive-capped Coua Coua olivaceiceps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: lowlands of southwestern Madagascar

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The highly range-restricted island endemic Mentawai Malkoha Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus is split from Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris. Mantawai Malkoha differs in its green (vs. chestnut) belly, entirely green tail (vs. chestnut on the outer half) and generally darker plumage including its darker chestnut breast; the eye color difference shown here is due to sex (males in both species have pale blueish eyes, while females have orange or reddish eyes). The Mentawai archipelago west of Sumatra is increasingly known for endemic taxa.

• Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Myanmar (Tenasserim), through the Thai-Malay Peninsula including Singapore, and on Sumatra and Bangka, Java and Bali, Borneo, and the Palawan group in the southwestern Philippines
• Mentawai Malkoha Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Mentawai Islands (off southwestern Sumatra)

 

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Split Pied Bronze-Cuckoo Chrysococcyx crassirostris from the widespread Little Bronze-Cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillus; the two are strikingly different in plumage, but Pied occurs on only a few islands with no resident eBirders, although it is easy to find if you can get there.

• Little Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites minutillus [map] [media] [my records]
  • `Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Little) Chalcites minutillus [minutillus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: far s. Thailand and Malay Peninsula, n. Sumatra and w. Java, e. and e. Borneo, Moluccas, Lesser Sundas, and n. Australia including Melville Island, e. Australia (southeastern Queensland to northeastern New South Wales)
  • Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Gould’s) Chalcites minutillus [poecilurus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: se. Borneo, s. Philippines, Sulawesi and nearby islands, Flores to Alor in the central Lesser Sundas (populations on Timor and Wetar may represent an undescribed taxon), lowlands of coastal New Guinea and adjacent islands, ne. Australia (n. and e. Queensland)
  • Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Banda) Chalcites minutillus rufomerus/salvadorii [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Lesser Sundas (Romang, Kisar, Leti, Moa, Sermata, Damar, and Babar Islands)
• Pied Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites crassirostris [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Moluccas (Tayandu and Kai islands) and Tanimbar Islands (Yamdena and Larat)

And since Little Bronze-Cuckoo and Shining Bronze-Cuckoo are similar, may co-occur on some islands, and could evade conclusive identification, a slash is available:

• Shining/Little Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites lucidus/minutillus [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Records from the breeding range of Pied Bronze-Cuckoo are presumed to pertain to that species, while all other records are presumed to pertain to Little Bronze-Cuckoo. If you have seen either taxon out of range, be sure to correct your records.

 

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A deep dive into the vocalizations and phenotypes (appearance) of Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus across its wide range led to a bold new taxonomic arrangement, advanced in a recent paper (Wu et al. 2022). The new breakdown suggests Australian Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus, Sunda Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis, Sulawesi Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis virescens, Manus Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis blandus, and Solomons Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis addendus. Details on ranges are below and details on vocalizations can be seen in the media galleries or in the above paper. 

• Sunda Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: s. Myanmar and s. Thailand through the Thai-Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sundas, western Lesser Sundas (eastward at least to Sumba and Flores), and Philippines and Sulu Archipelago
• Sulawesi Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis virescens [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sulawesi region including Banggai and Sula islands (off eastern Sulawesi) and Buton and Tukangbesi (to southeast)
• Sahul Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: n. Moluccas (Morotai to Obi), e. Lesser Sundas (Timor, and possibly eastward to Tanimbar Islands), New Guinea and most satellite islands, Bismarck Archipelago, and New Britain, n. and e. Australia; Australian population winters to Moluccas and New Guinea
• Solomons Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis addendus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Solomon Islands
• Manus Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis blandus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Admiralty Islands

Recall also that an additional species within this complex has long been recognized:

• Moluccan Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern and central Moluccas

and also note that an apparently undescribed taxon exists on Tanimbar and could represent an additional species:

• Tanimbar Brush Cuckoo (undescribed form) Cacomantis [undescribed form] [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Tanimbar Islands (Banda Sea)

Since Sahul Brush Cuckoo is migratory it may overlap with several other species, with the most likely two being listed below. These migrant birds are less likely to sing, which complicates identification and understanding of status. For birds that are not singing, identification can be a major challenge, so please use the slash option liberally for silent birds in areas of potential overlap. For records that fit less neatly into two species options, Cacomantis sp. is always a useful option (and might be needed if Sahul Brush Cuckoo is suspected on Sulawesi, but not confirmed, or if a Brush Cuckoo occurs on an island where no species is known).

• Sunda/Sahul Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis/variolosus [map] [media] [my records
• Moluccan/Sahul Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus/variolosus [map] [media] [my records]
• Cacomantis sp. Cacomantis sp. [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Manus and Solomons Brush Cuckoos don’t overlap with other species, so those records are easy to convert. Likewise, Sahul Brush Cuckoo is the only species in Australia and New Guinea, and a broad swath of Southeast Asia only has Sunda Brush Cuckoo. The breeding ranges approach each other in the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas, and migrant Sahul Brush Cuckoos mean that either species could occur at certain times on some islands. However, the breeding species in any particular location tends to be the overwhelmingly more encountered taxon, so records are converted unless specifically noted as the other species by the observer. Please make sure to convert your records manually if you think you had a non-resident taxon of Brush Cuckoo anywhere across Indonesia and Australasia.

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Split monotypic Karimui Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles terborghi from Barred Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles bennettii. Highly restricted in range, as of this writing eBird has just two observations of Karimui.

• Barred Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles bennettii [map] [media] [my records]
  • Barred Owlet-nightjar (Barred) Aegotheles bennettii bennettii/wiedenfeldi [map] [media]
    • RANGE: central to southeastern New Guinea
  • Barred Owlet-nightjar (Dwarf) Aegotheles bennettii plumifer [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Goodenough and Fergusson, in D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (off southeastern New Guinea)
• Karimui Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles terborghi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea (Karimui basin region)

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Split Ecuadorian Rail Rallus aequatorialis from Virginia Rail Rallus limicola. These two species are widely separated by range and have notable vocal differences. They have long been split by other taxonomies (e.g., IOC), and with the AviList endorsement they are now treated as separate species here too. Marsh habitats in the Pacific slope of Ecuador and Peru are imperiled, so this is a species of some conservation concern. Its status remains poorly known in Peru, where there are just a few verified records, but plenty of opportunity for sharp eBirders to seek out these secretive marsh denizens and load up eBird with observations, photos, and audio recordings.

• Virginia Rail Rallus limicola [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: widespread in North America south to
• Ecuadorian Rail Rallus aequatorialis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Andes of far s. Colombia (Nariño and far western Putumayo), Ecuador (south to northern Loja), and coast of Peru (La Libertad to Arequipa); possibly formerly occurred north to northwestern Ecuador (Imbabura)

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Gull nerds worldwide rejoice. eBird has finally joined the 21st century and adopted the big gull split that we all knew was coming: Herring Gull is split into four species! Most gull book authors have long treated these as separate species, including Amar Ayyash in his hot-off-the-presses The Gull Guide. And with apologies to George Armistead and others who hoped for a bit of fun with gull names, we at eBird remain allied with the dull-and-boring taxonomists in electing not to give vegae, nor smithsonianus, nor argentatus the much-anticipated, desperately hoped-for (and sometimes appropriate) English name of (The) Sea Gull. Alas, with a bit more daring from the taxonomic and nomenclature class, we could all stop correcting our friends and relatives… 

Without further ado, split Herring Gull Larus argentatus into monotypic American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus, which is widespread in North America; and monotypic Vega Gull Larus vegae which breeds in e. Siberia and winters in east Asia; monotypic Mongolian Gull Larus mongolicus, which breeds in Central Asia (Mongolia and southern Russia to the Yellow Sea coast of South Korea); and polytypic European Herring Gull Larus argentatus (with Larus argentatus argentatus of northeastern Europe and L. a. argenteus of western Europe), which is remarkably well-named and barely occurs outside the continent.

Note that Larus mongolicus had been sometimes lumped with vegae under Vega Gull by past taxonomies (e.g., IOC World Bird List). That has created some confusion, as birders following that taxonomy have reported Vega Gull in eBird far inland in the breeding, migratory, and wintering range of mongolicus; note that true vegae is a coastal species in migration and winter and that inland records (from e.g., China) should be exceedingly well-documented.

• American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern North America (Alaska to Atlantic coast); winters to Central America
• Vega Gull Larus vegae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northeastern Siberia; winters southward to China
• Mongolian Gull Larus mongolicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Altai and Lake Baikal to Mongolia; winters southern Asia
• European Herring Gull Larus argentatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: n. Europe, winters s. Europe; uncommonly to n. Africa and vagrant to Israel, Greenland, North America

For the most part these species don’t come in contact, but Vega and Mongolian are the exception, since they overlap broadly in their wintering range along the coast of East Asia. In winter in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and much of China, it is possible to find either species. Inland records should be identified with caution as well, since either species is possible in migration, although Mongolian is more regular at inland sites in much of East Asia.

Contact between American Herring and Vega is limited in western Alaska. In the western Aleutians, the western Seward Peninsula, and Saint Lawrence Island, almost all birds are Vega Gull and American Herring is a very rare vagrant. In the eastern Aleutians, the Pribilofs, and the North Slope (e.g., Uqtiavik)

• American Herring/Vega Gull Larus smithsonianus/vegae [map] [media] [my records]
• Vega/Mongolian Gull Larus vegae/mongolicus [map] [media] [my records]
• American/European Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus/argentatus [map] [media] [my records]

Get ready for some hybrid gull insanity. Below are the known or suspected hybrids that eBird will be providing in the Herring Gull complex after this split…

• Ring-billed x American Herring Gull (hybrid) Larus delawarensis x smithsonianus [map] [media] [my records]
• Caspian x European Herring Gull (hybrid) Larus cachinnans x argentatus [map] [media] [my records]
• Kelp x American Herring Gull (hybrid) Larus dominicanus x smithsonianus [map] [media] [my records]
• Caspian/European Herring Gull Larus cachinnans/argentatus [map] [media] [my records]
• European Herring/Yellow-legged Gull Larus argentatus/michahellis [map] [media] [my records]
• Caspian/European Herring/Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans/argentatus/michahellis [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x marinus [map] [media] [my records]
• European Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus argentatus x marinus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x hyperboreus [map] [media] [my records]
• Vega x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus vegae x hyperboreus [map] [media] [my records]
• European Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus argentatus x hyperboreus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring/Vega/European Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus/vegae/argentatus x hyperboreus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x fuscus [map] [media] [my records]
• European Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus argentatus x fuscus [map] [media] [my records]
• Herring complex/Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus smithsonianus/vegae/mongolicus/argentatus/fuscus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x California Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x californicus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x glaucescens [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring/Glaucous-winged Gull Larus smithsonianus/glaucescens [map] [media] [my records]
• Vega x Slaty-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus vegae x schistisagus [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring x Iceland Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x glaucoides [map] [media] [my records]
• American Herring/Iceland Gull Larus smithsonianus/glaucoides [map] [media] [my records]
• European Herring/Iceland Gull Larus argentatus/glaucoides [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: First and foremost, any record reported to the subspecies level by observers will be retained (one exception is some vegae reports in inland Asia). Otherwise, North American (and the few South American) records change to American Herring Gull and European records (and adjacent areas of Asia and Africa) to European Herring Gull ; we trust that observers who have detected vagrant gulls will have used the correct subspecies for those. Exceptions are Hawaii (where only Larus smithsonianus is known but vegae should be watched for; we change these records to American Herring/Vega Gull in cases where the observer did not designate the subspecies. In Alaska, it is complicated (thanks to Zak Pohlen for the map below). American Herring is the default in most of the state, but on Saint Lawrence Island, the western Seward Peninsula (e.g., Nome), and the western Aleutians, Vega Gull predominates and all records are presumed vegae (unless the observer has reported at the subspecies level). On the Pribilofs and inner Aleutians, North Slope, and base of the Seward Peninsula we change records to American Herring/Vega. In East Asia, most records change to Vega/Mongolian Gull, unless observers specifically designated which taxon they observed. Note that you may be able to assign many of your own records based on your photos or a finer-grained understanding of probability of a given taxon in a given place, but we cannot make these changes in bulk for you. Given the above-mentioned confusion between vegae and mongolicus in the eBird records, we change breeding-season reports of vegae from Mongolia, Nei Mongol, China, and southern Russia (Irkutsk and Buryatia near Lake Baikal, and west to Novosibirsk Oblast) to mongolicus. We have done our best with hybrids and slashes too, although we acknowledge that specifying both parents is largely guesswork based on the likely parents in given regions.

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Seabird gurus have long been expecting the split of Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea into Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis from Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea and it has finally arrived. The fact that these birds can tell each other apart (probably using smell more than we might expect) doesn’t mean that our birding lives will be better or easier—these are VERY hard to identify in the field! Also, make sure you pay attention to the tricky switcheroo on the names: the English name stays the same on one and the sciname switches and the reverse happens for Scopoli’s.

The main thing to know about these two is that Scopoli’s breeds primarily in the Mediterranean Sea and then disperses out from there, while Cory’s breeds primarily on Atlantic islands (e.g., Azores, Canary Islands) and disperses widely from there.

• Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: eastern Atlantic, breeding from Azores southward to Canary Islands and eastward to Galicia (northwestern Spain) and Berlengas Islands (off west-central Portugal); outside breeding season ranges widely in Atlantic, but mainly in upwelling systems of the Benguela and Agulhas currents
• Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: breeds Mediterranean islands, outside breeding season moving to winter mainly in upwelling systems of tropical eastern Atlantic

For detailed field ID, be sure to refer to Flood and Gutiérrez (2021), which give detailed information on the range of variation in both species and stress that while entirely dark underprimaries can be a safe field mark for Cory’s, safe identification of Scopoli’s requires a tenth primary (p10) that shows 20% or more white (as measured from the white underprimary coverts). Other traits like structure (Scopoli’s is more delicately built on average), extent of dark on the underwing coverts, and presence of one or two spots on the underprimary coverts can be supportive, but that the extent of whitish on the tenth primary is by far the most important field mark. Extent of white on the ninth, eighth, and other primaries seems to have extensive overlap so should not be used as a field mark.

Even after reading and re-reading (and re-reading) Flood and Guitiérrez though, you should expect to have a lot of birds «get away» unidentified, either because of distance or because, even with excellent looks and point blank photos, they were intermediate or showed inconsistent field marks. Please use the slash option below liberally (and remember, we are treating almost all eBird records as slashes unless the user has specified the finer-scale ID themselves.

• Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis/diomedea [map] [media] [my records]

and, since other species are always a concern for distant shearwaters, these slashes also exist:

• Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris borealis/diomedea/edwardsii [map] [media] [my records]
• Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Great Shearwater Calonectris borealis/diomedea/Ardenna gravis [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Because these species are so similar and their ranges so poorly known, we are not converting records based on location or time of year. So the only records of Cory’s in the Atlantic will be those where the observer designated them and the same will be true for Scopoli’s. In this case, we won’t make assumptions for you, since we don’t think they are safe at this stage. The one region where we have been willing to assume undesignated birds were one taxon is inside the Mediterranean, where Scopoli’s is abundant and Cory’s is at best extremely rare, so we change records east of the French Riviera to Scopoli’s.

 

 

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Split polytypic Cocos Booby Sula brewsteri, from the Pacific coast of North and South America (including etesiaca breeding from Central America to Colombia) from Brown Booby Sula leucogaster, which thus has two subspecies: nominate which occurs in the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico; and S. l. plotus of the central Pacific.

• Brown Booby Sula leucogaster [map] [media] [my records]
  • Brown Booby (Atlantic) Sula leucogaster leucogaster[map] [media]
    • RANGE: islands in Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and tropical Atlantic
  • Brown Booby (Forster’s) Sula leucogaster plotus[map] [media]
    • RANGE: breeds on islands in the Red Sea, tropical Indian Ocean, and tropical western and central Pacific Ocean
• Cocos Booby Sula brewsteri [map] [media] [my records]
  • Cocos Booby (Brewster’s) Sula brewsteri brewsteri [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: islands in Gulf of California and off western Mexico
  • Cocos Booby (Colombian) Sula brewsteri etesiaca [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Pacific islands off Central America and Colombia

The identification of these two species is extremely challenging and just being worked out. See VanderWerf (VanderWerf, E. A. 2018. Geographic variation in the Brown Booby: Field identification of males and females by subspecies. Birding 50 (5): 48–54) for the best treatment on separation of adults; key field marks are shown below:

• adult male brewsteri (and to a lesser extent, etesiaca) are highly distinctive with variable amounts of frosty white coloration on the head, neck, nape, and forehead; any pale coloration in this area on birds of any age distinguishes Cocos Booby from both subspecies of Brown Booby, which always has a dark brown head
• female brewsteri and estesiaca can be quite dark headed, so focus on other field marks:
  • compared to plotus, a yellow-based bill that is pinkish from the midpoint to the tip should indicate Cocos; plotus is always yellow with a faint green cast
  • plotus averages a smaller dark spot in front of the eye compared to brewsteri
• On all ages, brewsteri averages more dark in the underwing coverts, usually showing a line of dark partially bisecting the white of the underwing
• brewsteri has a slimmer bill
• Not mentioned in the article, but maybe worth watching: it seems that plotus consistently shows a narrow band of bar skin behind the eye, while in brewsteri (and etesiaca?) the pale orbital ring touches dark feathering at the rear of the eye. In preliminary assessments, this field mark seems to hold on young birds as well as adults.

Even with the above identification tips though, a large number of distant or tricky birds will evade identification. Please use the slash liberally when needed!

• Brown/Cocos Booby Sula leucogaster/brewsteri [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: All records from the Pacific coast of the US and Canada, Mexico, Central American countries, and northern South America (Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru) are converted to Cocos Booby, while those from the Atlantic, Indian, and South Pacific remain as Brown Booby. Records from Hawaii and other central Pacific islands (with breeding colonies of plotus) also remain as Brown Booby, although Cocos Booby appears to be occurring ever more often there, including as far west as Japan!

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 Barn Owl Tyto alba is split into three species, generally separated at the continental level: American Barn Owl Tyto furcata, of North and South America; Western Barn Owl Tyto alba of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (east to central Iran); and Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica which occurs Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka east through Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Australasia. These owls generally look similar, but some subtle differences in coloration and pattern may be apparent, although each has multiple subspecies which also vary intraspecifically. Genetic differences were one of the main reasons for the split, but are supported by vocal differences, especially the unique clicking vocalization made by American Barn Owl which appears not to be present in other Barn Owl taxa. The ghastly, unpleasant, ghoul-like screeches and screams that Barn Owls give have not traditionally lent themselves well to vocal analyses by humans (any Tyto owls out there in eBird-land looking for dissertation ideas?), but some authors (especially the Sound Approach team) have picked up on vocal distinctions that hold promise to understand these species-specific vocalizations better. We anticipate that a deeper look at vocalizations and genetics of American Barn Owl, especially on the Galapagos and in the Caribbean, could support additional species diversity; in Eastern Barn Owl some of the Indonesian taxa are worth a look and listen too.

• Western Barn Owl Tyto alba [map] [media] [my records]
  • Western Barn Owl (Eurasian) Tyto alba [alba Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Europe, North Africa, Middle East west to western Iran, possibly central Iran; may be expanding its range with increasing agriculture in desert areas at its eastern range boundary.
  • Western Barn Owl (Madeiran) Tyto alba schmitzi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Madeira and Porto Santo islands (Madeira Archipelago)
  • Western Barn Owl (Canary Is.) Tyto alba gracilirostris [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Canary Islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and Alegranza)
  • Western Barn Owl (African) Tyto alba poensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: sub-Saharan Africa (including Bioko, Zanzibar, and Pemba), Comoros, and Madagascar
  • Western Barn Owl (Cape Verde) Tyto alba detorta [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Cape Verde Islands
  • Western Barn Owl (Sao Tome) Tyto alba thomensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea)
• Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica [map] [media] [my records]
  • Eastern Barn Owl (Eastern) Tyto javanica [javanica Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Indian subcontinent to northern Sri Lanka, sw. China, Malay Peninsula to Greater Sundas, Sumba (Lesser Sundas), Timor to Australia, Solomon Islands, Loyalty Islands (New Caledonia), and Samoa, e. New Guinea, including Manam and Karkar islands, Reef, Nendö, and Vanikoro (Temotu, southeastern Solomon Islands), and Banks Islands to Efate (northern to central Vanuatu)
  • Eastern Barn Owl (Boang) Tyto javanica crassirostris [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Tanga Island, off New Ireland (northeastern Bismarck Archipelago)
• American Barn Owl Tyto furcata [map] [media] [my records]
  • American Barn Owl (American) Tyto furcata [tuidara Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Widespread in North America and South America
  • American Barn Owl (White-winged) Tyto furcata furcata [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Cuba, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica
  • American Barn Owl (Curacao) Tyto furcata bargei [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Curaçao
  • American Barn Owl (Lesser Antilles) Tyto furcata nigrescens/insularis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Dominica, St. Vincent, Bequia, Union, Carriacou, and Grenada
  • American Barn Owl (Galapagos) Tyto furcata punctatissima [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Galapagos

South central and eastern Iran may be the only area where this is needed, since records from that area could possibly refer to either taxon. We have a slash, just in case, since the field ID will be challenging!

• Western/Eastern Barn Owl Tyto alba/javanica [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Records fall easily into the different species except in south-central and eastern Iran, where we will move a few records to the slash option pending more clarity on which taxon occurs there.

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Split Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus into Western Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus goffinii (including ssp. togoensis) and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus. These species have surprisingly large plumage diversity, and it may well be that togoensis also deserves species status (BirdLife International has split it in the past). Note also that the genus has changed for these birds.

• Western Yellow-billed Barbet Trachylaemus goffinii [map] [media] [my records]
  • Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Western) Trachylaemus goffinii goffinii [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Sierra Leone eastward to Ghana/Togo border
  • Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo) Trachylaemus goffinii togoensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: far eastern Ghana to southwestern Nigeria
• Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet Trachylaemus purpuratus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Mozambique to eastern South Africa

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Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus uropygialis is split into Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus uropygialis and Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus pusillus. These two species are widely separated in range, with a large gap between the range of Southern (Southern Africa north to far southern Mozambique) and Northern (East Africa south to southern Tanzania). Although these two species look similar, they differ vocally and do have subtle face pattern differences, with whiter throat and eyebrow in the northern bird (more yellow in the south) and a golden cast to the wing marking in the south (vs. yellow in the north). Habitat also differs, with Southern being a bird of tall forest and Northern preferring lower Acacia scrub. More info can be found in the paper that proposed splitting them.

• Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus uropygialis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: se. South Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia south to Uganda and s. Tanzania
• Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus pusillus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Mozambique to eastern South Africa

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Guatemalan Flicker Colaptes mexicanoides is split from the widespread Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus. This split has been anticipated for a while, especially since it is far more different from Northern Flicker in appearance and voice than is Gilded Flicker Colaptes chrysoides. While it occurs throughout the highlands of Guatemala, the flicker is not an endemic since it also occurs in the highlands of Chiapas, n. El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

• Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Northern Flicker (Cuban) Colaptes auratus chrysocaulosus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Cuba
  • Northern Flicker (Grand Cayman I.) Colaptes auratus gundlachi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Grand Cayman Island
  • Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Alaska, e. Canada and e. United States
  • Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) Colaptes auratus [cafer Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: w. Canada and e. United States
  • Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) Colaptes auratus luteus x cafer [map] [media]
• Guatemalan Flicker Colaptes mexicanoides [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: highlands of southeastern Mexico east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from western Chiapas eastward to northwestern Nicaragua

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Pronounced vocal differences in the Long-tailed Woodcreeper Deconychura longicauda have meant that Neotropical birders have long anticipated a split here. That split has now been ratified by the AviList committee (and formerly by BirdLife) and SACC, and AOS-NACC can be expected to follow suit, we hope. Their ranges segregate out completely, and the English names here used help highlight the characteristics of each bird’s voice. With so many woodcreepers that are most distinctive based on voice, these are the first that have been named for vocal traits.

• Piping Woodcreeper Deconychura typica [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Middle America from se. Honduras to w. Panama, e. Panama (Darién), and n. Colombia
• Whistling Woodcreeper Deconychura longicauda [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: the Guianas and Brazil north of the Amazon River (from Rio Negro eastward to Amapá)
• Mournful Woodcreeper Deconychura pallida [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: nw. Amazonian Brazil to e. Ecuador and Peru to n. Bolivia and w. Brazil

Note also that an additional taxon in the genus has yet to receive a name, although most experts expect it to be granted full species status once it is formally described. It can be found in eBird as Yungas Woodcreeper (undescribed form) Deconychura [undescribed form] with range «east slope of the Andes of Ecuador and Peru»

Regional Record Change Logic: We don’t know of overlap in the range of these species, so all are assigned based on understandings of established range. Note that some records have been moved to the undescribed taxon above.

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Similar to the woodcreepers above, pronounced vocal differences have also led to a three-way split in Plain Xenops Xenops minutus, along similar (but slightly different) biogeographical lines. The new species include Northern Plain-Xenops Xenops mexicanus, of Central America, northern Colombia, and northern Venezuela, Amazonian Plain-Xenops Xenops genibarbis of Amazonian lowlands of South America, and Atlantic Plain-Xenops Xenops minutus of the Mata Atlantica from e. Brazil to e. Paraguay and ne. Argentina.

• Northern Plain-Xenops Xenops mexicanus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Middle America (from tropical s. Mexico south) to nw. Colombia, w. Ecuador, and northernmost Venezuela
• Amazonian Plain-Xenops Xenops genibarbis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Broadly distributed in Amazonia, from tropical e. Colombia, s. Venezuela, and n. Brazil south to s. Brazil and n. Bolivia
• Atlantic Plain-Xenops Xenops minutus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: e. Brazil (north to s. Bahia) to e. Paraguay and ne. Argentina

Regional Record Change Logic: The trickiest region for conversion is the east slope of the eastern Andes of Colombia and south slope of the Andes of Venezuela. Most of these records seem to pertain to Northern Plain-Xenops, but the fine details of distribution in this region may need to be worked out with additional sound recordings.

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Split Rufous Grasswren Amytornis whitei into monotypic Pilbara Grasswren Amytornis whitei and monotypic Sandhill Grasswren Amytornis oweni. These similar birds are well-separated by range, so field ID should not be a problem.

• Pilbara Grasswren Amytornis whitei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: stony hillsides of Cape and Pilbara ranges of Western Australia
• Sandhill Grasswren Amytornis oweni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central western Australia, from Western Australia to southwestern Northern Territory and south-central South Australia

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Split Dusky Myzomela Myzomela obscura into polytypic Moluccan Myzomela Myzomela simplex, monotypic Red-tinged Myzomela Myzomela rubrotincta, monotypic Biak Myzomela Myzomela rubrobrunnea, and polytypic Dusky Myzomela Myzomela obscura. So many myzomelas, so little time! Four more myzomelas with this update, and six new names. Note that the Red-tinged Myzomela co-occurs on Obi with a very different-looking myzomela similar to Bacan Myzomela Myzomela batjanensis and which likely represents an undescribed species (see Obi Myzomela (undescribed form) Myzomela [undescribed form] under new additions below). Dusky is a widespread bird, occurring broadly in Australia; the outlier populations formerly combined with it are all well-known areas of endemism, of course.

• Moluccan Myzomela Myzomela simplex [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: n. Moluccas (Halmahera, Damar, Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, Morotai)
• Red-tinged Myzomela Myzomela rubrotincta [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern Moluccas (Obi and Bisa)
• Biak Myzomela Myzomela rubrobrunnea [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Biak (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea)
• Dusky Myzomela Myzomela obscura [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: s. New Guinea (Bird’s Head Peninsula to Port Moresby), Aru Islands, Australia (Torres Strait Islands, Northern Territory, n. and e. Queensland

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Split Reddish Myzomela Myzomela erythrina from Red Myzomela Myzomela cruentata. If you are trying to identify them, start by looking at a map rather than trying to figure out if you myzomela is truly red or actually is just reddish.

• Red Myzomela Myzomela cruentata [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: New Guinea including Yapen (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea), New Britain and Duke of York (southeastern Bismarck Archipelago)
• Reddish Myzomela Myzomela erythrina [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Bismarck Archipelago (New Hanover, Tabar Island, Dyaul Island, New Ireland)

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The polytypic Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei is rearranged into three species: Indian Cuckooshrike Coracina macei of peninsular India and Sri Lanka, Malaysian Cuckooshrike Coracina larutensis from isolated mountains on the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia, and Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis occurring much of the rest of Southeast Asia, from the Himalaya throughout Indochina These cuckooshrikes don’t overlap in range much, if at all (maybe in south Himalayan foothills?), and look quite similar. But their voice and genetics signal a split which is now recognized. But be aware, we also have a lump here, since Javan Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis is lumped with Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei, resulting in this new combination of Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis. NOTE: the affinities of rexpineti remain uncertain and should be an area for further study!

• Indian Cuckooshrike Coracina macei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central and southern India from Uttarakhand eastward to West Bengal and Odisha, and southward to Kerala, and Sri Lanka
• Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Oriental Cuckooshrike (Javan) Coracina javensis javensis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Java and Bali
  • Oriental Cuckooshrike (Oriental) Coracina javensis [nipalensis Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: ne. Pakistan, nw. India through the Himalayan to s. China and south to Indochina and peninsular Thailand; also Andaman Islands and Hainan
  • Oriental Cuckooshrike (East Asian) Coracina javensis rexpineti [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: se. China (Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan) to n. Laos and Taiwan
• Malayan Cuckooshrike Coracina larutensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: peninsular Malaysia

As a new taxonomic division that is not particularly well-known, this one will be a learning curve for birders, especially in South Asia. Our eBird India team provided these tips from a south Asian perspective, noting that both female Oriental and male Indian share a gray throat and upper breast with barring below; however, these traits can be useful when noted:

• Indian Cuckooshike Coracina macei: Barring on the breast and throat (females)
• Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis: Completely unbarred underparts to very little barring (males and some extreme plumages of females), more prominent white fringing to wings; vocalizations often difficult to separate, but note less piercing call and the spectrogram that doesn’t rise as much and is wavy.

Regional Record Change Logic: Malayan Cuckooshrike is isolated, and does not overlap with other species, so converting those records is straightforward. Oriental Cuckooshrike generally occurs in Southeast Asia, extending west to eastern India and the Himalaya, while Indian Cuckooshrike occurs in the lowland areas of South Asia south of the Himalaya. They come close where lowlands give way to mountains.

Nepal and Bhutan, and Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India have only Oriental Cuckooshrike, while Sri Lanka has only Indian Cuckooshrike (not a perfect English name when seen in Sri Lanka, of course!). Within India, the taxa get very close to coming in contact. Records from all states south of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will move to Indian Cuckooshrike, while records from north and east of Bangladesh will safely move to Oriental Cuckooshrike (this includes Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim), along with records from the Himalayan regions in far nw. India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Chandigarh)

This leaves four states (below) with both taxa where finer-scale logic is used, including liberal use of the slash in areas of uncertainty; after the state name we give the names of the districts where eBird will be presuming one species or the other to occur, but please try to identify all cuckooshrikes critically and please get recordings when you can!

• West Bengal (Oriental: South 24 Parganas, Uttar Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar; Indian: Bankura, Jhargram, Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur, Paschim, Bardhaman, Birbhum; Oriental/Indian: Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Purba Bardhaman, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, Dakshin Dinajpur)
• Bihar (Oriental: northern, mountainous districts: Katihar, Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Sheohar, Supaul, Sitamarhi, Purba; Indian: southern lowland districts: Jamui, Munger, Nalanda, Gaya, Arwal, Rohtas, Nawada, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Champaran, Pashchim Champaran; Indian/Oriental: all other districts in the state).
• Haryana (Indian: Rewari, Gurugram; Oriental: Yamunanagar, Panchkula; Indian/Oriental: remainder of state)
• Uttar Pradesh (Oriental: northern, mountainous districts: Bahraich, Balrampur, Bareilly, Bijnor, Kushinagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Maharajganj, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Shrawasti, Siddharthnagar; Indian: all other districts; Indian/Oriental: none at this time)

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Split polytypic Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina striata into monotypic Mindoro Cuckooshrike Coracina mindorensis, monotypic Visayan Cuckooshrike Coracina panayensis, polytypic Mindanao Cuckooshrike Coracina kochii, monotypic Sulu Cuckooshrike Coracina guillemardi, and polytypic Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina striata. Note that Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike C. striata is sometimes known as Roving Cuckooshrike, as in the Indonesian field guide by Rheindt and Eaton.

• Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina striata [map] [media] [my records]
  • Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike (Roving) Coracina striata [striata Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: central and southern Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra (and adjacent islands), and Borneo
  • Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike (Philippine) Coracina striata [striata Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Philippines (Luzon, Polillo, and Lubang, Palawan, Busuanga, Balabac, formerly west-central Cebu (now extirpated)
• Mindoro Cuckooshrike Coracina mindorensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: west-central Philippines (Mindoro, Libagao, and Tablas)
• Visayan Cuckooshrike Coracina panayensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central Philippines (Panay and Negros, at least formerly Guimaras, Masbate, and Ticao)
• Mindanao Cuckooshrike Coracina kochii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: East Visayas and Mindanao group of east-central and southern Philippines
• Sulu Cuckooshrike Coracina guillemardi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Philippines (Sulu Archipelago)

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Small islands in Cenderawasih Bay off northern New Guinea have high rates of endemism. An additional endemic is recognized here, as we split monotypic Biak Triller Lalage leucoptera from widespread Black-browed Triller Lalage atrovirens.

• Black-browed Triller Lalage atrovirens [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern New Guinea, including Waigeo, Salawati, and Misool (Raja Ampat Islands, off western New Guinea)
• Biak Triller Lalage leucoptera [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Biak (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea)

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Malaita Island scores a new endemic bird, as we split monotypic Malaita Cicadabird Edolisoma tricolor from Solomons Cicadabird Edolisoma holopolium. Hold on to your hats; this is just one of 17 species of Edolisoma cicadabirds with revised species limits in this update!

• Solomons Cicadabird Edolisoma holopolium [map] [media] [my records]
  • Solomons Cicadabird (Solomons) Edolisoma holopolium holopolium [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Buka and Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, and Guadalcanal
  • Solomons Cicadabird (New Georgia) Edolisoma holopolium pygmaeum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Kolombangara and Vangunu (west-central Solomon Islands)
• Malaita Cicadabird Edolisoma tricolor [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Malaita (central Solomon Islands)

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Sangihe Island (and its neighbor, Talaud) off northern Sulawesi hold some unique species and endemics, including one new one as we split Sangihe Cicadabird Edolisoma salvadorii from Sulawesi Cicadabird Edolisoma morio.

• Sangihe Cicadabird Edolisoma salvadorii [map] [media] [my records]
  • Sangihe Cicadabird (Sangihe) Edolisoma salvadorii salvadorii [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Sangihe Islands (off northern Sulawesi)
  • Sangihe Cicadabird (Talaud) Edolisoma salvadorii talautense [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Talaud Islands (Salebabu, Karakelong, and Kaburuang)
• Sulawesi Cicadabird Edolisoma morio [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sulawesi region, including Lembeh (off northeast) and Muna, Tomea, Kabaena, and Buton (off southeast)

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Common Cicadabird Edolisoma tenuirostre was formerly one of the more widespread species in the Australasian region, with no fewer than 29 subspecies. Most taxonomists were confident that this complex involved multiple species, but lacked the information to make an informed assessment as to the true species limits. With archives like Macaulay Library and others, the AviList committee was able to take known information, some partial genetic sampling, and combine it with imagery showing male and female plumage and audio recordings of the calls to propose a new arrangement. There may be further splits in this complex, but it was felt that this was a far more reasonable way to subdivide the complex. If it weren’t for the Island-Thrushes below, this would be the biggest split of this update, yielding 13 species out of one. Edolisoma tenuirostre is renamed to Sahul Cicadabird and its range restricted to Australia and New Guinea, remaining the most widespread member of the complex. The subspecies groups below signal additional diversity that would be worth paying attention to, in case there are further splits down the road.

• Timor Cicadabird Edolisoma timoriense [map] [media] [my records]
  • Timor Cicadabird (Flores Sea) Edolisoma timoriense emancipatum/kalaotuae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Tanahjampea and Kalaotoa (Flores Sea)
  • Timor Cicadabird (Timor) Edolisoma timoriense timoriense [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Lesser Sundas (Lomblen and Timor)
• Pohnpei Cicadabird Edolisoma insperatum [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Pohnpei (Caroline Islands)
• Palau Cicadabird Edolisoma monacha [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Palau (western Caroline Islands)
• Yap Cicadabird Edolisoma nesiotis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Yap (western Caroline Islands)
• Central Melanesian Cicadabird Edolisoma erythropygium [map] [media] [my records]
  • Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Lihir) Edolisoma erythropygium ultimum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Tabar, Lihir, and Tanga (northeastern Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Central Melanesian) Edolisoma erythropygium erythropygium/saturatius [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Buka to Bougainville and New Georgia group (northern to central Solomon Islands) and Guadalcanal, Malaita, Florida, and Savo (east-central Solomon Islands)
  • Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Pavuvu) Edolisoma erythropygium nisorium [map] [media] [my records]
    • RANGE: Russell Islands (west-central Solomon Islands)
• Geelvink Cicadabird Edolisoma meyerii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Numfor and Biak (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea)
• Banggai Cicadabird Edolisoma pelingi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Peleng and Banggai, in Banggai Islands (off eastern Sulawesi)
• Obi Cicadabird Edolisoma obiense [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central Moluccas (Obi and Bisa)
• North Moluccan Cicadabird Edolisoma grayi [map] [media] [my records]
  • North Moluccan Cicadabird (Tukangbesi) Edolisoma grayi pererratum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Tukangbesi Islands (Kaledupa and Tomea)
  • North Moluccan Cicadabird (North Moluccan) Edolisoma grayi grayi [map] [media]
    • RANGE: northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Tidore, and Bacan)
• Bismarck Cicadabird Edolisoma remotum [map] [media] [my records]
  • Bismarck Cicadabird (Mussau) Edolisoma remotum matthiae [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Mussau and Emirau (west-central Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Bismarck Cicadabird (New Ireland) Edolisoma remotum remotum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: New Hanover, Dyaul, New Ireland, and Feni islands (northeastern Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Bismarck Cicadabird (Umboi) Edolisoma remotum rooki [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Umboi (south-central Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Bismarck Cicadabird (New Britain) Edolisoma remotum heinrothi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: New Britain and Duke of York Island (southeastern Bismarck Archipelago)
• Rossel Cicadabird Edolisoma rostratum [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Rossel (Louisiade Archipelago, off southeastern New Guinea)
• South Moluccan Cicadabird Edolisoma amboinense [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Moluccas (Ambon and Seram)
• Sahul Cicadabird Edolisoma tenuirostre [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: n. and e. Australia, Aru Islands, New Guinea (Kofiau, Misool, and Waigeo in Raja Ampat Islands, D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago, Trans-Fly lowlands of s. New Guinea, Misima and Tagula in Louisiade Archipelago)

The below map gives a sense for how the range of all these new species breaks down:

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Fiji Whistler Pachycephala vitiensis is split into White-throated Fiji Whistler Pachycephala vitiensis and Yellow-throated Fiji Whistler Pachycephala graeffii. Plumage and vocal differences align well with these splits; while Yellow-throated is the main species to expect on a visit to the larger islands in Fiji, a trip to the smaller islands east and south of the main islands could net you this second species.

• White-throated Fiji Whistler Pachycephala vitiensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: outlying islands of southern Fiji
• Yellow-throated Fiji Whistler Pachycephala graeffii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: main and satellite islands of northern Fiji

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Split Temotu Whistler Pachycephala vanikorensis into three monotypic species, each endemic to a different island (or set of islands) in the southeastern Solomon Islands: Nendo Whistler Pachycephala ornata, Utupua Whistler Pachycephala utupuae, and Vanikoro Whistler Pachycephala vanikorensis. Before there were Common Cicadabirds and Island Thrushes needing to be split many many ways, there was the Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis, which occurred across Australia and nearby Oceania. That complex got split many ways, with Temotu Whistler emerging from those splits in 2014 (for eBird, at least). But now, that species is getting split further, being subdivided by the three main islands (or island complexes) in the Temotu archipelago.

• Nendo Whistler Pachycephala ornata [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Duff, Reef, and Nendö (northern Temotu, southeastern Solomon Islands)
• Utupua Whistler Pachycephala utupuae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Utupua (central Temotu, southeastern Solomon Islands)
• Vanikoro Whistler Pachycephala vanikorensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Vanikoro (southeastern Temotu, southeastern Solomon Islands)

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A suite of Indonesian Pachycephala whistlers have undergone some complicated splits and shuffles across several species:

• first, monotypic Babar Whistler Pachycephala sharpei is split from Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha
• second, monotypic Selayar Whistler Pachycephala teysmanni is split from Rusty-breasted Whistler Pachycephala fulvotincta
• third, subspecies dammeriana is moved from Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha to Black-tailed Whistler Pachycephala melanura; it is retained as a subspecies group: Black-tailed Whistler (Damar)
• after that, move subspecies compar and par from Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha to Fawn-breasted Whistler Pachycephala orpheus.
• Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha (formerly Yellow-throated Whistler, which becomes Moluccan Whistler after these changes),
• then, subspecies calliope is moved from Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha to Rusty-breasted Whistler Pachycephala fulvotincta
• and after all those changes, the English name Yellow-throated Whistler doesn’t serve the new species well at all, so a new name for the newly constituted set of subspecies coined: Moluccan Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha, which now includes only the five subspecies shown below: 
• and finally, even more complex changes occur with Rusty-breasted Whistler Pachycephala fulvotincta, since subspecies calliope has nomenclatural priority (a wonderful aspect of scientific nomenclature that ensures that English names average more stable than scientific names, despite what many people say!). This means that Pachycephala fulvotincta changes to Pachycephala calliope , and because of all these changes, we follow Rheindt and Eaton in using the name Tenggara Whistler Pachycephala calliopefor this new combination of subspecies, which is shown below.
• Black-tailed Whistler Pachycephala melanura, and Rusty-breasted Whistler Pachycephala fulvotincta , which becomes 

For those keeping track, that’s two splits, new species associations for four subspecies, two English name changes, and a scientific name change at the species level. Whew, you got all that now?

Either way, there are more lifers in play for anyone on a years-long cruise to all 17,508 islands in Indonesia. Here are all the taxa we just mentioned:

• Fawn-breasted Whistler Pachycephala orpheus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Fawn-breasted Whistler (Timor) Pachycephala orpheus orpheus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Lesser Sundas (Semau, Timor, Jaco, and Wetar)
  • Fawn-breasted Whistler (Banda Sea) Pachycephala orpheus par/compar [map] [media] 
    • • Pachycephala orpheus compar eastern Lesser Sundas (Leti and Moa)
      • Pachycephala orpheus par Romang (eastern Lesser Sundas)
• Tenggara Whistler Pachycephala calliope [map] [media] [my records]
  • Tenggara Whistler (Rusty-breasted) Pachycephala calliope [fulvotincta Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: eastern Java and Bali, Lesser Sundas, including Sumba and Timor
      • Pachycephala calliope javana eastern Java and Bali
      • Pachycephala calliope everetti  Tanahjampea, Kalaotoa, and Madu islands (Flores Sea)
      • Pachycephala calliope fulvotincta western Lesser Sundas (Sumbawa to Alor)
      • Pachycephala calliope fulviventris Sumba (Lesser Sundas)
  • Tenggara Whistler (Timor) Pachycephala calliope calliope [map] [media]
    • RANGE: eastern Lesser Sundas (Rote, Timor, Semau, and Wetar)
• Selayar Whistler Pachycephala teysmanni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Selayar (Flores Sea)
• Moluccan Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Banggai and Sula islands (off eastern Sulawesi), central and southern Moluccas, Tanimbar Islands, and eastern Lesser Sundas (except Babar)
      • Pachycephala macrorhyncha pelengensis Peleng and Banggai, in Banggai Islands (off eastern Sulawesi)
      • Pachycephala macrorhyncha clio Sula Islands (Taliabu, Seho, Mangole, and Sanana)
      • Pachycephala macrorhyncha buruensis Buru (southern Moluccas)
      • Pachycephala macrorhyncha macrorhyncha southern Moluccas (Ambon and Seram)
      • Pachycephala macrorhyncha fuscoflava Tanimbar Islands (Larat and Yamdena)
• Babar Whistler Pachycephala sharpei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Babar (eastern Lesser Sundas)
• Black-tailed Whistler Pachycephala melanura [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: widespread Australia through Bismarck Archipelago and far northern Solomon Islands
  • Black-tailed Whistler (Damar) Pachycephala melanura dammeriana [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Damar (eastern Lesser Sundas)
  • Black-tailed Whistler (Black-tailed) Pachycephala melanura [melanura Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: islands off se. New Guinea, nw. Western Australia, northern Australia (Arnhem Land to central Queensland), and Torres Strait islands
      • Pachycephala melanura dahli islands off southeastern New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago
      • Pachycephala melanura melanura mangroves of northwestern Western Australia (Pilbara and western Kimberley)
      • Pachycephala melanura robusta mangroves of northern Australia (Arnhem Land to central Queensland)
      • Pachycephala melanura spinicaudus northern Torres Strait Islands

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Split Tenggara Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone floris from widespread Blyth’s Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone affinis. These two species are well-separated by range: if you saw one in the western Lesser Sundas, it was Tenggara Paradise-Fly, congrats!

• Blyth’s Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone affinis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: e. Bangladesh, e. India, and e. Bhutan through Southeast Asia, including Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java
• Tenggara Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone floris [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: western Lesser Sundas including Sumba

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Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus is split three ways: Moluccan Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus bimaculatus, of various Moluccan islands (Morotai, Halmahera, Bacan, Obi, Bisa, Seram, and Ambon), Louisiade Monarch Symposiachrus melanopterus of the isolated Louisiade archipelago off se. New Guinea, and Australian Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus which is widespread and familiar in eastern Australia. Note that one subspecies of Australian Spectacled Monarch (Eastern) is migratory and may be found in the trans-Fly of New Guinea, while the others are resident in their range, as detailed below.

• Moluccan Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus bimaculatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Halmahera) Symposiachrus bimaculatus bimaculatus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, and Bacan)
  • Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Obi) Symposiachrus bimaculatus diadematus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northern Moluccas (Obi and Bisa)
  • Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Seram) Symposiachrus bimaculatus nigrimentum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern Moluccas (Seram and Ambon)
• Australian Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Australian Spectacled Monarch (Western) Symposiachrus trivirgatus [trivirgatus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Seram Laut Islands (Gorong and Manawoka) and Watubela Islands (Kasiui); Lesser Sundas (Flores and Sumba east to Wetar, Timor, and Rote); and northeastern Australia: Torres Strait Islands, and coastal northeastern Queensland (Cape York southward to McIlwraith Range)
  • Australian Spectacled Monarch (Eastern) Symposiachrus trivirgatus gouldii/melanorrhous [map] [media]
    • RANGE: eastern Queensland (Cooktown to Burdekin River); breeds eastern Australia (Clarke Range, Queensland, southward to near Sydney, New South Wales); at least partially migratory, wintering to southern New Guinea (Trans-Fly) and Torres Strait Islands
• Louisiade Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus melanopterus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Louisiade Archipelago and satellite islands (off southeastern New Guinea)

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Split Black-and-white Monarch Symposiachrus barbatus into two species: Malaita Monarch Symposiachrus malaitae from Solomons Monarch Symposiachrus barbatus.

• Solomons Monarch Symposiachrus barbatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Bougainville, Guadalcanal, Choiseul, and Santa Isabel (northern Solomon Islands)
• Malaita Monarch Symposiachrus malaitae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Malaita (central Solomon Islands)

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Split Vella Lavella Monarch Symposiachrus nigrotectus from Kolombangara Monarch Symposiachrus browni. These striking black-and-white pied birds differ in details of their face pattern, but all are non-migratory so correct identification just involves looking at a map.

• Kolombangara Monarch Symposiachrus browni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Kolombangara, Vonavona, Kohinggo, New Georgia, Vangunu, Rendova, and Tetepare (west-central Solomon Islands)
• Vella Lavella Monarch Symposiachrus nigrotectus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Ranongga and Vella Lavella (New Georgia Group, west-central Solomon Islands)

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The uninspiringly-named Dull Flycatcher Myiagra hebetior goes away as it is split into the somewhat more inspiringly-named Velvet Flycatcher Myiagra eichhorni and Mussau Flycatcher Myiagra hebetior. There should be a law against naming birds in that way, so this is a welcome split. Note that the Dyaul (or Djaul) island bird is another potential future split.

• Mussau Flycatcher Myiagra hebetior [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: St. Matthias Group (north-central Bismarck Archipelago)
• Velvet Flycatcher Myiagra eichhorni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: New Hanover, New Ireland, Dyaul, and New Britain (eastern Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Velvet Flycatcher (Velvet) Myiagra eichhorni eichhorni [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: New Hanover, New Ireland, and New Britain (eastern Bismarck Archipelago)
  • Velvet Flycatcher (Djaul) Myiagra eichhorni cervinicolor [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Dyaul (northeastern Bismarck Archipelago)

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Following an ongoing trend to grant species status for Borneo endemics and Malay Peninsula endemics, the Black Magpie Platysmurus leucopterus is split into Bornean Black Magpie Platysmurus aterrimus and monotypic Malayan Black Magpie Platysmurus leucopterus. The birds have differentiated enough to show significant plumage differences: the Borneo birds are truly an entirely black magpie, while peninsular birds show a broad white slash in the wing. They also differ vocally, and del Hoyo and Collar (2016) described these differences for the Handbook of the Birds of the World (precursor to Birds of the World) as follows: Bornean vocalizations differed by «including much longer bell-like call, chattering call with different pace and frequency, and rising pitch to harsh nasal call».

• Malayan Black Magpie Platysmurus leucopterus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Myanmar, peninsular Thailand, Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra
• Bornean Black Magpie Platysmurus aterrimus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Borneo

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The widespread Eurasian Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes is split into Northern Nutcracker Nucifraga hemispila and Southern Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes (sometimes known as Spotted Nutcracker). Southern is substantially browner on the back and belly and much less spotted overall, so the two look distinctive. Their ranges don’t overlap, but the western edge of Southern Nutcracker range approaches that of Kashmir Nutcracker Nucifraga multipunctata, which has *huge* white spotting.

• Northern Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: widespread in Europe and northern Asia, including Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, North Korea, locally in South Korea, and across Russia to the Pacific coast
• Southern Nutcracker Nucifraga hemispila [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Himalayas from w. Himachal Pradesh to s. Tibet, w. Nepal, n. Myanmar, and sw. China (Yunnan); mountains of China from Sichuan and Yunnan northeast to Beijing, Hebei, and Liaoning; also Taiwan

This slash may not be needed IRL, but it is available just in case a poorly seen vagrant is seen in the middle of the Yellow Sea somewhere or well out on the Tibetan plateau (both places renowned for their lack of nutcrackers).

• Northern/Southern Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes/hemispila [map] [media] [my records]

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Crows are sort of specialists for cryptic species diversity, since their unimpressive plumage variation (ranging from black to black) means taxonomists must listen carefully to their often variable calls or resort to genetics to sort them out. Either way, the big crow split in this cycle involves the formerly widespread Slender-billed Crow Corvus enca, an English name that is now officially retired. The four new species increase the Indonesian and Philippine endemic stats by one and two each, respectively: Samar Crow Corvus samarensis, on Samar and Mindanao in the Philippines, Sierra Madre Crow Corvus sierramadrensis, from the Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon, Philippines; Sulawesi Crow Corvus celebensis, endemic to Sulawesi and adjacent islands and islets; and Sunda Crow Corvus enca, for the remainder which is comparatively widespread occurring on Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and Bali, and Borneo.

• Sunda Crow Corvus enca [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Thai-Malay Peninsula, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra and associated islands, Borneo, Java, Bali, and Mentawai Archipelago
• Sierra Madre Crow Corvus sierramadrensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern Philippines (Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon)
• Samar Crow Corvus samarensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Philippines (Samar and Mindanao)
• Sulawesi Crow Corvus celebensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sulawesi region, including Talaud, Togian, and Tukangbesi islands; population in the Banggai Islands probably this subspecies (but possibly is Corvus enca mangoli; audio recordings would help answer this!)

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Another crow split for this cycle involves the extremely complicated Large-billed Crow complex, which other taxonomies have split in different ways and for which there are surely still some mysteries to unravel (upload those Large-billed Crow recordings to your eBird checklists, which will help!). For this cycle, the most obvious split is adopted: Philippine Jungle Crow Corvus philippinus (yes, another Philippines endemic) is split from the widespread Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos.

• Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos [map] [media] [my records]
  • Large-billed Crow (Large-billed) Corvus macrorhynchos [macrorhynchos Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: widespread in East and Southeast Asia
  • Large-billed Crow (Indian Jungle) Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: peninsular India and Sri Lanka
  • Large-billed Crow (Eastern) Corvus macrorhynchos levaillantii [map] [media]
    • RANGE: northeastern India (west to West Bengal) and eastern Nepal eastward to western Thailand, and Andaman Islands
• Philippine Jungle Crow Corvus philippinus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Philippines

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Solomons Robin Petroica polymorpha is split from Pacific Robin Petroica pusilla. The English moniker «robin» is hopelessly useless taxonomically speaking, as it is spread across no fewer than 17 (!) genera. All of them are cute little plump-bodied cherubs, but it would be hard to argue that the colorful Petroica robins aren’t among the cutest of all. Team eBird supports any split that gives us more colorful little Petroica robins.

• Solomons Robin Petroica polymorpha [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Solomons Islands (Bougainville, Kolombangara, Guadalcanal, and Makira)
• Pacific Robin Petroica pusilla [map] [media] [my records]
  • Pacific Robin (Vanuatu) Petroica pusilla [similis Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: islands of the Banks Group, Vanuatu, and Fiji
  • Pacific Robin (Samoan) Petroica pusilla pusilla [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Samoa (Upolu and Savai’i)

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Beesley’s Lark Chersomanes beesleyi is recognized as distinct from Spike-heeled Lark Chersomanes albofasciata, which makes sense given its highly isolated range far from the range of Spike-heeled. Beesley’s is highly endangered and hopefully increased tourism from keen birders looking to see and learn about this special population will help local communities in their efforts to protect the bird and its habitat.

• Spike-heeled Lark Chersomanes albofasciata [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Angola and e. Botswana to South Africa
• Beesley’s Lark Chersomanes beesleyi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern Tanzania (area just north of Mount Meru)

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Formerly placed in the genus Mirafra, Rufous-naped Lark was a large and common grassland lark of sub-Saharan Africa, but as it turns out it was not one of Africa’s most-familiar grassland species but a complex of sister species that were not previously recognized. Per Alström and colleagues unraveled this taxonomic complexity in a recent paper, splitting Rufous-naped Lark into five species: Sentinel Lark Corypha athi of central Kenya and n. Tanzania; Plains Lark Corypha kabalii of central Democratic Republic of Congo to se. Gabon and se. Angola to w. Zambia, Plateau Lark Corypha nigrescens, of the Nyika Plateau of e. Zambia, Malawi, and s. Tanzania; Highland Lark Corypha kurrae, of west Africa and Sudan; and still-widespread (but a bit less so) Rufous-naped Lark Corypha africana.

• Highland Lark Corypha kurrae [map] [media] [my records]
  • Highland Lark (Sudan) Corypha kurrae kurrae [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Sudan (Kurra and Darfur provinces)
  • Highland Lark (Bamenda) Corypha kurrae stresemanni/bamendae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: w. and n. Cameroon
  • Highland Lark (Western) Corypha kurrae henrici/batesi [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Guinea to Liberia and Niger to Nigeria0
• Plains Lark Corypha kabalii [map] [media] [my records]
  • Plains Lark (Kabali’s) Corypha kabalii kabalii [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northeastern Angola (Luiacana) and western Zambia (Balovale)
  • Plains Lark (Malbrant’s) Corypha kabalii malbranti [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: central and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Djambala, Petianga, and Kasai) to southeastern Gabon
• Plateau Lark Corypha nigrescens [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Nyika Plateau (e. Zambia and Malawi), ne. Zambia (Lundazi) and s. Tanzania (Ukinga and Njombe)
• Rufous-naped Lark Corypha africana [map] [media] [my records]
  • Rufous-naped Lark (Rufous-naped) Corypha africana [africana Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: all of the species’ former range not detailed above, thus: e. Democratic Republic of the Congo and sw. Uganda to the South Africa
  • Rufous-naped Lark (Serengeti) Corypha africana tropicalis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: southern Uganda to western Kenya and northern Tanzania
• Sentinel Lark Corypha athi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central (Nairobi and Nakuru) and e. Kenya (Ukamba) to ne. Tanzania

While we are on the topic of Corypha splits, the Rufous-naped Lark’s similar relative, Red-winged Lark Corypha hypermetra, is split as well, with the recognition of  Kidepo Lark Corypha kidepoensis. 

• Red-winged Lark Corypha hypermetra [map] [media] [my records]
  • Red-winged Lark (Red-winged) Corypha hypermetra hypermetra [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Somalia to Kenya and n. Tanzania
  • Red-winged Lark (Rift Valley) Corypha hypermetra gallarum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: e. and s. Ethiopia
• Kidepo Lark Corypha kidepoensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: sw. Ethiopia, se. South Sudan and ne. Uganda

and with all the confusing splitting, some ranges remain to be well-defined. Make liberal use of the slash options as needed!

• Rufous-naped/Sentinel Lark Corypha africana/athi [map] [media] [my records]
• Plains/Rufous-naped Lark Corypha kabalii/africana [map] [media] [my records]
• Plateau/Rufous-naped Lark Corypha nigrescens/africana [map] [media] [my records]
• Corypha sp. Corypha sp. [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: These larks were among some of the toughest to assign records for this year, and some uncertainty remains where ranges of the newly split species meet. While records from the core ranges of each are easily assigned, we are still parsing observations from western Zambia where Plains and Rufous-naped Larks occur closely together, and from Kenya and Tanzania where Sentinel and Rufous-naped Larks are both found. We also move records formerly assigned to Rufous-naped Lark in northeastern Uganda to Kidepo Lark, as that is the only Corypha species known from that area

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Split monotypic Maasai Apalis Apalis stronachi from monotypic Karamoja Apalis Apalis karamojae. Although quite similar in appearance, these two are well-separated by range and have strikingly different songs and do not respond to playback of the other species. Both favor unique Whistling-thorn Acacia forest, which seems to be expanding as grazing patterns change in this part of Africa.

• Karamoja Apalis Apalis karamojae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of northern Uganda
• Maasai Apalis Apalis stronachi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Maasai Mara, southwestern Kenya, and Serengeti, northern Tanzania

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Split Huambo Cisticola Cisticola bailundensis, known from a small area in central Angola, from the more widespread Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola aberrans. 

• Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola aberrans [map] [media] [my records]
  • Rock-loving Cisticola (Rock-loving) Cisticola aberrans [emini Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Guinea to ne Democratic Republic of the Congo, s. South Sudan, and n. Uganda; s. Kenya to n. Tanzania
  • Rock-loving Cisticola (Lazy) Cisticola aberrans [aberrans Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: se. Tanzania to e. South Africa and e. Eswatini
• Huambo Cisticola Cisticola bailunduensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central Angola

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Split Lynes’s Cisticola Cisticola distinctus from Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais.

• Lynes’s Cisticola Cisticola distinctus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: highlands of e. Uganda and central Kenya
• Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: RANGE: highlands of w. Angola, s. Tanzania (Iringa Plateau) to Malawi, Zambia, ,Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho

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Split polytypic Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula into Pale Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta, polytypic Red-throated Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rufigula, and polytypic Southern Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula. Southern Crag-Martin has also been called Large Crag Martin or Large Rock Martin. Note that the placement of subspecies pusilla  with range «southern Mali to Eritrea and Ethiopia» has been confused in the past, with IOC placing it in Pale Crag-Martin and that treatment followed in eBird’s subspecies group up through 2023. Here we move it to Red-throated Crag-Martin, which it resembles in pattern and with which it is better aligned biogeographically.

• Pale Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Middle East and northern Africa, south to n. Mauritania, s. Algeria, n. Niger, n. Chad, n. Sudan, Eritrea, and n. Somalia
• Red-throated Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rufigula [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: s. Mali to Sierra Leone east to central Chad, Central African Republic, w. Sudan, South Sudan, and sw. Ethiopia southward through East Africa to n. Mozambique
• Southern Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: n. and sw. Angola and n. and central Namibia, Botswana, sw. Zimbabwe, s. Mozambique, and South Africa

These are all pretty similar, although general field marks hold (pale gray in Pale, reddish throat in Red-throated, and dark and dusky overall in Southern). Pale and Red-throated may overlap in Ethiopia and nearby areas in the northern winter, and the range boundaries of Southern and Red-throated in the south remain a bit uncertain. Hence, the slashes should be used liberally when uncertain.

• Pale/Red-throated Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta/rufigula [map] [media] [my records]
• Red-throated/Southern Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rufigula/fuligula [map] [media] [my records]

Wintering Eurasian Crag-Martins can also cause confusion in the north, so there’s a slash for that too.

• Eurasian/Pale Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris/obsoleta [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Most records break out fairly easily, but for winter records in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan, we use the Pale/Red-throated slash. Similarly, the Red-throated/Southern slash is used for areas of Zimbabwe and Botswana that are not clearly part of one of the other species.

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Split Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica into Tahiti Swallow Hirundo tahitica and Pacific Swallow Hirundo javanica. Pacific Swallow is very widespread in Southeast Asia and Australasia so the main relevant change is to its scientific name. Tahiti Swallow is distinctive, being smaller, overall darker, and blackish instead of grayish) on the belly and underparts.

• Pacific Swallow Hirundo javanica [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Asia from Andamans to Ryukyu Islands southward through the Philippines and Indonesia to New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga (western Polynesia)
• Tahiti Swallow Hirundo tahitica [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Moorea and Tahiti (Society Islands, east-central Polynesia)

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Split polytypic Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica into European Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula, African Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis melanocrissus, and Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica, and lump Striated Swallow Cecropis striolata with the new Eastern Red-rumped. The result is an Eastern Red-rumped Swallow species that includes subspecies nipalensis, erythropygia, daurica, japonica as well as the former subspecies of Striated Swallow (Cecropis striolata) including mayri, stanfordi, vernayi, and striolata.

• European Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Iberian Peninsula to northern Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, and northwestern India
• African Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis melanocrissus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: sub-Saharan Africa
  • African Red-rumped Swallow (domicella) Cecropis melanocrissus domicella [map] [media]
    • RANGE: resident n Senegambia and Guinea eastward to southwestern Sudan, South Sudan, and western Ethiopia
  • African Red-rumped Swallow (melanocrissus Group) Cecropis melanocrissus [melanocrissus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: resident in Sierra Leone (Birwa Plateau), Cameroon (Bamenda highlands), highlands of Ethiopia, southeastern South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo southward through Uganda and Kenya to Malawi and northern Zambia
• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica [map] [media] [my records]
  • Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Daurian) Cecropis daurica [daurica Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: largely migratory: breeds from ne. Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, China, and Ladakh, India east along the base of the Himalaya to China, Korea, Japan, and s. Siberia; winters in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and northern Australia
  • Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated) Cecropis daurica [striolata Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: largely resident: occurs in peninsular India and Sri Lanka east to Myanmar, nw. and w. Thailand, n. Laos, and sw. China (Yunnan); also Greater and Lesser Sundas to Philippines and Taiwan

In most parts of the world, it will be obvious which species occurs: in Europe, all birds are European (although there are ~6 records of Eastern, mostly in late spring [late May and June]); Eastern Red-rumped occurs from India, ne. Kazakhstan, and central China east and south into Indonesia (including both the largely migratory daurica Group and the largely resident Striated group) and neither of the other species has ever been recorded in that region. In Israel and the Arabian Peninsula, European Red-rumped is the default species, but increasing attention to winter swallows has revealed very rare vagrant appearance of Eastern Red-rumped (presumably subspecies daurica).

In sub-Saharan Africa, however, it is tricky. African is resident in some regions, but since European is a widespread wintering bird, it is not necessarily safe to assume the identification as African Red-rumped outside of the boreal summer (conservatively, mid-May to late July). Behavior, state of molt, and association with breeding sites may help, but we encourage very careful observation and identification of Red-rumped Swallows in sub-Saharan Africa. We have initially treated all records as European/African Red-rumped Swallow and we are slowly and carefully trying to identify certain (or very likely) African Red-rumped records that can be changed over—we encourage eBirders to do the same and to add documentation especially for European Red-rumpeds you have recorded there.

Some of the vagrant records that have been found are particularly fun, such as European Red-rumped Swallows all the way in South Africa and Eastern Red-rumped Swallows in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, and the UAE. Western Europe has several records of Eastern Red-rumped (including two from the United Kingdom) so we need some lucky twitchers (or managers of Historical Data accounts) to enter those records!

Below is a quick primer on the identification of these new species, which is not well-covered in most field guides. The below field marks apply for adults; identification of juveniles requires some additional research, although in many cases the distinctive young plumage will occur primarily close to the breeding areas.

Given the identification difficulties, a range of slash options is needed.

• European/African Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/melanocrissus [map] [media] [my records]
• European/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/daurica [map] [media] [my records]
• European/African/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/melanocrissus/daurica [map] [media] [my records]

One hybrid in the complex is known (so far); congrats if you have seen it. Barn x Eastern Red-rumped seems like an obvious and fun new hybrid to watch for.

• Barn x European Red-rumped Swallow (hybrid) Hirundo rustica x Cecropis rufula [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: This has been among the most complicated splits for this cycle, especially since the status is poorly known and the new species do not align well with eBird groups. Records entered as «Red-rumped Swallow» before the split will appear as European/African/Eastern  until eBird staff are able to convert them to a more specific option; this option may be needed for certain vagrants or birds with intermediate traits. Most records globally can be safely assumed by range, but note that winter (Aug-Apr) records from sub-Saharan Africa will be largely treated as European/African Red-rumped, although observers may be able to refine this.

Please check your records carefully, especially if you have seen one of the Red-rumped Swallow taxa out-of-place! Here’s the more detailed outline of the division:

• Records from Europe and the Middle East, including records east to Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan (away from Shyghys Qazaqstan oblysy, where Eastern Red-rumped is known to breed) are moved to European Red-rumped Swallow.
• Known vagrant records from the Middle East and Europe will be moved to Eastern Red-rumped; please submit others, if you have them!
• Within India, overlap is known only in Ladakh: here we use the European/Eastern slash and have attempted to refine where there is identifiable media

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Lesser Bristlebill Bleda notatus is split into Yellow-eyed Bristlebill Bleda ugandae and Yellow-lored Bristlebill Bleda notatus. Althogh these species are not known to overlap in range, it is worth being careful about your identifications as we try to work out the fine scale details of occurrence after this split. Eye color is a helpful field mark, with Yellow-eyed having yellow irides and Yellow-lored having brown ones; the birds also differ in vocalizations. However, Shaun Peters (pers. comm. to AviList team) has recently raised some questions about which taxon occurs at Dzanga-Sangha NP, Central African Republic. Birds there appear to be within the presumed range of Yellow-lored Bristlebill (B. notatus) and have a genetic signature matching notatus, but have yellow irides. He has also found evidence of birds with yellow irides from SE Cameroon and Congo, which are also from within the presumed range of B. notatus. We encourage more photos, audio recordings (with careful notes of appearance of the birds being recorded), and genetic sampling of birds in that region, since it is unknown whether the two species come in contact and potentially hybridize here or whether some Yellow-lored Bristlebill have yellow eyes. All this has important implications for whether this split stands the test of time!

• Yellow-lored Bristlebill Bleda notatus [map] [media]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Nigeria to Central African Republic; Bioko
• Yellow-eyed Bristlebill Bleda ugandae [map] [media]
  • • RANGE: Democratic Republic of the Congo (except along lower Congo River) to southern Central African Republic, southwestern South Sudan, and Uganda

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Yellow-throated Greenbul Atimastillas flavicollis is split into Pale-throated Greenbul Atimastillas flavigula and Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul Atimastillas flavicollis. These two species are very similar, but don’t appear to interbreed despite being almost in contact (almost parapatric) and have supportive genetic differences. They do differ in throat color, with a brighter yellow throat in Yellow-gorgeted and a rather dull whitish one, with a yellowish cast, in Pale-throated.

• Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul Atimastillas flavicollis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Senegal to eastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon
• Pale-throated Greenbul Atimastillas flavigula [map] [media] [my records]
  • Pale-throated Greenbul (soror) Atimastillas flavigula soror [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: north-central Cameroon eastward to southwestern South Sudan, southward to Congo and central Democratic Republic of the Congo; eastern South Sudan and western Ethiopia
  • Pale-throated Greenbul (flavigula) Atimastillas flavigula flavigula [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Angola to Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda, western Kenya, Zambia, and northwestern Tanzania

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Split Eastern Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla nigriceps into Olive-breasted Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla kikuyuensis and Black-headed Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla nigriceps. There are three disjunct range segments in this species, with the two northern ones pertaining to Eastern Mountain Greenbul, which has extensively yellow underparts and a gray head, and the Tanzanian portion of the range (sneaking barely into southernmost Kenya) pertaining to the gray-breasted Black-headed Mountain Greenbul, which also has a dusky cast to the head.

• Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla kikuyuensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to western Uganda and central Kenya
• Black-headed Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla nigriceps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: s. Kenya (Nguruman Hills), se. Kenya (Taita Hills) to n. and ne. Tanzania, including the s. Pare and w. Usambara mountains

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Split Stripe-faced Greenbul Arizelocichla striifacies into Stripe-cheeked Greenbul Arizelocichla milanjensis and Olive-headed Greenbul Arizelocichla striifacies. The two species look rather different, given the very gray head and white eyebrow of Stripe-faced. They come almost in contact (are almost parapatric) in s. Malawi, but don’t appear to intergrade at all, which is part of the reason their status as full species is being acknowledged now. 

• Olive-headed Greenbul Arizelocichla striifacies [map] [media] [my records]
  • Olive-headed Greenbul (Stripe-faced) Arizelocichla striifacies striifacies [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: highlands of southeastern Kenya to northern Tanzania (Kilimanjaro to Iringa)
  • Olive-headed Greenbul (Olive-headed) Arizelocichla striifacies olivaceiceps [map] [media]
    • RANGE: highlands of southwestern Tanzania to northern Malawi and northern Mozambique
• Stripe-cheeked Greenbul Arizelocichla milanjensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Malawi (Mount Milanje) to western Mozambique and Zimbabwe

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Split monotypic Angola Greenbul Phyllastrephus viridiceps from White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis, which adds an Angola endemic 

• White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southwestern Senegal eastward to far southern South Sudan and Uganda, southward to southern Congo and western, northern, and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Angola Greenbul Phyllastrephus viridiceps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northwestern Angola

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Heuglin’s White-eye Zosterops poliogastrus is split into Kafa White-eye Zosterops kaffensis and Ethiopian White-eye Zosterops poliogastrus. Kafa White-eye includes both the Mount Kulal, Kenya, birds and those from highlands of western and southern Ethiopia (kaffensis); these are each sometimes split as separate species. 

• Ethiopian White-eye Zosterops poliogastrus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Eritrea and Ethiopia
• Kafa White-eye Zosterops kaffensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Kafa White-eye (Kafa) Zosterops kaffensis kaffensis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: highlands of western and southern Ethiopia (south of Lake Tana, west of Omo River)
  • Kafa White-eye (Kulal) Zosterops kaffensis kulalensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northern Kenya (Mount Kulal)

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Angola White-eye Zosterops kasaicus, of Angola and the sw. Democratic Republic of the Congo, is split from the widespread species Northern Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis.

• Northern Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Northern Yellow White-eye (senegalensis/demeryi) Zosterops senegalensis senegalensis/demeryi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Senegal to Sierra Leone and east to Uganda, n. Congo, n. Eritrea, and nw. Ethiopia
  • Northern Yellow White-eye (jacksoni/gerhardi) Zosterops senegalensis jacksoni/gerhardi [map] [media]
    • RANGE: s. South Sudan, ne. Uganda, and highlands of Kenya and northern Tanzania (Loliondo)
• Angola White-eye Zosterops kasaicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kasai) to central Angola (Malanje to central highlands)

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Split Red-eyed Scimitar-Babbler Erythrogenys imberbis from Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler Erythrogenys erythrogenys, which was made clear by a review of the two disjunct populations (Indian Peninsula and Myanmar to Thailand) by Berryman et al. (2023). Their work drew heavily on «citizen science databases» to support the split and their paper highlights exactly why your photos are so valuable. When taxonomists work with museum specimens they don’t have easy access to information about colors of soft parts (eyes, bills, legs, orbital rings, etc.) which tend to fade in collected specimens (or get replaced with wads of cotton!). Sedulous collectors describe the soft parts colors on the tags of the specimens, but these are easy to overlook. And so it goes that a striking difference in eye color of these scimitar-babblers had been overlooked for a very long time. Putting new information on vocalizations, modern imagery of birds in life, and a review of specimens, the conclusion was clear: these were not one species, but two!

To understand how your contributions are being used, take note of these quotes from their paper which describes how they used the online repositories of photos and sounds:

An original sample of 1,345 photographs was downloaded from the Macaulay Library (= all photographs of E. erythrogenys uploaded by April 2023). One photograph was analysed from each labelled locality (selected as the first on the list acquired), thus eliminating the risk of duplication while maximising the geographic spread of birds included. This yielded a final sample of 343 images.

and

To evaluate these vocalisations, we accessed the sound-recordings available in the Macaulay Library ( https://www.macaulaylibrary.org/) and Xeno-canto databases ( https://www.xeno-canto.org). We selected all relevant recordings from Nepal (n = 12), Bhutan (n = 10), Myanmar (n = 3) and Thailand (n = 36), and a subset (n = 42) of the best-quality recordings from India

and

We commend…the many photographers and recordists who deposited their material in these databases. 

As do we, at eBird Central. Increasingly, your images and recordings are playing substantive roles in advancing science, including the science of avian taxonomy. Thank you for you images and recordings and please enjoy another scimitar-babbler species to enjoy in the world as a thank you from all of science for your contributions!

• Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler Erythrogenys erythrogenys [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Himalayas of northeastern Pakistan and northern India to central Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim, India
• Red-eyed Scimitar-Babbler Erythrogenys imberbis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central and e. Myanmar to nw. Thailand

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Split Marañon Gnatcatcher Polioptila maior from Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea. After the split of White-browed Gnatcatcher Polioptila bilineata from Tropical Gnatcatcher a couple years ago, we have another species to carve out of that widespread and highly polymorphic species. We expect further splits in the future. A new Peru endemic, Marañon Gnatcatcher ranges a bit further from the Marañon Valley than most species that carry that name, and has recently been confirmed from the west slope of the Andes from La Libertad south to Lima. Pay attention to your gnatcatchers!

• Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea [map] [media] [my records]
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher (plumbiceps/anteocularis) Polioptila plumbea plumbiceps/anteocularis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: n. Colombia (upper Magdalena Valley) and east slope of Andes of n. Colombia to northern Venezuela (including Isla Margarita)
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher (innotata) Polioptila plumbea innotata [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: far eastern Colombia to southern Venezuela and far northern Brazil (southward to northeastern Roraima, western Pará, northern Tocantins, and north-central Goiás)
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher (plumbea) Polioptila plumbea plumbea [map] [media]
    • RANGE: the Guianas and northeastern Brazil (Río Tapajós to eastern and northwestern Maranhão)
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher (parvirostris) Polioptila plumbea parvirostris [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: western Amazonia, from southern Colombia southward to southeastern Peru (Madre de Dios) and eastward to adjacent Brazil (Acre and western Amazonas)
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher (atricapilla) Polioptila plumbea atricapilla [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northeastern Brazil (Maranhão to Piauí, Ceará, Pernambuco, and Bahia)
• Marañon Gnatcatcher Polioptila maior [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: north-central Peru (upper Marañón Valley, from Piura to northwestern Huánuco)

Regional Record Change Logic: Marañon Gnatcatcher is well-differentiated from Tropical Gnatcatchers by range, since the former prefers dry scrub and the latter generally prefers wetter and taller forest. But White-browed Gnatcatcher was recently split (in 2021) and some eBird records in w. and nw. Peru pertain to that species, which approaches the range of Marañon much more closely. So we are attempting to re-assign records of both taxa with this update.

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Perhaps the most exciting split in the Americas this year pertains to the quintessential LBJ (Little Brown Job): the House Wren Troglodytes aedon. Although the distinctive plumage, structure, and voice of the Caribbean populations has been increasingly obvious to taxonomists, it was new genetic work that helped clarify the full continent-wide patterns of gene flow (or lack thereof) and solidified a new treatment that splits House Wren into seven species. The new species include five islands endemics: monotypic Cozumel Wren Troglodytes beani, endemic to Cozumel; the polytypic Kalinago Wren Troglodytes martinicensis, which is extant only on Dominica and has extinct populations on Guadeloupe and Martinique; monotypic St. Lucia Wren Troglodytes mesoleucus; monotypic St. Vincent Wren Troglodytes musicus; monotypic Grenada Wren Troglodytes grenadensis. The widespread House Wrens that remain are further subdivided into  Northern House Wren Troglodytes aedon and Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus. Northern House Wren lives in North America and Mexico (south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec), consisting of widespread migratory populations in Canada and the United States and a widespread non-migratory one, the «Brown-throated» group in Mexico. It seems that these two are not separate species in their own right, and the broad introgression where their ranges meet (it seems that the United States may not have any pure «Brown-throated» Northern House Wrens) is one of the reasons that Brown-throated House Wren did not qualify for an additional split in this complex. Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus occurs throughout most of South America and in middle America north to southern Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula, Chiapas, s. Veracruz, and s. Oaxaca).

• Northern House Wren Troglodytes aedon [map] [media] [my records]
  • Northern House Wren (Northern) Troglodytes aedon [aedon Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Widespread breeder in Canada and United States, south to n. Georgia, Oklahoma, central Arizona, and n. Baja California; winters in s. United States and Mexico s. to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
  • Northern House Wren (Brown-throated) Troglodytes aedon [brunneicollis Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Resident from nw. Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora; with likely intergrades into se. Arizona) south to mountains of Veracruz and Oaxaca
• Cozumel Wren Troglodytes beani [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Cozumel (off Yucatán Peninsula)
• Kalinago Wren Troglodytes martinicensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Dominica; at least formerly Guadeloupe and Martinique (Lesser Antilles)
  • Kalinago Wren (Guadeloupe) Troglodytes martinicensis guadeloupensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: formerly Guadeloupe (central Lesser Antilles); extinct, last seen 1973
  • Kalinago Wren (Dominica) Troglodytes martinicensis rufescens [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Dominica (Lesser Antilles)
  • Kalinago Wren (Martinique) Troglodytes martinicensis martinicensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: formerly Martinique (Lesser Antilles); extinct, last seen 1886
• St. Lucia Wren Troglodytes mesoleucus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: St. Lucia (Lesser Antilles)
• St. Vincent Wren Troglodytes musicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: St. Vincent (Lesser Antilles)
• Grenada Wren Troglodytes grenadensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Grenada (Lesser Antilles)
• Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Southern House Wren (Central American) Troglodytes musculus [intermedius Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: s. Mexico to Panama
  • Southern House Wren (North Andean) Troglodytes musculus [audax Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: n. Colombia (including Santa Marta) and Andes south to n. Bolivia
  • Southern House Wren (South Peruvian) Troglodytes musculus carabayae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: central and southern Peru (Junín, Cusco, and Puno)
  • Southern House Wren (cis-Andean) Troglodytes musculus [musculus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: east-central Colombia, w. Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas, Venezuela, Brazil, south to
      s. Chile and s. Argentina to Tierra del Fuego

Since Northern House Wren and Southern House Wren may overlap in s. Mexico, we provide a slash. Their ID will be very challenging, so err conservatively when unsure!

• Northern/Southern House Wren Troglodytes aedon/musculus [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Most records fall out easily into one group or the other, but records from Oaxaca and Veracruz could not consistently be assigned to one species or the other and many were left as Northern/Southern House Wren. Please try to document your observations in that area with photos and vocalizations, whenever possible, to help work out which species occurs where (and when!).

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The IOC World Bird List has long recognized a three-way split Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha and eBird/Clements and AOS-NACC are finally recognizing it as well, along with the upcoming AviList. All three species differ consistently in plumage, as well as song and duetting behavior. The three species all occur in Mexico (two are new Mexico endemics) and include Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus humilis endemic to the west coast of Mexico (south to w. Chiapas), the very isolated Veracruz Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha occurs only in coastal Veracruz in e. Mexico, and the widespread Rufous-backed Wren Campylorhynchus capistratus. Note that Rufous-backed Wren may have additional species-splits coming, if the vocal differences (and slight plumage differences) of the Sula Valley birds are later deemed sufficient for species status.

• Russet-naped Wren Campylorhynchus humilis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: arid lowlands of southwestern Mexico (Colima and southern Jalisco to western Chiapas)
• Veracruz Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: lowlands of central Veracruz (eastern Mexico)
• Rufous-backed Wren Campylorhynchus capistratus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Rufous-backed Wren (Sula Valley) Campylorhynchus capistratus castaneus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: west-central Honduras (Sula Valley)
  • Rufous-backed Wren (Rufous-backed) Campylorhynchus capistratus [capistratus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: w. Chiapas south to Costa Rica

We don’t actually know of contact between Russet-naped and Rufous-backed in far western Chiapas, but they approach one another very very closely and so we have a slash, just in case.

• Russet-naped/Rufous-backed Wren Campylorhynchus humilis/capistratus [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: These wrens are wholly allopatric, with the main tricky area being western Chiapas where they almost meet. Basically, for records east Paredón in westernmost Chiapas, we treat them as Rufous-backed, and for those from Paredón westward into Oaxaca, they seem to be Russet-naped.

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Split Gray-browed Wren Pheugopedius schulenbergi from polytypic Plain-tailed Wren Pheugopedius euophrys. Plumage differences are minor but its pronounced vocal differences are a good hint to its distinctiveness. Watchers of the eBird/Clements taxonomy may note our taxonomist emeritus, Tom Schulenberg, is honored in this wren’s name. Raise a glass to Tom for all his huge contributions to ornithology, at the Cornell Lab, in Peru, and beyond!

• Plain-tailed Wren Pheugopedius euophrys [map] [media] [my records]
  • Plain-tailed Wren (Western) Pheugopedius euophrys euophrys [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Andes of far s. Colombia (western Nariño) and n. Ecuador
  • Plain-tailed Wren (Eastern) Pheugopedius euophrys longipes/atriceps [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: n. Ecuador southward to nw. Peru (north of Río Marañón)
• Gray-browed Wren Pheugopedius schulenbergi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: east slope of Andes of northern Peru (south/east of Río Marañón)

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Chestnut-breasted Wren is split into Northern Chestnut-breasted Wren Cyphorhinus dichrous and Southern Chestnut-breasted Wren Cyphorhinus thoracicus. Go south and east of the Marañon River to find Southern Chestnut-breasted Wrens and stay on the left bank to find Northerns.

• Northern Chestnut-breasted Wren Cyphorhinus dichrous [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central and western Andes of Colombia to Peru (San Martín)
• Southern Chestnut-breasted Wren Cyphorhinus thoracicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: tropical and subtropical east slope of Andes of southeastern Peru (Huánuco to Puno)

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White-breasted Thrasher Ramphocinclus brachyurus is split into two new single island endemics in the Caribbean: St. Lucia Thrasher Ramphocinclus sanctaeluciae and Martinique Thrasher Ramphocinclus brachyurus. Both are restricted to good-quality dry forest and their relatively small populations are at threat from development.

• Martinique Thrasher Ramphocinclus brachyurus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: dry forest of lowlands of Caravelle Peninsula in northeastern Martinique (Lesser Antilles)
• St. Lucia Thrasher Ramphocinclus sanctaeluciae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: dry forest of lowlands of St. Lucia (Lesser Antilles)

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In the megasplit of megasplits, Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus is split into 17 species, as detailed below; refer to the Clements update for the complicated details or just click through the galleries for a wonderful array of Turdus thrush plumages:

• Mindoro Island-Thrush Turdus mindorensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Mindoro (Philippines)
• Luzon Island-Thrush Turdus thomassoni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Luzon (northern Philippines)
• Mindanao Island-Thrush Turdus nigrorum [map] [media]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Negros, Panay, Sibuyan, and Mindanao (west-central and southern Philippines)
  • Mindanao Island-Thrush (Negros) Turdus nigrorum nigrorum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of Negros (west-central Philippines)
  • Mindanao Island-Thrush (Malindang) Turdus nigrorum malindangensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern Philippines (Mount Malindang region of northwestern Mindanao)
  • Mindanao Island-Thrush (Katanglad) Turdus nigrorum katanglad [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern Philippines (Mount Katanglad region of central Mindanao)
  • Mindanao Island-Thrush (Apo) Turdus nigrorum kelleri [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern Philippines (Mount Apo and adjacent mountains of southeastern Mindanao)
• Christmas Island-Thrush Turdus erythropleurus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Christmas Island (Indian Ocean)
• Wallacean Island-Thrush Turdus schlegelii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Sulawesi and Timor (eastern Lesser Sundas)
  • Wallacean Island-Thrush (Latimojong) Turdus schlegelii hygroscopus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: south-central Sulawesi (Latimojong Mountains)
  • Wallacean Island-Thrush (Lompobattang) Turdus schlegelii celebensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southwestern Sulawesi (Bonthain Peak and Wawa Kareng)
  • Wallacean Island-Thrush (Schlegel’s) Turdus schlegelii schlegelii [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Lesser Sundas (Mount Mutis on western Timor)
  • Wallacean Island-Thrush (Sterling’s) Turdus schlegelii sterlingi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Lesser Sundas (Mount Ramelan on eastern Timor)
• Sundaic Island-Thrush Turdus javanicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Sumatra, Java, and northern Borneo
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Loeser’s) Turdus javanicus loeseri [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of northern Sumatra
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sumatran) Turdus javanicus indrapurae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of southwestern Sumatra
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sooty) Turdus javanicus fumidus/biesenbachi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of w. and sw. Java
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Central Javan) Turdus javanicus javanicus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of central Java
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Stresemann’s) Turdus javanicus whiteheadi/stresemanni [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Mount Lawu region (central Java) and e. Java
  • Sundaic Island-Thrush (Bornean) Turdus javanicus seebohmi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mounts Kinabalu and Trus Madi (northern Borneo)
• Moluccan Island-Thrush Turdus deningeri [map] [media] [my records]
  • Moluccan Island-Thrush (Taliabu) Turdus deningeri sukahujan [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Taliabu (Sula Islands)
  • Moluccan Island-Thrush (Seram) Turdus deningeri deningeri [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Mount Binaia (Seram, southern Moluccas)
• Papuan Island-Thrush Turdus papuensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of New Guinea, including Goodenough Island (off southeastern New Guinea)
  • Papuan Island-Thrush (Jayawijaya) Turdus papuensis versteegi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: western New Guinea (Jayawijaya Mountains)
  • Papuan Island-Thrush (Ashy) Turdus papuensis erebus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: New Guinea (Bismarck Mountains)
  • Papuan Island-Thrush (Papuan) Turdus papuensis papuensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: mountains of southeastern New Guinea
  • Papuan Island-Thrush (Huon) Turdus papuensis keysseri [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: northeastern New Guinea (Saruwaged Mountains of Huon Peninsula)
  • Papuan Island-Thrush (Goodenough) Turdus papuensis canescens [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Goodenough, in D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (off southeastern New Guinea)
• Bismarck Island-Thrush Turdus heinrothi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Mussau, in St. Matthias Group (north-central Bismarck Archipelago), mountains of New Ireland, and Tolokiwa Island (eastern Bismarck Archipelago)
• Bougainville Island-Thrush Turdus bougainvillei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Bougainville (northwestern Solomon Islands)
• Solomons Island-Thrush Turdus kulambangrae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Kolombangara and Guadalcanal (central and southeastern Solomon Islands)
  • Solomons Island-Thrush (Kolombangara) Turdus kulambangrae kulambangrae [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Kolombangara (west-central Solomon Islands)
  • Solomons Island-Thrush (Guadalcanal) Turdus kulambangrae sladeni [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Guadalcanal (southeastern Solomon Islands)
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush Turdus vanikorensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Rennell) Turdus vanikorensis rennellianus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Rennell (southeastern Solomon Islands)
  • Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Mare) Turdus vanikorensis mareensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: formerly Maré (Loyalty Islands); extinct
  • Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Vanuatu) Turdus vanikorensis [vanikorensis Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Vanuatu (Utupua, Vanikoro, Espiritu Santo, Malo, Gaua, Pentecost, Malekula, and Ambrym, Paama, Lopevi, Epi, and Mai Islands)
  • Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Ureparapara) Turdus vanikorensis placens [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Ureparapara and Vanua Lava, in southern Banks Islands (northern Vanuatu)
  • Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Efate) Turdus vanikorensis efatensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Efate and Nguna (central Vanuatu)
• White-headed Island-Thrush Turdus pritzbueri [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Vanuatu and Lifou (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, probably extirpated)
• New Caledonian Island-Thrush Turdus xanthopus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: New Caledonia and satellites (possibly extinct except for Yandé, northwest of Grande Terre)
• Tasman Sea Island-Thrush Turdus poliocephalus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Tasman Sea Island-Thrush (Lord Howe I.) Turdus poliocephalus vinitinctus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: formerly Lord Howe Island; extinct
  • Tasman Sea Island-Thrush (Norfolk I.) Turdus poliocephalus poliocephalus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: formerly Norfolk Island; extinct
• Samoan Island-Thrush Turdus samoensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Samoa (Savai’i and Upolu)
• Fiji Island-Thrush Turdus ruficeps [map] [media] [my records]
  • Fiji Island-Thrush (Viti Levu) Turdus ruficeps layardi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Viti Levu, Ovalau, Yasawa, and Koro (western Fiji)
  • Fiji Island-Thrush (Kadavu) Turdus ruficeps ruficeps [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Kadavu (southwestern Fiji)
  • Fiji Island-Thrush (Vanua Levu) Turdus ruficeps vitiensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Vanua Levu (eastern Fiji)
  • Fiji Island-Thrush (Gau) Turdus ruficeps hades [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Gau (central Fiji)
  • Fiji Island-Thrush (Taveuni) Turdus ruficeps tempesti [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Taveuni (eastern Fiji)

Here’s an attempt to help make sense of it all:

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Cryptic diversity in the White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus was uncovered by Wu et al. 2022, who identified a minimum of three new species, including Larwo Shama Copsychus omissus (likely Critically Endangered), the very localized island endemic Kangean Shama Copsychus nigricauda which is probably extinct in the wild, and the Sri Lankan Shama Copsychus leggei, which thankfully has relatively healthy populations. Shamas are accomplished songsters and that unfortunately has been their demise, since rampant wild bird trapping has often targeted birds in the White-rumped Shama complex. The rarer and more isolated taxa are both more highly-valued and more at risk of becoming extinct, which has been a horrible convergence of risks for these rare birds. Note that shamas throughout the region, including these new species, are protected by our Sensitive Species protocol.

• White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus [map] [media] [my records
  • White-rumped Shama (White-rumped) Copsychus malabaricus [malabaricus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern peninsular India, Nepal to ne. India, sw. China and Hainan, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, Sumatra, Riau and Lingga Archipelagos, Bangka, Belitung, Anambas, and Natuna islands, and western Java; Borneo (except northern part); introduced Taiwan and Hawaii
  • White-rumped Shama (Long-tailed) Copsychus malabaricus ngae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: islands on the west side of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (from the Thai/Myanmar border southward to the Langkawi Archipelago at the Thai/Malayasian border)
  • White-rumped Shama (Barusan) Copsychus malabaricus [melanurus Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: formerly Simeulue Islan, Lasia, and Babi islands (off w. Sumatra); Nias and Mentawai Islands (off w. Sumatra); formerly Panaitan Island (Sunda Strait); likely extinct
• Sri Lankan Shama Copsychus leggei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sri Lanka
• Kangean Shama Copsychus nigricauda [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: formerly Kangean Islands and Matasiri Island (Java Sea); probably extinct in the wild
• Larwo Shama Copsychus omissus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: central and eastern Java

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An additional range restricted island endemic was identified by Wu et al. 2022, the Maratua Shama Copsychus barbouri which is endemic to Maratua Island off Borneo and is split from White-crowned Shama Copsychus stricklandii (which itself was only split by eBird in 2022). Maratua Shama, also, is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to overtrapping.

• White-crowned Shama Copsychus stricklandii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: lowlands of northern Borneo, including Labuan, Balembangan, and Banggi islands (off northeastern Borneo)
• Maratua Shama Copsychus barbouri [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: formerly Maratua Island (off northern Borneo); probably extinct in the wild

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Split Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficauda into Crocker Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficrissa, Sulu Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ocularis, and Philippine Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficauda.

• Philippine Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficauda [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Philippines (Leyte, Samar, Mindanao, Bohol, Basilan)
• Sulu Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ocularis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sulu Archipelago (Pangamian, Jolo, and Tawitawi)
• Crocker Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficrissa [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: montane forest of northern Borneo

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Sunda Robin Myiomela diana is split into monotypic Javan Robin Myiomela diana and Sumatran Robin Myiomela sumatrana. Each is restricted to its eponymous island, adding new single island endemics for Sumatra and Java. Their appearances are similar, but their voices are somewhat more unique, which helped justify the split.

• Sumatran Robin Myiomela sumatrana [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of northern and west-central Sumatra
• Javan Robin Myiomela diana [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Java

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Split Qilian Bluetail Tarsiger albocoeruleus from Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus. These two species present a huge new identification challenge, since they have significant differences in song and genetics, and well segregated breeding ranges, but overlap substantially in migration and winter and have no known field marks. Qilian Bluetail has an isolated breeding range in central China (including a small population on mountains west of Beijing) so can be safely identified on its breeding grounds from late May to late August. Here’s the key paper that justified the split. We look forward to birders trying to solve this one and to help try to identify the winter range of Qilian Bluetail!

• Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: breeds from Finland and northern Russia to eastward to Mongolia, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan; resident in Japan (except for Hokkaido), otherwise winters to southern China, Taiwan, Indochina, Myanmar, and Thailand
• Qilian Bluetail Tarsiger albocoeruleus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: breeds in north-central China (northeastern Qinghai, northern Gansu, Shanxi, and Beijing); mostly winters at lower elevations, but some migrate southward to Myanmar and northern Thailand

We encourage use of the slash whenever either species seems possible, either in the breeding areas during migration dates or in potential winter/migratory routes of Qilian Bluetail.

• Red-flanked/Qilian Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus/albocoeruleus [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Summer (20 May to 31 Aug) records of Red-flanked Bluetail from the breeding range of Qilian Bluetail are changed to that species (I.e., Chinese provinces of Qinghai, n. Gansu, Shanxi, and Beijing); otherwise, we have not made changes. Since Red-flanked Bluetail is vastly more common than Qilian Bluetail and since we don’t know the winter range of Qilian Bluetail, we are not moving records to a slash at this time. Hopefully more data in coming years will help answer this question.

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Split Taiwan Bush-Robin Tarsiger formosanus from White-browed Bush-Robin Tarsiger indicus. This adds yet another Taiwan endemic and also illustrates the interesting faunal connection with central China. The above paper, justifying the bluetail split, also provided the evidence for this split.

• White-browed Bush-Robin Tarsiger indicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Himalayas (Nepal to Bhutan, se. Tibet, and Assam), sw. China (Yunnan); winters to n. Myanmar and n. Tonkin
• Taiwan Bush-Robin Tarsiger formosanus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of Taiwan

Since the existing White-browed/Collared Bush-Robin was only applicable in Taiwan, its name (and meaning) changes as well with this split.

• Taiwan/Collared Bush-Robin Tarsiger formosanus/johnstoniae [map] [media] [my records]

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A four-way split in Blood-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum sanguinolentum was not unexpected given the considerable plumage diversity within this formerly widespread species. The four new species break along familiar biogeographical lines withn Indonesia: Javan Flowerpecker Dicaeum sanguinolentum, Flores Flowerpecker Dicaeum rhodopygiale, Sumba Flowerpecker Dicaeum wilhelminae, and Timor Flowerpecker Dicaeum hanieli. Flowerpecker diversity certainly has been on the rise in recent years with new discoveries and splits!

• Javan Flowerpecker Dicaeum sanguinolentum [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Java and Bali
• Flores Flowerpecker Dicaeum rhodopygiale [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Flores (western Lesser Sundas)
• Sumba Flowerpecker Dicaeum wilhelminae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sumba (western Lesser Sundas)
• Timor Flowerpecker Dicaeum hanieli [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Timor (eastern Lesser Sundas)

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Green Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris is split into Yellow-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris of westernmost Africa and Gray-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes tephrolaemus, which occurs east of the Dahomey Gap and into central Africa and the Congo. True to their names, their appearance is distinctive given the very different throat colors.

• Yellow-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sierra Leone to Ghana
• Gray-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes tephrolaemus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Benin and southern Nigeria eastward to southern Central African Republic, southern South Sudan, Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northwestern Tanzania, southward to northern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo; Bioko

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Two striking sunbirds, previously merged, are now in a beauty contest for the most impressive plumage and most evocative name: Gorgeous Sunbird Cinnyris melanogastrus is hereby split from Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus. Indeed, both are wondrous to behold, but are actually quite similar: the blackish belly of the aptly-named Cinnyris melanogastrus (melanogastrus means dark-bellied) is the most striking difference. While Beautiful Sunbird ranges widely in western, central, and parts of east Africa, Gorgeous is limited to Kenya and Tanzania.

• Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau eastward to Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, southward to Sierra Leone, central Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Central African Republic, South Sudan, extreme northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and northwestern Kenya
• Gorgeous Sunbird Cinnyris melanogastrus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: western, central, and southern Kenya and Tanzania

 

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No more shiny and no less beautiful than the species above, Shining Sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus is split as well, with the daughger species becoming Arabian Sunbird Cinnyris hellmayri, endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, and Abyssinian Sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus, occupying the African portions of the range from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia to n. Kenya.

• Abyssinian Sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Red Sea Province of Sudan to Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia south to se. South Sudan, s. Ethiopia, sw. Somalia, ne. Uganda, and n. Kenya
• Arabian Sunbird Cinnyris hellmayri [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Saudi Arabia and Yemen

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The distinctive Old World and New World forms resulted in a split of American Pipit into Siberian Pipit Anthus japonicus and American Pipit Anthus rubescens. The name Buff-bellied Pipit has been used in Europe for Anthus rubescens and in India for Anthus japonicus, so it feels best to consider Buff-bellied Pipit as the name for the two species when they are combined as one.

• Siberian Pipit Anthus japonicus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern to eastern Russia in southeastern Taymyr Peninsula, western Siberian Plateau, and from eastward of Lena River, Yakutsk region, and Lake Baikal eastward to Chukotskiy Peninsula, Commander Islands, Sakhalin, and Kuril Islands; winters from Japan and Korea to southern and southeastern continental Asia; recorded westward to Israel and Turkey
• American Pipit Anthus rubescens [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: breeds Alaska, Canada, Rocky Mountains; winters to central and southern United States and s. Mexico; vagrant to w. Europe

 

Identification of these two pipits is challenging, but usually possible. Focus on these features and make sure a candidate out of range is showing all or almost all of them (note that the below applies to birds in fall and winter; breeding plumage is less likely to be encountered for vagrants and to be used with caution).

• usually pink legs (Siberian) vs. usually grayish or dusky-pink (American)
• strong, thick black streaking below vs. narrower, often more brownish streaking
• strong thick black malar vs. narrower or indistinct malar
• more distinct white eye ring. vs. less distinct eye ring
• whitish wingbars vs. buffy wingbars
• less buffy coloration (more black, white, gray) vs. extensive buff on face and underparts
• subtle differences in call notes that may show up on spectrograms with good recordings

This Surfbirds article has great coverage of the identification and status (and a British Birds article, linked therein, is equally good for those with access). A fairly old field identification article by Lee and Birch (2002) covers the identification of Siberian Pipit from a North American perspective; although it is outdated in terms of the number of records (many more have been found now) the field marks mentioned still hold.

• Siberian/American Pipit Anthus japonicus/rubescens [map] [media] [my records]
• Water/Siberian/American Pipit Anthus spinoletta/japonicus/rubescens [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: In western Alaska (Gambell, Pribilofs, and Aleutians) all birds are retained as American/Siberian except those specifically designated by the observer as one or the other. Elsewhere, North American and western European birds are presumed American, while those in Eurasia west to Azerbaijan, the Caucasus and the Middle East are presumed to pertain to japonicus.

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Stripe-breasted Seedeater Crithagra striatipectus is split from Reichard’s Seedeater Crithagra reichardi. These two species are similar, but don’t overlap in range and Stripe-breasted is far more stripy on its breast (and chin), as you will note in the media galleries linked below.

• Stripe-breasted Seedeater Crithagra striatipectus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: eastern and southeastern South Sudan, Ethiopia, and western and central Kenya
• Reichard’s Seedeater Crithagra reichardi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, and northern Mozambique

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Mountain Serin Chrysocorythus estherae had two widely separated populations, one in the Philippines and one in Indonesia. These are now recognized as different species: Mindanao Serin Chrysocorythus mindanensis and Indonesian Serin Chrysocorythus estherae. Mindanao Serin has extremely few records in eBird, so don those hiking shoes and get to trekkin’ up Apo and Katanglad!

• Indonesian Serin Chrysocorythus estherae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: mountains of n. Sumatra, w. Java, and south-central Java; mountains of Sulawesi
• Mindanao Serin Chrysocorythus mindanensis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern Philippines (Mount Katanglad and Mount Apo on Mindanao)

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Gray-crowned Goldfinch Carduelis caniceps, sometimes called Eastern Goldfinch, is split from from European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis. Gray-crowned is a bird of central Asia, occurring primarily in the «stans», adjacent s. Russia, the Himalayas to western Nepal, and western China. It is strikingly different with good views, having a gray head without the obvious black and white patterning of European Goldfinch from western Eurasia (see photo of both species together above, captioned Gray-crowned Goldfinch); it also has gray (instead of brownish) on the breast and flanks, a longer bill, and vocal differences. Both species have a number of different subspecies, but variation within those subspecies is quite minor compared to the major differences between species (formerly, between subspecies groups). Most introduced populations refer to European Goldfinch, but there are escapee records of Gray-crowned Goldfinch from the United States (California, Massachusetts) and it is to be watched for elsewhere.

• European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Europe, east to central Iran and w. Russia; may occur sparingly south to Kazakhstan and w. Mongolia and e. to at least Lake Baikal, Russia, in winter
• Gray-crowned Goldfinch Carduelis caniceps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • • RANGE: central Asia, from e. Iran to w. Mongolia and in the Himalayas east to central Nepal

They are known to hybridize (see this checklist, for example, and this one), and overlap in winter in central Asia, so be sure to note any hybrids you find and to err conservatively if you are unsure of the identification in potential zones of overlap.

• European x Gray-crowned Goldfinch (hybrid) Carduelis carduelis x caniceps [map] [media] [my records]
• European/Gray-crowned Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis/caniceps [map] [media] [my records]

Regional Record Change Logic: Records from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, China, and India are all presumed to pertain to Gray-crowned Goldfinch, but note that some astute birders have picked out European Goldfinch in winter (see the above maps). If you saw records in these regions that were unsure, be sure to move them to the slash. In Iran it is trickier, with European Goldfinch predominating, but Grey-capped also occurring. At the outset we are treating all records as European/Gray-crowned, but we expect western Iran records will be safely assigned and seasonal assignment may also be possible (please get in touch if you can help determine what logic is «safe» here).

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Marañon Sparrow Arremon nigriceps is split from Black-capped Sparrow Arremon abeillei. The dry Marañon river valley in northeast Peru and southeast Ecuador is not only an important line of division between many taxa of more humid forests, but it has its own endemic flora and fauna too (see also the gnatcatcher above, although its range extends a ways beyond the valley itself). With the recognition of the Marañon Sparrow as distinct, its significance for endemic bird species gets a little more significant. These two species are similar and clearly related, but the green back and narrower black breastband of the Marañon bird makes it instantly identifiable.

• Black-capped Sparrow Arremon abeillei [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: dry deciduous forest and scrub of lowlands and hills on Pacific slope from Manabí in west-central Ecuador southward to Cajamarca in northwestern Peru, also Marañón Valley of southeastern Ecuador and northwestern Peru
• Marañon Sparrow Arremon nigriceps [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southeastern Ecuador and northwestern Peru (upper Marañón Valley)

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Tricolored Brushfinch Atlapetes tricolor is split into Choco Brushfinch Atlapetes crassus and Golden-crowned Brushfinch Atlapetes tricolor.

• Choco Brushfinch Atlapetes crassus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Andes of western Colombia and Ecuador (Pichincha and El Oro)
• Golden-crowned Brushfinch Atlapetes tricolor [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: east slope of Andes of central Peru (San Martín southward to western Cusco in the Apurímac Valley), also local on outlying ridges (Cordillera Azul, southwestern Loreto; Cerros del Sira, Huánuco)

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Split Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch Atlapetes taczanowskii (sometimes known as Taczanowski’s Brushfinch) from Northern Slaty Brushfinch Atlapetes schistaceus. These two brushfinches don’t overlap in range and differ somewhat in plumage, with Northern being much slatier below and lacking the bold white checkmark in the base of the primaries (sort of like the little white handkerchief mark on the wing of a Black-throated Blue Warbler).

• Northern Slaty Brushfinch Atlapetes schistaceus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Andes of Ecuador, Colombia and w. Venezuela
• Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch Atlapetes taczanowskii [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Andes of central Peru (Huánuco and Junín)

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In eBird taxonomic revision, lumps are very easy to deal with. Usually the taxa become subspecies groups, so there is no changing of records necessary, just a recalculation of lists as the species drop to identifiable subspecies. Whenever possible, we encourage birders to continue reporting at the subspecies level, but whenever you select these options, be sure you understand the taxa that you are using; do not try to guess at the subspecies based on the name! This section also includes invalid species descriptions: these are rare but occur when an original description of a species or subspecies is proven to be a hybrid, rare variant, or other form of natural variation that does not represent a species. Full details can be seen at the Clements Updates & Corrections page.

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Lump Sulawesi Swiftlet Aerodramus sororum, monotypic Halmahera Swiftlet Aerodramus infuscatus, and Seram Swiftlet Aerodramus ceramensis as Moluccan Swiftlet Aerodramus infuscatus. The tricky Aerodramus swiftlets of Southeast Asia need additional revision, but this one (and the one below) make a good starting point. They all look extremely similar, but some are very different genetically and clearly different species while others look a bit different and are the same. Swifts remain one of the trickiest taxonomic and field identification riddles on the planet!

• Moluccan Swiftlet Aerodramus infuscatus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sulawesi, Halmahera, Ternate, Morotai, Buru, Boano, Seram, and Ambon)

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Continuing with preliminary revisions to Aerodramus swiftlets in Southeast Asia, Germain’s Swiftlet Aerodramus germani and White-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus are lumped as White-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus. This species is sometimes known as Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus and the IOC World Bird List (v14.2) uses that name currently. The market for the valuable bird’s nests used in birds’ nest soup has actually been a conservation boon for these birds, with man-made «swift towers» swarming with these birds along much of the coast of Asia, such as in the coastal lowlands of Thailand outside of Bankgkok.

• White-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus [map] [media] [my records]
  • White-nest Swiftlet (Germain’s) Aerodramus fuciphagus germani/amechanus [map] [media]
    • RANGE: coasts of Malay Peninsula, n. Borneo, and s. Philippines; Anambas Islands (South China Sea)
  • White-nest Swiftlet (White-nest) Aerodramus fuciphagus [fuciphagus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Andaman and Nicobar islands, Sumatra, Belitung Island, Borneo, Java, Kangean Islands, and Bali to w. Lesser Sundas and Tanahjampea (south of Sulawesi), Flores (western Lesser Sundas), e. Lesser Sundas (Sumba, Sawu, and Timor)

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Macquarie Parakeet Cyanoramphus erythrotis is lumped with Red-crowned Parakeet Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae, again. This was a mistake last year and is now corrected. Since the Macquarie bird has been extinct since who knows when, we don’t expect too much hate mail at eBird central for this one.

• Red-crowned Parakeet Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: North and Stewart islands and satellite islands, Chatham Islands (east of South Island) and Auckland Islands (south of South Island; New Zealand)

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North Papuan Pitta Erythropitta habenichti and South Papuan Pitta Erythropitta macklotii are re-lumped as Papuan Pitta Erythropitta macklotii. After a big round of splits in 2014 and some refinements over the past few years, the species limits in the former Red-bellied Pitta complex are now being fine-tuned and hopefully stable. Three groups are now available to help keep track of regional diversity within the species.

• Papuan Pitta Erythropitta macklotii [map] [media] [my records]
  • Papuan Pitta (Northern) Erythropitta macklotii habenichti [map] [media] [my records]
    • RANGE: northern New Guinea (Weyland Mountains to Astrolabe Bay)
  • Papuan Pitta (Southern) Erythropitta macklotii [macklotii Group] [map] [media] [my records]
    • RANGE: w., s., and se. New Guinea; also breeds northeastern Cape York Peninsula, Australia and  winters in New Guinea
  • Papuan Pitta (D’Entrecasteaux) Erythropitta macklotii finschii [map] [media] [my records]
    • RANGE: Goodenough and Fergusson, in D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (off southeastern New Guinea); recent sight records from Normanby Island probably also refer to this species

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After a few splits in Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, one of them is reversed for this year as Northern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Nesotriccus incomtus and Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Nesotriccus murinus are re-lumped as Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Nesotriccus murinus. Marañon Tyrannulet Nesotriccus maranonica and Tumbesian Tyrannulet Nesotriccus tumbezana remain split however, and we encourage ongoing attention to these two Mouse-colored Tyrannulet taxa which may still have some cryptic species-level diversity hidden in there, but taxonomic experts lack confidence that the Northern/Southern split is the right one for certain.

• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Nesotriccus murinus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Northern) Nesotriccus murinus incomtus/eremonomus [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Pacific lowlands of sw. Costa Rica and Panama, Colombia to Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas, and northern Brazil
  • Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Southern) Nesotriccus murinus murinus/wagae [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: tropical e. Peru to nw. Bolivia and w. Amazonian Brazil, s. Bolivia to Paraguay, nw. Argentina, and se. Brazil; northern distributional limit not certain, may occur farther northward in eastern South America

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See splits for lump of monotypic Javan Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis (Java endemic) with Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei , which itself was split, and resulted in a reconstituted species named Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis. 

• Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis

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See splits for the lump of the polytypic, widespread Southeast Asian Striated Swallow Cecropis striata. It is now combined with migratory birds to the north and resident birds of South Asia as Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica, which also had two splits of much-different looking European and African taxa. In some areas the newly recomposed Cecropis daurica is being referred to as Striated Swallow, and the new species (now including the migrant daurica Group and resident striolata Group) does differ consistently from other Red-rumped Swallow in its stronger striping below (though the striping is palest in Indian forms).

• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica

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Only split a few years ago, Western Whistler Pachycephala fuliginosa is again lumped with Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis. The two taxa are very similar, so this relieves a headache ID problem where the two species were recently determined to come in contact in Victoria.

• Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Golden Whistler (Western) Pachycephala pectoralis fuliginosa/occidentalis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: sw. Australia (sw. Western Australia) and south-central Australia (se. South Australia and w. Victoria)
  • Golden Whistler (Eastern) Pachycephala pectoralis [pectoralis Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: eastern Australia including Tasmania, and Lord Howe and Norfolk islands (east of Australia); partial migrant to north

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Bougainville Monarch Monarcha erythrostictus is lumped with Chestnut-bellied Monarch Monarcha castaneiventris, which already had a bunch of distinctive groups and now gains one more. This runs counter to most changes in this update, since splits revealed additional species level endemism on islands in places like Makira and Bougainville.

• Chestnut-bellied Monarch Monarcha castaneiventris [map] [media] [my records]
  • Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Chestnut-bellied) Monarcha castaneiventris castaneiventris/obscurior [map] [media]
    • RANGE:Guadalcanal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, Florida, Choiseul, and Russell Islands (central to
      south-central Solomon Islands)
  • Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Makira) Monarcha castaneiventris megarhynchus [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Makira (southeastern Solomon Islands)
  • Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Ugi) Monarcha castaneiventris ugiensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Ugi (southeastern Solomon Islands)
  • Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Bougainville) Monarcha castaneiventris erythrostictus [map] [media]
    • RANGE: rainforest of Bougainville (northwestern Solomon Islands)

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Widespread, polytypic Japanese Tit Parus minor of East and Southeast Asia is lumped with polytypic Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus of South and Southeast Asia as Asian Tit Parus cinereus. Both relatives of Great Tit Parus major from western Europe and northern Asia, the species limits in this complex have been difficult to work out with certainty. A number of subspecies groups are maintained to catalogue the diversity in this group. While we hope we have it right, this might not be the last word in this widespread complex!

• Asian Tit Parus cinereus [map] [media] [my records]
  • Asian Tit (Cinereous) Parus cinereus [cinereus Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Afghanistan, n. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, ne. Thailand southeastward to s. Laos, n. Cambodia, and s. Vietnam, se. Myanmar, peninsular Thailand, Malaya, Sumatra, Java, w. Lesser Sundas and Borneo (western Sarawak)
  • Asian Tit (Japanese) Parus cinereus [minor Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: se. Russia to Japan, Korea, sw. China, and e. Tibet south to sw. Myanmar, n. Thailand, n. Laos, and far w. Tonkin
  • Asian Tit (commixtus) Parus cinereus commixtus [map] [media]
    • RANGE: southern China (south of the Yangtze) to Hong Kong and central Vietnam (eastern Tonkin and coastal central Annam)
  • Asian Tit (Amami) Parus cinereus amamiensis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: northern Ryukyu Islands (Amami Ōshima and Tokuno-Shima, southern Japan)
  • Asian Tit (Okinawa) Parus cinereus okinawae [map] [media]
    • RANGE: central Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa and Yagachi, southern Japan)
  • Asian Tit (Ishigaki) Parus cinereus nigriloris [map] [media] 
    • • RANGE: southern Ryukyu Islands (Ishigaki and Iriomote, southern Japan)

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Monotypic Ash’s Lark Mirafra ashi is lumped with polytypic Somali Long-billed Lark Mirafra somalica and is retained as a subspecies group. As a Somali endemic, eBirders have not reported any taxon of Somali Lark very much. If you have Somalia data from the past, please do get it entered!

• Somali Lark Corypha somalica [map] [media] [my records]
  • Somali Lark (Ash’s) Corypha somalica ashi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: arid coastal southern Somalia
  • Somali Lark (Somali) Corypha somalica somalica/rochei [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: n. and nw. Somalia and possibly far e. Ethiopia to coastal central Somalia

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Monotypic Salvadori’s Eremomela Eremomela salvadorii is lumped with polytypic Yellow-bellied Eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis and is retained as a subspecies group. 

• Yellow-bellied Eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis [map] [media] [my records]
  • Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Yellow-bellied) Eremomela icteropygialis [icteropygialis Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Sub-Sharan Africa from Senegambia to East Africa and south to South Africa
  • Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Salvadori’s) Eremomela icteropygialis salvadorii [map] [media]
    • RANGE: eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to southeastern Gabon, central plateau of Angola, and western Zambia

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Polytypic Buff-chested Babbler Cyanoderma ambiguum is lumped with Rufous-fronted Babbler Cyanoderma rufifrons.

• Rufous-fronted Babbler Cyanoderma rufifrons [map] [media] [my records]
  • Rufous-fronted Babbler (Buff-chested) Cyanoderma rufifrons [ambiguum Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Himalayas (Sikkim to Bhutan and Assam south of the Brahmaputra) ne. Myanmar to nw. Yunnan, n. and e. Thailand to n. Laos and nw. Tonkin and s. Laos (Bolaven Plateau)
  • Rufous-fronted Babbler (Rufous-fronted) Cyanoderma rufifrons [rufifrons Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: hill forest of sw. Myanmar (Chin Hills and Arakan Yoma) to w. Thailand and south to central peninsular Thailand, w. Malaya (southern Perak to Johore) to Sumatra; northern Borneo (Mount Poi in western Sarawak)

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Lump Lesser Redpoll Acanthis cabaret of Europe (introduced to New Zealand), Hoary Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni of northern areas in the Nearctic and Palearctic, and Holarctic Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea as simply Redpoll Acanthis flammea. This is a fascinating case in speciation (or lack thereof) since new information has shown that the variation in color is controlled by a supergene that is highly influenced by local environmental conditions. The result is that what we now think is the same species can look different enough in northern areas (Hoary or Arctic Redpoll), southern areas (Common), and mainland Europe (Lesser) to have fooled taxonomists for decades. The birds don’t appear to differentiate between one another for mating (i.e., do not show significant assortative mating) and so the gene flow between populations is above and beyond what we expect from species. 

For birders, this removes one of the more challenging identification conundrums. Is it pale enough for a Hoary? Is that bill stubby enough? What about that slightly darker one next to it? And that slightly paler one next to that? If this one is a Hoary then maybe they all are? I give up, I wish they would just lump them all.

All the former taxonomic options for classifying redpolls remain (despite their minimal genetic differentiation!), so your records will not be significantly changed beyond the removal of one or two extra species

• Redpoll Acanthis flammea [map] [media] [my records]
  • Redpoll (Common/Lesser) Acanthis flammea [flammea Group/cabaret] [map] [media] [my records]
    • Redpoll (Common) Acanthis flammea flammea/rostrata/islandica [map] [media] 
      • Redpoll (rostrata/islandica) Acanthis flammea rostrata/islandica [map] [media]
        • RANGE: n. Labrador, Baffin Island, s. Greenland, Iceland; winters to northeastern USA and British Isles
      • Redpoll (flammea) Acanthis flammea flammea [map] [media] 
        • RANGE: northern Eurasia and northern North America
    • Redpoll (Lesser) Acanthis flammea cabaret [map] [media] 
      • • RANGE: formerly restricted to British Isles and the Alps; breeding range has expanded in recent decades, and now occurs discontinuously eastward through southern Norway, southwestern Sweden, and Denmark eastward to southern Poland, Slovakia, and northern Romania. Introduced (mostly or entirely cabaret?) to New Zealand
  • Redpoll (Common/Hoary) Acanthis flammea [flammea Group/hornemanni/exilipes] [map] [media] 
    • Redpoll (Hoary) Acanthis flammea hornemanni/exilipes [map] [media] 
      • • RANGE: tundra of northern Eurasia and northern North America
      • Redpoll (exilipes) Acanthis flammea exilipes [map] [media]
        • RANGE: tundra of northern Eurasia and northern North America
      • Redpoll (hornemanni) Acanthis flammea hornemanni [map] [media] 
        • RANGE: Ellesmere and Baffin islands and northern Greenland; winters to northern USA and British Isles
  • Redpoll (Common x Hoary) Acanthis flammea [flammea Group x hornemanni/exilipes] [map] [media]

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NEW SPECIES

Each year, a few newly described species or populations newly recognized for their distinctiveness are named and added to the eBird/Clements taxonomy. This just goes to show how much remains to be learned about the birds of the World! Full details for each can be seen at the Clements Updates & Corrections page.

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Birders have known about vocally distinctive nightjars on Timor for a fairly long time. They sound a bit like the widespread se. Asian Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus, but their song is significantly faster. Since vocal differences often signal species-level differences in nightbirds, especially nightjars, its formal description has been long awaited and it finally arrived in 2024. BirdGuides has a quick article announcing the formal description of Timor Nightjar Caprimulgus ritae, along with a link to the full paper.

• Timor Nightjar Caprimulgus ritae [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Timor, Rote, and Wetar (eastern Lesser Sundas)

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Not an undescribed species, but as we look to sync up the taxonomies between IOC, BirdLife, and eBird/Clements under the new AviList project, Ascension Night Heron Nycticorax olsoni was one that has been recognized on the other checklists based on fossil material and written accounts. These checklists generally include birds that persisted past 1500…and this night heron was apparently present well into the 1500s. But they haven’t been seen since, so don’t expect to find one on your next Ascension Island vacay.

• Ascension Night Heron Nycticorax olsoni [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Ascension Island (extinct)

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One of the more exciting additions in this cycle is the formal recognition of White-tailed Tityra Tityra leucura as a species, which previously had been listed as White-tailed Tityra (unrecognized species). Read more about this enigmatic lost bird, now found, in the «New Tityra» section of our taxonomy announcement story.

• White-tailed Tityra Tityra leucura [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Rio Madeira-Rio Tapajós interfluvium, south-central Brazil

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SUBSPECIES RESHUFFLES

Occasionally a subspecies, or portion of an existing species, will be moved from one species to another. These have the same effects as splits on birders’ lists, requiring data to be changed to match the taxonomic revision. These are quite confusing though, since name changes often don’t result—and when they do—they seem to come «out of nowhere». Thankfully, subspecies shuffles are rare. We have six such changes for 2024, three of them among Pachycephala whistlers.

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The Malay Peninsula populations previously treated as a subspecies of Sunda Scops-Owl Otus lempiji are hereby moved to Collared Scops-Owl Otus lettia, restricting Sunda Scops to Indonesia, Borneo, and Con Son Island, Vietnam and expanding the range of Collared Scops to southernmost Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

• Collared Scops-Owl Otus lettia [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Himalayas (northern Pakistan to w. Nepal) east to se. China and south to Indochina, the
      Thai-Malay Peninsula, and Singapore
• Sunda Scops-Owl Otus lempiji [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Sumatra (and nearby islands), Java, Bali, and Borneo; also Kangean Islands and Con Son Island, Vietnam

Regional Record Change Logic: With the above changes, we move all records of Sunda Scops-Owl from Myanmar, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore to Collared Scops-Owl. Our condolences if this costs you a lifer and congratulations if it gets you one. Lots of birders will lose a species for Thailand, where the country total drops by one with this move, but birders in Malaysia might be happy to now get a new one if they have covered both Borneo and the peninsula.

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The below Pachycephala whistler changes are discussed above in the section on splits, since these species have lots of rearrangements:

• Subspecies par and compar are moved from Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha to Fawn-breasted Whistler Pachycephala orpheus
• Subspecies dammeriana is moved from polytypic Yellow-throated Whistler Pachycephala macrorhyncha to Black-tailed Whistler Pachycephala melanura, as a monotypic group Black-tailed Whistler (Damar) Pachycephala melanura dammeriana
• Move Pachycephala macrorhyncha calliope to Pachycephala fulvotincta (Rusty-breasted Whistler), where calliope takes priority (thus, Pachycephala calliope Rusty-breasted Whistler becomes the new name)

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The enigmatic blue flycatcher taxon dialilaemus has been hard to categorize. For 2023 and years prior, we classified it as a subspecies of Blue-throated Flycatcher, Cyornis rubeculoides dialilaemus. With this update, however, it moves to Hainan Blue Flycatcher as Cyornis hainanus dialilaemus. This acknowledges the discovery that Hainan Blue Flycatcher seems to show  impressive polymorphism, since some adult males are blue overall with a white belly while others have reddish breasts, like many other species. The orange-breasted birds were previously treated as subspecies klossi, which itself had uncertain affinities, until genetic information showed that it and the all blue hainanus Hainan Blue Flycatchers were fully intermixed such that klossi may be only a morph and not even a valid subspecies (we currently treat it ias valid, but that may change in the future). Genetic information now shows that dialilaemus is most closely related to Hainan Blue Flycatcher and is only distantly related to Blue-throated Flycatcher. While dialilaemus could be its own species, it cannot be considered part of Blue-throated Flycatcher. A very similar taxon, however, is rogersi, which has been  clumped by eBird as the subspecies group (Blue-throated Flycatcher (Notch-throated) Cyornis rubeculoides dialilaemus/rogersi. But since eBirders did not distinguish subspecies within that group, since those two are very similar in plumage, and since they move to different subspecies, we have disbanded that group while the subspecies go their separate ways: rogersi with Blue-throated Flycatcher (still) and dialilaemus to its new home with Hainan Blue Flycatcher.

The subspecies for each is shown, but these are not reportable in eBird any longer:

• Hainan Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: southern China and southeastern Asia from eastern Myanmar eastwards through Hainan and Vietnam
• Blue-throated Flycatcher Cyornis rubeculoides [map] [media] [my records]
  • Cyornis rubeculoides rubeculoides
    • RANGE: Kashmir to northern India and northern Myanmar; winters to Sri Lanka
  • Cyornis rubeculoides rogersi
    • RANGE: Myanmar (Arakan Yoma and lower Chindwin River area); populations in the Indian hills south of the Brahmaputra have been treated as this

Regional Record Change Logic: All Blue-throated (Notch-throated) from India will move to the slash Blue-throated/Hainan Blue, except:

• These districts from 25 Apr-25 Aug, when Hainan Blue Flycathcer can be assumed: Assam (Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Darrang, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Morigaon, Nagaon, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, South Salmara-Mankachar, Majuli, Charaideo)
• All Blue-throated Flycatchers move to Hainan Blue from 25 Apr-25 Aug in Assam (Tinsukia, Dibrugarh)

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The rarely-seen Dicaeum keiense ignicolle, endemic to the Aru Islands, is moved from Pink-breasted Flowerpecker (Dicaeum keiense) into Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) as Dicaeum hirundinaceum ignicolle. Each forms an identifiable group, so Pink-breasted Flowerpecker is now monotypic while Mistletoebird now has two groups.

• Pink-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum keiense [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Tayandu, Kai, and Watubela islands (southeastern Moluccas), and Tanimbar Islands
• Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum [map] [media] [my records]
  • Mistletoebird (Australian) Dicaeum hirundinaceum hirundinaceum [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Torres Strait Islands and treed areas of mainland Australia
  • Mistletoebird (Aru) Dicaeum hirundinaceum ignicolle [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Aru Islands (off southwestern New Guinea)

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SHUFFLES OF OTHER TAXA and SUBSPECIES GROUP LUMPS

Revisions to eBird subspecies groups, and occasionally other taxa (like spuhs or slashes), can happen in our taxonomic update as well. This effectively changes the definition for these taxa and also changes how you should use them in reporting. To review your records of any of the subspecies groups below, simply open your Life List on eBird and use a browser search to search for the species name in question. Click the species to open all reports for that species; your subspecies reports will appear in this list and you can review those for accuracy. Selected revisions are listed below; for a complete listing of these changes see the Clements updates.

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We had a fairly bad nomenclatural error in our checklist that is corrected this year (we have also made sure the records are assigned correctly!). In 2022 we added subspecific taxa for Short-tailed Babbler Pellorneum malaccense, but as it turns out, we had the common names and the scientific names reversed in v2022 and v2023 and also we need to apply a nomenclatural change (which could add to the confusion, for sure!). Below is the correct information:  

• Short-tailed Babbler (Mourning) Pellorneum malaccense malaccense [map] [media] 
  • RANGE: s. Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and adjacent islands
• Short-tailed Babbler (Glissando) Pellorneum malaccense saturatum [map] [media] 
  • RANGE: w. and central Borneo (Bangka and Belitung, Sarawak and w. and central Kalimantan)
• Short-tailed Babbler (Leaflitter) Pellorneum malaccense poliogene [map] [media] 
  • RANGE: e. Borneo (Brunei, Sabah, and e. Kalimantan)

If you must know, and in the name of full disclosure, in the earlier versions we listed Pellorneum malaccense poliogenys as Short-tailed Babbler (Leaflitter) and gave the range as Borneo (except for the northeast) while we had Short-tailed Babbler (Glissando) Pellorneum malaccense sordidum with range ne. Borneo; in fact sordidum should have been saturatum, poliogenys should have been poliogene, and the English names should have been switched. Ugh. At least we had the nominate subspecies correct!

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With this update we finally give Buteo jamaicensis abieticola the respect it has always deserved. For as long as it has been reportable in eBird, it has been relegated to a «form», never achieving full subspecies status. This year, thanks in part to research by Bryce Robinson that has confirmed that abieticola has a dark morph (see paper here) and that it seems to meet the criteria for a subspecies, we now grant it full subspecies status.

We also add Buteo jamaicensis suttoni, which is similar to fuertesi but restricted to southernmost Baja California Sur.

• Red-tailed Hawk (abieticola) Buteo jamaicensis abieticola [map] [media] 
  • RANGE: breeds boreal zone from Alaska to Atlantic Canada; winters mainly in the USA east of the Rocky Mountains
• Red-tailed Hawk (Sutton’s) Buteo jamaicensis suttoni [map] [media] 
  • RANGE: southern Baja California (Mexico)

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Oriental Scops-Owl previously had just two groups: monotypic Walden’s and polytypic Oriental. With this update we divide the latter into two groups, which differ vocally and in migratory behavior. The Northern group is wholly migratory while the Southern group seems to be resident. Since differences in vocalizations offer signal species-level differences, it is worth paying attention to these two and collecting more recordings from throughout their range.

• Oriental Scops-Owl Otus sunia [map] [media] [my records]
  • Oriental Scops-Owl (Southern) Otus sunia [sunia Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: n. Pakistan to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nicobar Islands, and Myanmar through Indochina
  • Oriental Scops-Owl (Northern) Otus sunia [japonicus Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: breeds southeastern Siberia to ne. China, Sakhalin Island, Korean Peninsula, Japan and S to s. China (Yunnan to e. Guangdong); winters se. China  wintering S to the s. Malay Peninsula and perhaps to n. Sumatra
  • Oriental Scops-Owl (Walden’s) Otus sunia modestus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Andaman Islands

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The former group Rufous Hornbill (Southern) Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis/semigaleatus is split into two monotypic groups: Rufous Hornbill (Southern) Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis and Rufous Hornbill (Visayan) Buceros hydrocorax semigaleatus.

• Rufous Hornbill Buceros hydrocorax [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: Philippines (except West Visayas, Palawan group, and Sulu Archipelago)
  • Rufous Hornbill (Northern) Buceros hydrocorax hydrocorax [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Philippines (Luzon and Marinduque)
  • Rufous Hornbill (Visayan) Buceros hydrocorax semigaleatus [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: East Visayas, east-central Philippines (Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Panaon, Buad, Calicoan, and Biliran)
  • Rufous Hornbill (Southern) Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: southern Philippines (Mindanao, Basilan, Dinagat, and Siargao)

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The polytypic group Fiji Streaked Fantail (Fiji) Rhipidura layardi layardi/erythronota is split into two monotypic groups: Fiji Streaked Fantail (Viti Levu) Rhipidura layardi layardi and Fiji Streaked Fantail (Vanua Levu) Rhipidura layardi erythronota.

• Fiji Streaked Fantail Rhipidura layardi [map] [media] [my records]
  • • RANGE: northern and western Fiji (Taveuni, Viti Levu, Ovalau, Vanua Levu, and neighboring islands)
  • Fiji Streaked Fantail (Viti Levu) Rhipidura layardi layardi [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Fiji (Ovalau and Viti Levu)
  • Fiji Streaked Fantail (Vanua Levu) Rhipidura layardi erythronota [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Fiji (Yaqaga and Vanua Levu)
  • Fiji Streaked Fantail (Taveuni) Rhipidura layardi rufilateralis [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Taveuni (Fiji) 

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The addition of two new groups in Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, one for West Mexico and one for the Perija Mountains of ne. Colombia and nw. Venezuela, means that the component subspecies for the two existing groups of Red-crowned Ant-Tanager also change. Below is the new arrangement with the four subspecies groups:

• Red-crowned Ant-Tanager Habia rubica [map] [media] [my records]
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (West Mexican) Habia rubica affinis/rosea [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: Pacific slope of sw. Mexico (Nayarit and Jalisco to Oaxaca)
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (Northern) Habia rubica [rubicoides Group] [map] [media] 
    • RANGE: subtropical e. Mexico (s. Tamaulipas) to e. Panama
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (Scarlet-throated) Habia rubica [rubra Group] [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Trinidad, n. Venezuela, se. Colombia east of the Andes to ne. Peru and far nw. Brazil
      to e. Peru to central Bolivia and adjacent w. Brazil
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (Perija) Habia rubica perijana [map] [media]
    • RANGE: Sierra de Perijá (Colombia/Venezuela border)
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (Red) Habia rubica rubica/bahiae [map] [media]
    • RANGE: tropical e. Brazil and se. Brazil (southern Minas Gerais) to e. Paraguay and ne. Argentina

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NEW SUBSPECIES GROUPS

Below are the new subspecies groups that are now available for data entry. When you are certain you have seen representatives of these groups, and ideally have identified them critically based on their field marks, please report them to eBird. Please do not guess based on the name, such as «Northern» and «Southern» or «African» and «Asian»; make sure you understand the differences being represented before reporting at so specific a level.

• Cinnamon Teal (Northern) Spatula cyanoptera septentrionalium
• Cinnamon Teal (Andean) Spatula cyanoptera [orinoma Group]
• Cinnamon Teal (Southern) Spatula cyanoptera cyanoptera
• Australian Brushturkey (Purple-pouched) Alectura lathami purpureicollis
• Australian Brushturkey (Yellow-pouched) Alectura lathami lathami
• Rusty-margined Guan (Blue-faced) Penelope superciliaris pseudonyma
• Rusty-margined Guan (Gray-faced) Penelope superciliaris [superciliaris Group]
• Sclater’s Monal (White-tailed) Lophophorus sclateri arunachalensis
• Sclater’s Monal (Band-tailed) Lophophorus sclateri sclateri/orientalis
• Partridge Pigeon (Yellow-faced) Geophaps smithii blaauwi
• Partridge Pigeon (Red-faced) Geophaps smithii smithii
• Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon (Yellow-bellied) Treron phoenicopterus chlorigaster/phillipsi
• Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon (Gray-bellied) Treron phoenicopterus [phoenicopterus Group]
• Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Gray-crowned) Ptilinopus regina xanthogaster/roseipileum
• Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Rosy-crowned) Ptilinopus regina [regina Group]
• Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Sahul) Cacomantis flabelliformis [flabelliformis Group]
• Fan-tailed Cuckoo (New Caledonian) Cacomantis flabelliformis pyrrophanus
• Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Vanuatu) Cacomantis flabelliformis schistaceigularis
• Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Fiji) Cacomantis flabelliformis simus
• Sooty Barbthroat (Amapa) Threnetes niger loehkeni
• Sooty Barbthroat (French Guiana) Threnetes niger niger
• Giant Hummingbird (Northern) Patagona gigas peruviana
• Giant Hummingbird (Southern) Patagona gigas gigas
• Red-wattled Lapwing (White-necked) Vanellus indicus [indicus Group]
• Red-wattled Lapwing (Black-necked) Vanellus indicus atronuchalis
• Elliot’s Storm-Petrel (Galapagos) Oceanites gracilis galapagoensis
• Elliot’s Storm-Petrel (Humboldt) Oceanites gracilis gracilis
• Magnificent Frigatebird (Magnificent) Fregata magnificens rothschildi
• Magnificent Frigatebird (Galapagos) Fregata magnificens magnificens
• Least Bittern (Northern) Botaurus exilis exilis/pullus
• Least Bittern (Southern) Botaurus exilis [erythromelas Group]
• Red-tailed Hawk (Sutton’s) Buteo jamaicensis suttoni
• Oriental Scops-Owl (Northern) Otus sunia [japonicus Group]
• Cuckoo-roller (Grande Comore) Leptosomus discolor gracilis
• Cuckoo-roller (Anjouan) Leptosomus discolor intermedius
• Cuckoo-roller (Malagasy) Leptosomus discolor discolor
• Rufous Hornbill (Visayan) Buceros hydrocorax semigaleatus
• Striped Woodpecker (Bolivian) Dryobates lignarius puncticeps
• Striped Woodpecker (Striped) Dryobates lignarius lignarius
• Lesser Yellownape (Himalayan) Picus chlorolophus [chlorolophus Group]
• Lesser Yellownape (Indian) Picus chlorolophus chlorigaster/wellsi
• Lesser Yellownape (Chinese) Picus chlorolophus citrinocristatus/longipennis
• Lesser Yellownape (Sunda) Picus chlorolophus rodgeri/vanheysti
• Silvery-cheeked Antshrike (Northern) Sakesphoroides cristatus niedeguidonae
• Silvery-cheeked Antshrike (Southern) Sakesphoroides cristatus cristatus
• Olive-crowned Crescentchest (Sierran) Melanopareia maximiliani maximiliani/argentina
• Olive-crowned Crescentchest (Chaco) Melanopareia maximiliani pallida
• Pale-breasted Spinetail (Pale-breasted) Synallaxis albescens [albescens Group]
• Pale-breasted Spinetail (Austral) Synallaxis albescens australis
• Ochre-bellied Flycatcher (assimilis) Mionectes oleagineus assimilis
• Ochre-bellied Flycatcher (parcus) Mionectes oleagineus parcus
• Ochre-bellied Flycatcher (pacificus) Mionectes oleagineus pacificus
• Ochre-bellied Flycatcher (oleagineus Group) Mionectes oleagineus [oleagineus Group]
• White-eyed Tody-Tyrant (White-eyed) Hemitriccus zosterops zosterops/flaviviridis
• Western Olivaceous Flatbill (Western) Rhynchocyclus aequinoctialis [aequinoctialis Group]
• Western Olivaceous Flatbill (Cryptic) Rhynchocyclus aequinoctialis cryptus
• Eastern Olivaceous Flatbill (Guianan) Rhynchocyclus olivaceus guianensis/sordidus
• Eastern Olivaceous Flatbill (Olivaceous) Rhynchocyclus olivaceus olivaceus
• Yellowish Flycatcher (Northern) Empidonax flavescens imperturbatus/salvini
• Yellowish Flycatcher (Southern) Empidonax flavescens flavescens
• Tropical Kingbird (West Mexican) Tyrannus melancholicus occidentalis
• Tropical Kingbird (Middle American) Tyrannus melancholicus satrapa
• Tropical Kingbird (South American) Tyrannus melancholicus melancholicus/despotes
• Splendid Fairywren (Western) Malurus splendens splendens
• Splendid Fairywren (Central) Malurus splendens callainus
• Splendid Fairywren (Eastern) Malurus splendens melanotus/emmottorum
• Banda Myzomela (Banda Islands) Myzomela boiei boiei
• Banda Myzomela (Tanimbar) Myzomela boiei annabellae
• Oriental Cuckooshrike (East Asian) Coracina javensis rexpineti
• Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Kai) Coracina personata pollens
• Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Flores) Coracina personata floris
• Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Sumba) Coracina personata sumbensis
• Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Timor) Coracina personata personata
• Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Tanimbar) Coracina personata unimoda
• Timor Cicadabird (Flores Sea) Edolisoma timoriense emancipatum/kalaotuae
• Timor Cicadabird (Timor) Edolisoma timoriense timoriense
• Black-bibbed Cicadabird (Luzon) Edolisoma mindanense lecroyae
• Black-bibbed Cicadabird (Mindoro) Edolisoma mindanense elusum
• Black-bibbed Cicadabird (Mindanao) Edolisoma mindanense mindanense/ripleyi
• Black-bibbed Cicadabird (Sulu) Edolisoma mindanense everetti
• Solomons Cicadabird (Solomons) Edolisoma holopolium holopolium
• Sangihe Cicadabird (Sangihe) Edolisoma salvadorii salvadorii
• Sangihe Cicadabird (Talaud) Edolisoma salvadorii talautense
• Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Lihir) Edolisoma erythropygium ultimum
• Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Central Melanesian) Edolisoma erythropygium erythropygium/saturatius
• Central Melanesian Cicadabird (Pavuvu) Edolisoma erythropygium nisorium
• North Moluccan Cicadabird (Tukangbesi) Edolisoma grayi pererratum
• Bismarck Cicadabird (Mussau) Edolisoma remotum matthiae
• Bismarck Cicadabird (Umboi) Edolisoma remotum rooki
• Bismarck Cicadabird (New Britain) Edolisoma remotum heinrothi
• Brown-capped Vireo (Northern) Vireo leucophrys [amauronotus Group]
• Brown-capped Vireo (Southern) Vireo leucophrys [leucophrys Group]
• Yellow-green Vireo (Yellow-green) Vireo flavoviridis [flavoviridis Group]
• Yellow-green Vireo (Tres Marias Is.) Vireo flavoviridis forreri
• Fawn-breasted Whistler (Timor) Pachycephala orpheus orpheus
• Black-tailed Whistler (Black-tailed) Pachycephala melanura [melanura Group]
• Supertramp Fantail (Lesser Sundas) Rhipidura semicollaris [semicollaris Group]
• Supertramp Fantail (Pale-fronted) Rhipidura semicollaris elegantula
• Supertramp Fantail (Babar) Rhipidura semicollaris reichenowi
• Supertramp Fantail (Tanimbar) Rhipidura semicollaris hamadryas
• Supertramp Fantail (Black-chested) Rhipidura semicollaris squamata/henrici
• Fiji Streaked Fantail (Vanua Levu) Rhipidura layardi erythronota
• Black-winged Monarch (Arfak) Monarcha frater frater
• Black-winged Monarch (Masked) Monarcha frater kunupi/periophthalmicus
• Black-winged Monarch (Pearly) Monarcha frater canescens
• Rook (Western) Corvus frugilegus frugilegus
• Rook (Eastern) Corvus frugilegus pastinator
• Highland Lark (Western) Corypha kurrae henrici/batesi
• Plains Lark (Kabali’s) Corypha kabalii kabalii
• Somali Lark (Somali) Corypha somalica somalica/rochei
• Red-winged Lark (Red-winged) Corypha hypermetra hypermetra
• Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Yellow-bellied) Eremomela icteropygialis [icteropygialis Group]
• African Red-rumped Swallow (melanocrissus Group) Cecropis melanocrissus [melanocrissus Group]
• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Daurian) Cecropis daurica [daurica Group]
• Penan Bulbul (Penan) Alophoixus ruficrissus ruficrissus/fowleri
• Penan Bulbul (Meratus) Alophoixus ruficrissus meratusensis
• Seram Golden-Bulbul (Seram) Hypsipetes affinis affinis
• Seram Golden-Bulbul (Ambon) Hypsipetes affinis flavicaudus
• Ashy-bellied White-eye (Yellow-bellied) Zosterops citrinella unicus
• Ashy-bellied White-eye (Ashy-bellied) Zosterops citrinella [citrinella Group]
• Tawny-bellied Babbler (Tawny-bellied) Dumetia hyperythra hyperythra
• Tawny-bellied Babbler (White-throated) Dumetia hyperythra albogularis/phillipsi
• Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Chestnut-crowned) Trochalopteron erythrocephalum erythrocephalum/kali
• Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Gray-crowned) Trochalopteron erythrocephalum nigrimentum
• Spotted Laughingthrush (Brown-cheeked) Ianthocincla ocellata [ocellata Group]
• Spotted Laughingthrush (Black-headed) Ianthocincla ocellata artemisiae
• White-lored Gnatcatcher (Van Rossem’s) Polioptila albiloris vanrossemi
• White-lored Gnatcatcher (Central American) Polioptila albiloris albiloris
• Southern House Wren (Central American) Troglodytes musculus [intermedius Group]
• Southern House Wren (North Andean) Troglodytes musculus [audax Group]
• Southern House Wren (South Peruvian) Troglodytes musculus carabayae
• Southern House Wren (cis-Andean) Troglodytes musculus [musculus Group]
• Band-backed Wren (Mesoamerican) Campylorhynchus zonatus [zonatus Group]
• Band-backed Wren (Costa Rican) Campylorhynchus zonatus costaricensis/panamensis
• Band-backed Wren (Colombian) Campylorhynchus zonatus brevirostris/curvirostris
• Rufous-backed Wren (Sula Valley) Campylorhynchus capistratus castaneus
• Rufous-backed Wren (Rufous-backed) Campylorhynchus capistratus [capistratus Group]
• Plain-tailed Wren (Western) Pheugopedius euophrys euophrys
• Plain-tailed Wren (Eastern) Pheugopedius euophrys longipes/atriceps
• Jungle Myna (Blue-eyed) Acridotheres fuscus mahrattensis
• Jungle Myna (Yellow-eyed) Acridotheres fuscus [fuscus Group]
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Central Javan) Turdus javanicus javanicus
• Papuan Island-Thrush (Huon) Turdus papuensis keysseri
• Solomons Island-Thrush (Guadalcanal) Turdus kulambangrae sladeni
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Rennell) Turdus vanikorensis rennellianus
• Ultramarine Flycatcher (Eyebrowed) Ficedula superciliaris superciliaris
• Ultramarine Flycatcher (Eastern) Ficedula superciliaris aestigma
• Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Orange-bellied) Dicaeum trigonostigma [trigonostigma Group]
• Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Orange-breasted) Dicaeum trigonostigma xanthopygium/dorsale
• Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Sibuyan) Dicaeum trigonostigma [sibuyanicum Group]
• Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Gray-throated) Dicaeum trigonostigma [cinereigulare Group]
• Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Sulu) Dicaeum trigonostigma sibutuense/assimile
• Mistletoebird (Australian) Dicaeum hirundinaceum hirundinaceum
• Black Sunbird (Sangihe) Leptocoma aspasia talautensis/sangirensis
• Black Sunbird (North Sulawesi) Leptocoma aspasia grayi
• Black Sunbird (South Sulawesi) Leptocoma aspasia porphyrolaema
• Black Sunbird (Moluccan) Leptocoma aspasia [aspasioides Group]
• Black Sunbird (Kai) Leptocoma aspasia chlorolaema
• Black Sunbird (Papuan) Leptocoma aspasia [aspasia Group]
• Black Sunbird (Bismarck) Leptocoma aspasia [corinna Group]
• Hooded Siskin (Guianan) Spinus magellanicus longirostris
• Hooded Siskin (Andean) Spinus magellanicus [capitalis Group]
• Hooded Siskin (Lowland) Spinus magellanicus [magellanicus Group]
• Rosy Thrush-Tanager (Mexican) Rhodinocichla rosea schistacea
• Rosy Thrush-Tanager (Panama) Rhodinocichla rosea eximia
• Rosy Thrush-Tanager (Southern) Rhodinocichla rosea [rosea Group]
• Stripe-headed Sparrow (Northern) Peucaea ruficauda acuminata
• Stripe-headed Sparrow (Southern) Peucaea ruficauda [ruficauda Group]
• Long-tailed Meadowlark (Sierran) Leistes loyca obscurus
• Long-tailed Meadowlark (Long-tailed) Leistes loyca [loyca Group]
• Carib Grackle (Carib) Quiscalus lugubris [lugubris Group]
• Carib Grackle (Barbados) Quiscalus lugubris fortirostris
• Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (West Mexican) Habia rubica affinis/rosea
• Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (Perija) Habia rubica perijana
• Black-faced Grosbeak (Northern) Caryothraustes poliogaster poliogaster
• Black-faced Grosbeak (Southern) Caryothraustes poliogaster scapularis
• Orange-headed Tanager (Western) Thlypopsis sordida chrysopis/orinocensis
• Orange-headed Tanager (Eastern) Thlypopsis sordida sordida
• White-shouldered Tanager (Puntarenas) Loriotus luctuosus nitidissimus
• White-shouldered Tanager (Common) Loriotus luctuosus [luctuosus Group]
• White-throated Shrike-Tanager (White-throated) Lanio leucothorax leucothorax
• White-throated Shrike-Tanager (Black-rumped) Lanio leucothorax [melanopygius Group]
• Blue-capped Tanager (Blue-bellied) Sporathraupis cyanocephala olivicyanea
• Blue-capped Tanager (Blue-capped) Sporathraupis cyanocephala [cyanocephala Group]
• Blue-capped Tanager (Venezuelan) Sporathraupis cyanocephala subcinerea/buesingi
• Black-chested Mountain Tanager (Blue-rumped) Cnemathraupis eximia eximia/zimmeri
• Black-chested Mountain Tanager (Moss-rumped) Cnemathraupis eximia chloronota/cyanocalyptra
• Palm Tanager (Olive) Thraupis palmarum [palmarum Group]
• Palm Tanager (Violaceous) Thraupis palmarum violilavata
• Plumbeous Sierra Finch (Northern) Geospizopsis unicolor nivaria/geospizopsis
• Plumbeous Sierra Finch (Peruvian) Geospizopsis unicolor inca
• Plumbeous Sierra Finch (Southern) Geospizopsis unicolor [unicolor Group]
• Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch (Northern) Emberizoides herbicola [sphenurus Group]
• Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch (Southern) Emberizoides herbicola herbicola
• Morelet’s Seedeater (Sharpe’s) Sporophila morelleti sharpei
• Morelet’s Seedeater (Morelet’s) Sporophila morelleti morelleti
• Paramo Seedeater (Santa Marta) Catamenia homochroa oreophila
• Paramo Seedeater (Paramo) Catamenia homochroa homochroa
• Paramo Seedeater (Tepui) Catamenia homochroa duncani

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NEW HYBRIDS and INTERGRADES

eBird has a long list of field identifiable hybrids. These are always listed in taxonomic sequence (the species that comes first sequentially is listed first, before the «x») and are always followed by “hybrid”. If you identified a hybrid, especially any of the below, please do report it to eBird (hopefully with photos)! eBird also maintains a much shorter lists of intergrades (hybrids between subspecies groups); these are sometimes followed by the phrase «intergrade» and can be identified from the scientific name by the structure of the names which indicates that it is a subspecies. Hybrids and intergrades are unique to the eBird taxonomy; they are not included in the Clements Checklist. Keep up the good work: each year it seems that eBirders notice more and more hybrids!

Most of the below hybrids represent exciting new hybrids that eBirders have discovered in the past year. Keep them coming. Special thanks to Lily Morello for a very detailed review of hybrids to add this year, especially among the waterfowl. In addition to those, new world warblers, Southeast Asian mynas, and hummingbirds continue their regular drumbeats of new hybrid additions here.

With Change Species, eBirders can quickly update their lists if you already have an entry of any of these (e.g., under duck sp. or hummingbird sp.)—just use “add species” to search for these taxa which are available but typically won’t be on default data entry checklists yet.

HYBRIDS

• White-faced x Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (hybrid) Dendrocygna viduata x autumnalis
• Emperor x Graylag Goose (hybrid) Anser canagicus x anser
• Bar-headed x Swan Goose (hybrid) Anser indicus x cygnoides
• Snow x Swan Goose (hybrid) Anser caerulescens x cygnoides
• Bar-headed x Snow x Swan Goose (hybrid) Anser indicus x caerulescens x cygnoides
• Graylag x Greater White-fronted Goose (hybrid) Anser anser x albifrons
• Barnacle x Hawaiian Goose (hybrid) Branta leucopsis x sandvicensis
• Ashy-headed x Ruddy-headed Goose (hybrid) Chloephaga poliocephala x rubidiceps
• Northern Shoveler x Eurasian Wigeon (hybrid) Spatula clypeata x Mareca penelope
• Egyptian Goose x Mallard (hybrid) Alopochen aegyptiaca x Anas platyrhynchos
• Ruddy Shelduck x Mallard (hybrid) Tadorna ferruginea x Anas platyrhynchos
• African Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) Anas sparsa x platyrhynchos
• White-cheeked x Yellow-billed Pintail (hybrid) Anas bahamensis x georgica
• Common Shelduck x Common Eider (hybrid) Tadorna tadorna x Somateria mollissima
• White-winged x Stejneger’s Scoter (hybrid) Melanitta deglandi x stejnegeri
• Bufflehead x Barrow’s Goldeneye (hybrid) Bucephala albeola x islandica
• Rufous-bellied x West Mexican Chachalaca (hybrid) Ortalis wagleri x poliocephala
• Western x Black-billed Capercaillie (hybrid) Tetrao urogallus x urogalloides
• Common x Ruddy Ground Dove (hybrid) Columbina passerina x talpacoti
• Ruddy Ground x Scaled Dove (hybrid) Columbina talpacoti x squammata
• White-browed x Burchell’s Coucal (hybrid) Centropus superciliosus x burchellii
• Black-chinned x Allen’s Hummingbird (hybrid) Archilochus alexandri x Selasphorus sasin
• Costa’s x Allen’s Hummingbird (hybrid) Calypte costae x Selasphorus sasin
• Broad-billed x White-eared Hummingbird (hybrid) Cynanthus latirostris x Basilinna leucotis
• Broad-billed x Berylline Hummingbird (hybrid) Cynanthus latirostris x Saucerottia beryllina
• Buff-breasted x Baird’s Sandpiper (hybrid) Calidris subruficollis x bairdii
• European Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus argentatus x marinus
• American Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x hyperboreus
• Vega x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus vegae x hyperboreus
• European Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) Larus argentatus x hyperboreus
• American Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull (hybrid) Larus smithsonianus x fuscus
• Forster’s x Arctic Tern (hybrid) Sterna forsteri x paradisaea
• Common x Yellow-billed Loon (hybrid) Gavia immer x adamsii
• Australian x Straw-necked Ibis (hybrid) Threskiornis molucca x spinicollis
• Indian x Chinese Pond-Heron (hybrid) Ardeola grayii x bacchus
• Chinese x Javan Pond-Heron (hybrid) Ardeola bacchus x speciosa
• Golden-headed x Crested Quetzal (hybrid) Pharomachrus auriceps x antisianus
• Blue-crowned x Surucua Trogon (hybrid) Trogon curucui x surrucura
• Meyer’s x Brown-headed Parrot (hybrid) Poicephalus meyeri x cryptoxanthus
• Red-crowned x Orange-winged Amazon (hybrid) Amazona viridigenalis x amazonica
• Golden-collared x White-bearded Manakin (hybrid) Manacus vitellinus x manacus
• Oriole x Black-tailed Whistler (hybrid) Pachycephala orioloides x melanura
• Rufous-vented x African Paradise-Flycatcher (hybrid) Terpsiphone rufocinerea x viridis
• Ashy-bellied White-eye x Silvereye (hybrid) Zosterops citrinella x lateralis
• Siamese Pied Starling x Great Myna (hybrid) Gracupica floweri x Acridotheres grandis
• Vinous-breasted x Great Myna (hybrid) Acridotheres leucocephalus x grandis
• Black-throated x Naumann’s Thrush (hybrid) Turdus atrogularis x naumanni
• Whinchat x Siberian Stonechat (hybrid) Saxicola rubetra x maurus
• European x Gray-crowned Goldfinch (hybrid) Carduelis carduelis x caniceps
• Abert’s x California Towhee (hybrid) Melozone aberti x crissalis
• Orchard x Hooded Oriole (hybrid) Icterus spurius x cucullatus
• Brewster’s x Chestnut-sided Warbler (hybrid) Vermivora chrysoptera x cyanoptera (F1 hybrid) x pensylvanica
• American Redstart x Chestnut-sided Warbler (hybrid) Setophaga ruticilla x pensylvanica
• Pine x Yellow-throated Warbler (hybrid) Setophaga pinus x dominica

INTERGRADES

• Australian Ringneck (Port Lincoln x Mallee) Barnardius zonarius zonarius x barnardi
• Fox Sparrow (Sooty x Red) Passerella iliaca [unalaschcensis Group] x zaboria

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NEW FORMS

Within eBird, we also have forms for taxa that are field identifiable (or likely potential species) and worth tracking, but are not formally described. These include undescribed species and undescribed subspecies groups (both noted with “undescribed form”), slashes at a level between subspecies group and species (e.g., Whimbrel (White-rumped)) and miscellaneous other taxa. This year’s update includes seven undescribed forms, some of which are very likely to pertain to previously unrecognized species. Note that we lost three forms this year with the description of the new species above. Forms are unique to the eBird taxonomy; they are not found in the Clements Checklist.

• Little Cuckoo-Dove (Eucalypt) Macropygia ruficeps [undescribed form]
• Azuero Mountain-gem (undescribed form) Lampornis [undescribed form]
• Andean Storm-Petrel (unrecognized species) Oceanites barrosi [unrecognized species]
• Meratus Barbet (undescribed form) Psilopogon [undescribed Meratus form]
• Paisa Antpitta (undescribed form) Grallaria [undescribed form]
• Turimiquire Tapaculo (undescribed form) Scytalopus [undescribed Turimiquire form]
• Eared Pygmy-Tyrant (Pernambuco) Myiornis auricularis [undescribed form]
• Snethlage’s Tody-Tyrant (W of Madeira) Hemitriccus minor [undescribed form]
• White-eyed Tody-Tyrant (Guianan) Hemitriccus zosterops [undescribed form]
• Obi Myzomela (undescribed form) Myzomela [undescribed form]
• Banda Myzomela (Babar) Myzomela boiei [undescribed form]
• Gray-eyed Greenlet (Beni) Hylophilus amaurocephalus [undescribed Beni form]
• Lisu Wren-Babbler (undescribed form) Spelaeornis [undescribed form]
• Meratus Laughingthrush (undescribed form) Pterorhinus [undescribed Meratus form]
• Meratus Flowerpecker (undescribed form) Dicaeum [undescribed Meratus form]
• Black Sunbird (Menui) Leptocoma aspasia [undescribed form]
• Monte Desert Siskin (undescribed form) Spinus [undescribed form]
• Azuero Warbler (undescribed form) Basileuterus [undescribed form]

NEW DOMESTICS

eBird has a separate category for domesticated species that are regularly seen in a feral or wild state. The distinction between a “Domestic” and a wild type bird of the same species is in its appearance, and domestics are always identifiable as having domestic ancestry, often in their white, yellow, or otherwise abnormal plumage or, less often, in their size or shape (e.g., Graylag Goose (Domestic type) is larger and more pot-bellied than wild Graylag Geese). Domestics are unique to the eBird taxonomy; they are not found in the Clements Checklist. This year’s update includes two new options for species of old world quail, each of which is often distinguishable by coloration that does not match the wild type birds. We also add a domestic type for Eastern Rosella, which includes birds that can be entirely blue or yellow, which are morphs not found in the wild.

• Blue-breasted Quail (Domestic type) Synoicus chinensis (Domestic type)
• Japanese Quail (Domestic type) Coturnix japonica (Domestic type)
• Eastern Rosella (Domestic type) Platycercus eximius (Domestic type)

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NEW SLASHES AND SPUHS

As with hybrids, eBird has a long list of “slashes” and “spuhs”. These are useful in the field if you get a good enough look at a bird to know it, for example, a scoter, but not to tell if it was a Common Scoter, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, Velvet Scoter, or White-winged Scoter. You can use “scoter sp.”, in such instances. If you are able to narrow it down to two (or in rare cases, three or four) species options, we have “slashes”, which mention the full common name (and scientific name) for the species that are potential species for your observation (e.g., Surf/Black Scoter). This list is being regularly updated as observers let us know what field identification problems they encounter. Slashes and spuhs are unique to the eBird taxonomy; they are not found in the Clements Checklist.

• Western/Black-billed Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus/urogalloides
• Eared/Mourning Dove Zenaida auriculata/macroura
• Metallic Pigeon/Barking Imperial-Pigeon Columba vitiensis/Ducula latrans
• Eudynamys sp. Eudynamys sp.
• Chrysococcyx sp. Chrysococcyx sp.
• Chalcites sp. Chalcites sp.
• Chestnut-breasted/Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis castaneiventris/flabelliformis
• Sunda/Sahul Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis/variolosus
• Moluccan/Sahul Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus/variolosus
• White-tipped/Buff-tailed Sicklebill Eutoxeres aquila/condamini
• Spotted/Solitary Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos/Tringa solitaria
• Chroicocephalus sp. Chroicocephalus sp.
• American Herring/Vega Gull Larus smithsonianus/vegae
• Vega/Mongolian Gull Larus vegae/mongolicus
• American/European Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus/argentatus
• European Herring/Iceland Gull Larus argentatus/glaucoides
• Gray/Blue-gray Noddy Anous albivitta/ceruleus
• Bridled/Gray-backed Tern Onychoprion anaethetus/lunatus
• Onychoprion sp. Onychoprion sp.
• Sandwich/Elegant Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis/elegans
• Lesser/Great Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis/bergii
• Swinhoe’s/Matsudaira’s Storm-Petrel Hydrobates monorhis/matsudairae
• Broad-billed/MacGillivray’s Prion Pachyptila vittata/macgillivrayi
• Broad-billed/Salvin’s/MacGillivray’s Prion Pachyptila vittata/salvini/macgillivrayi
• Blue Petrel/prion sp. Halobaena caerulea/Pachyptila sp.
• Brown/Cocos Booby Sula leucogaster/brewsteri
• Reed/Crowned Cormorant Microcarbo africanus/coronatus
• Egretta sp. Egretta sp.
• Dark/Eastern Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates/poliopterus
• Dark/Pale Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates/canorus
• Western/Eastern Barn Owl Tyto alba/javanica
• Tyto sp. Tyto sp.
• Southern/Damara Red-billed Hornbill Tockus rufirostris/damarensis
• Darjeeling/Necklaced Woodpecker Dendrocopos darjellensis/Dryobates pernyii
• Malabar/Common Flameback Chrysocolaptes socialis/Dinopium javanense
• Mountain/White-throated Caracara Daptrius megalopterus/albogularis
• Lesser/Rock Kestrel Falco naumanni/rupicolus
• rosella sp. Platycercus sp.
• Golden-collared/White-bearded Manakin Manacus vitellinus/manacus
• Black/Eastern Phoebe Sayornis nigricans/phoebe
• Indian/Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina macei/javensis
• Blue-headed/Plumbeous Vireo Vireo solitarius/plumbeus
• Arafura/Australian Rufous Fantail Rhipidura dryas/rufifrons
• Rufous-vented/Bates’s Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone rufocinerea/batesi
• Great/Asian Tit Parus major/cinereus
• Southern Black-Tit/Carp’s Tit Melaniparus niger/carpi
• Ashy/Gray Tit Melaniparus cinerascens/afer
• african tit sp. Melaniparus sp.
• sparrow-lark sp. Eremopterix sp.
• Indochinese/Singing Bushlark Plocealauda erythrocephala/Mirafra javanica
• Plocealauda/Mirafra sp. Plocealauda/Mirafra sp.
• Plains/Rufous-naped Lark Corypha kabalii/africana
• Plateau/Rufous-naped Lark Corypha nigrescens/africana
• Rufous-naped/Sentinel Lark Corypha africana/athi
• Corypha sp. Corypha sp.
• Tawny-flanked/Black-chested Prinia Prinia subflava/flavicans
• Karoo/Drakensberg Prinia Prinia maculosa/hypoxantha
• Pale/Red-throated Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta/rufigula
• Red-throated/Southern Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rufigula/fuligula
• Ptyonoprogne sp. Ptyonoprogne sp.
• European/African Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/melanocrissus
• European/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula/daurica
• Layard’s/Chestnut-vented Warbler Curruca layardi/subcoerulea
• Ashy-bellied White-eye/Silvereye Zosterops citrinella/lateralis
• Black-streaked/Gray-sided Scimitar-Babbler Erythrogenys gravivox/swinhoei
• Brown/Pale-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis fulvescens/rufipennis
• Mountain/Scaly-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis pyrrhoptera/albipectus
• Pale-breasted/Scaly-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis fulvescens/albipectus
• Northern/Southern House Wren Troglodytes aedon/musculus
• Russet-naped/Rufous-backed Wren Campylorhynchus humilis/capistratus
• Lesser/Greater Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chloropterus/chalybaeus
• Red-tailed/White-tailed Ant-Thrush Neocossyphus rufus/poensis
• Asian Brown/Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica/muttui
• Hainan Blue/Blue-throated/Chinese Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus/rubeculoides/glaucicomans
• Firethroat/Blackthroat Calliope pectardens/obscura
• Arabian/Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugentoides/lugens
• Purple-rumped Sunbird/Crimson-backed Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica/minima
• Purple/Loten’s Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus/lotenius
• bishop sp. Euplectes sp. (bishop sp.)
• widowbird sp. Euplectes sp. (widowbird sp.)
• Siberian/American Pipit Anthus japonicus/rubescens
• Apapane/Iiwi Himatione sanguinea/Drepanis coccinea
• European/Gray-crowned Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis/caniceps
• Cyanerpes sp. Cyanerpes sp.

COMMON NAME CHANGES

These are cases where an existing species_code in eBird is renamed. See the Clements Checklist updates (here) for the reasoning behind these name changes. Note that some relate directly to splits discussed above, since some of the taxa that were formerly species may appear here. For example, if a widespread bird that occurs in North America and Eurasia is split into unique species on each continent, the population occurring on both continents might be retained here as a “slash” and appear as a name change (also a change from species to slash). Other name changes may be driven by changes in taxonomic sequence (as with hybrids and slashes, where the first-listed species always comes first), an attempt to follow an emerging consensus in local usage, or a taxonomic revision that affects hyphenation rules. Two common changes this year were a result of increased global standardization in common names: First, we are now aligning with IOC, BirdLife International, and the South American classification Committee to use Amazon for all Amazona parrots; we hope this change will help birders keep better track of this distinctive genus and reduce confusion between the many other parrots globally (not that AOS-NACC has yet to adopt this change). One particularly cool revelation, buried in name changes below, is the adjustment of this taxon from Yellow-breasted Chat x  Icteria virens x Icterus sp. x oriole sp. to Yellow-breasted Chat x Hooded Oriole (hybrid) Icteria virens x Icterus sp.; this change is thanks to genetic information that confirmed the identity of this single known individual (check it out here) of this hybrid (also note, Icteria may in fact be in Icteridae, so this may actually be a hybrid within a family rather than across families). Many other changes are in an effort to standardize English names between our checklist, IOC, and BirdLife. Other general changes, including corrections and decisions to use an alternate common name, have been made here.

• Common Eider (Faeroe Is.) —> Common Eider (Faroe Is.)
• Crested Bobwhite (Spot-bellied) —> Spot-bellied Bobwhite
• Severtzov’s Grouse —> Chinese Grouse
• Delegorgue’s Pigeon —> Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon
• Delegorgue’s Pigeon (Northern) —> Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (Northern)
• Delegorgue’s Pigeon (Southern) —> Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (Southern)
• Bronze-naped Pigeon —> Western Bronze-naped Pigeon
• Mackinlay’s Cuckoo-Dove —> Spot-breasted Cuckoo-Dove
• Marquesas Ground Dove —> Marquesan Ground Dove
• Mourning/Zenaida Dove —> Zenaida/Mourning Dove
• Velvet Dove —> Whistling Dove
• Marquesas Imperial-Pigeon —> Nuku Hiva Imperial-Pigeon
• Peale’s Imperial-Pigeon —> Barking Imperial-Pigeon
• Chatham Island Pigeon —> Chatham Islands Pigeon
• Houbara Bustard —> African Houbara
• Houbara Bustard (Canary Is.) —> African Houbara (Canary Is.)
• Houbara Bustard (North African) —> African Houbara (North African)
• Macqueen’s Bustard —> Asian Houbara
• Red-capped Coua (Red-capped) —> Red-capped Coua
• Red-capped Coua (Green-capped) —> Olive-capped Coua
• White-browed Coucal (White-browed) —> White-browed Coucal
• White-browed Coucal (Burchell’s) —> Burchell’s Coucal
• White-browed Coucal —> White-browed/Burchell’s Coucal
• Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Mentawai) —> Mentawai Malkoha
• Chrysococcyx sp. —> Chrysococcyx/Chalcites sp.
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Pied) —> Pied Bronze-Cuckoo
• Brush Cuckoo (Sunda) —> Sunda Brush Cuckoo
• Brush Cuckoo (Sulawesi) —> Sulawesi Brush Cuckoo
• Moluccan Cuckoo —> Moluccan Brush Cuckoo
• Brush Cuckoo (Australasian) —> Sahul Brush Cuckoo
• Brush Cuckoo (Tanimbar) —> Tanimbar Brush Cuckoo (undescribed form)
• Brush Cuckoo (Solomons) —> Solomons Brush Cuckoo
• Brush Cuckoo (Manus) —> Manus Brush Cuckoo
• Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (Njobo’s) —> Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (Njombo’s)
• Great Eared-Nightjar (Simelue) —> Great Eared-Nightjar (Simeulue)
• Timor Nightjar (undescribed form) —> Timor Nightjar
• Barred Owlet-nightjar (Diamond’s) —> Karimui Owlet-nightjar
• White-nest/Germain’s Swiftlet (Edible-nest Swiftlet) —> White-nest Swiftlet
• Germain’s Swiftlet —> White-nest Swiftlet (Germain’s)
• White-nest Swiftlet —> White-nest Swiftlet (White-nest)
• Virginia Rail (South American) —> Ecuadorian Rail
• Rufous-sided/Red-and-white Crake —> Red-and-white/Rufous-sided Crake
• Porzana/Zapornia/Hapalocrex sp. —> Porzana/Zapornia sp.
• Sandhill Crane (canadensis) —> Sandhill Crane (Lesser)
• Sandhill Crane (tabida/rowani) —> Sandhill Crane (Greater)
• Sandhill Crane (pulla) —> Sandhill Crane (Mississippi)
• Sandhill Crane (pratensis) —> Sandhill Crane (Florida)
• Sandhill Crane (nesiotes) —> Sandhill Crane (Cuban)
• Black-necked x Black-winged Stilt (hybrid) —> Black-winged x Black-necked Stilt (hybrid)
• Chatham Oystercatcher —> Chatham Islands Oystercatcher
• Charadrius sp. —> Charadrius/Thinornis sp.
• Snowy Plover (nivosus) —> Snowy Plover (Northern)
• Snowy Plover (occidentalis) —> Snowy Plover (Humboldt)
• Black-tailed Godwit (islandica) —> Black-tailed Godwit (Icelandic)
• Black-tailed Godwit (limosa) —> Black-tailed Godwit (European)
• Snares Island Snipe —> Snares Snipe
• Rock Sandpiper (ptilocnemis) —> Rock Sandpiper (Pribilof Is.)
• Rock Sandpiper (quarta) —> Rock Sandpiper (Kuril Is.)
• Rock Sandpiper (tschuktschorum) —> Rock Sandpiper (Bering Strait)
• Rock Sandpiper (couesi) —> Rock Sandpiper (Aleutian)
• Black-winged/Collared Pratincole —> Collared/Black-winged Pratincole
• Oriental/Collared Pratincole —> Collared/Oriental Pratincole
• Black-legged Kittiwake (tridactyla) —> Black-legged Kittiwake (Atlantic)
• Black-legged Kittiwake (pollicaris) —> Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific)
• Herring Gull (American) —> American Herring Gull
• Ring-billed x Herring Gull (hybrid) —> Ring-billed x American Herring Gull (hybrid)
• Herring Gull (Vega) —> Vega Gull
• Herring Gull (Mongolian) —> Mongolian Gull
• Herring Gull (European) —> European Herring Gull
• Caspian x Herring Gull (hybrid) —> Caspian x European Herring Gull (hybrid)
• Kelp x Herring Gull (hybrid) —> Kelp x American Herring Gull (hybrid)
• Caspian/Herring Gull —> Caspian/European Herring Gull
• Herring/Yellow-legged Gull —> European Herring/Yellow-legged Gull
• Caspian/Herring/Yellow-legged Gull —> Caspian/European Herring/Yellow-legged Gull
• Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid) —> American Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid)
• Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid) —> American Herring/Vega/European Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid)
• Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull (hybrid) —> European Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull (hybrid)
• Herring/Lesser Black-backed Gull —> Herring complex/Lesser Black-backed Gull
• Herring x California Gull (hybrid) —> American Herring x California Gull (hybrid)
• Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) —> American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)
• Herring/Glaucous-winged Gull —> American Herring/Glaucous-winged Gull
• Herring x Slaty-backed Gull (hybrid) —> Vega x Slaty-backed Gull (hybrid)
• Herring x Iceland Gull (hybrid) —> American Herring x Iceland Gull (hybrid)
• Herring/Iceland Gull —> American Herring/Iceland Gull
• Cape Petrel —> Pintado Petrel
• Cape Petrel (Antarctic) —> Pintado Petrel (Antarctic)
• Cape Petrel (Snares) —> Pintado Petrel (Snares)
• Chatham Petrel —> Chatham Islands Petrel
• Cory’s Shearwater (borealis) —> Cory’s Shearwater
• Cory’s Shearwater (Scopoli’s) —> Scopoli’s Shearwater
• Cory’s Shearwater —> Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwater
• Cory’s/Cape Verde Shearwater —> Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Cape Verde Shearwater
• Cory’s/Great Shearwater —> Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Great Shearwater
• Audubon’s Shearwater —> Sargasso Shearwater
• black-and-white shearwater sp. —> small shearwater sp.
• Brown Booby (Brewster’s) —> Cocos Booby (Brewster’s)
• Brown Booby (Colombian) —> Cocos Booby (Colombian)
• Long-tailed Cormorant —> Reed Cormorant
• Great Bittern —> Eurasian Bittern
• Western Cattle Egret —> Western Cattle-Egret
• Eastern Cattle Egret —> Eastern Cattle-Egret
• Western/Eastern Cattle Egret —> Western/Eastern Cattle-Egret
• Western Cattle/Yellow-billed Egret —> Western Cattle-Egret/Yellow-billed Egret
• Eastern Cattle/Medium Egret —> Eastern Cattle-Egret/Medium Egret
• Eastern Cattle/Plumed Egret —> Eastern Cattle-Egret/Plumed Egret
• Osprey (haliaetus) —> Osprey (Eurasian)
• Osprey (carolinensis) —> Osprey (American)
• Osprey (ridgwayi) —> Osprey (Caribbean)
• Banded Snake-Eagle —> Western Banded Snake-Eagle
• Fasciated Snake-Eagle —> Southern Banded Snake-Eagle
• Congo Serpent-Eagle —> Congo Snake-Eagle
• Tawny/Steppe Eagle —> Steppe/Tawny Eagle
• Japanese Sparrowhawk/Besra —> Besra/Japanese Sparrowhawk
• Brown Goshawk/Collared Sparrowhawk —> Collared Sparrowhawk/Brown Goshawk
• Accipiter sp. —> Accipitrine hawk sp. (former Accipiter sp.)
• Doria’s Goshawk —> Doria’s Hawk
• Steller’s Sea-Eagle x Bald Eagle (hybrid) —> Bald Eagle x Steller’s Sea-Eagle (hybrid)
• Red-shouldered x Broad-winged Hawk (hybrid) —> Broad-winged x Red-shouldered Hawk (hybrid)
• Red-shouldered/Broad-winged Hawk —> Broad-winged/Red-shouldered Hawk
• Barn Owl (Eurasian) —> Western Barn Owl (Eurasian)
• Barn Owl (Madeiran) —> Western Barn Owl (Madeiran)
• Barn Owl (Canary Is.) —> Western Barn Owl (Canary Is.)
• Barn Owl (African) —> Western Barn Owl (African)
• Barn Owl (Cape Verde) —> Western Barn Owl (Cape Verde)
• Barn Owl (Sao Tome) —> Western Barn Owl (Sao Tome)
• Barn Owl (Eastern) —> Eastern Barn Owl (Eastern)
• Barn Owl (Boang) —> Eastern Barn Owl (Boang)
• Barn Owl —> American Barn Owl
• Barn Owl (American) —> American Barn Owl (American)
• Barn Owl (White-winged) —> American Barn Owl (White-winged)
• Barn Owl (Curacao) —> American Barn Owl (Curacao)
• Barn Owl (Lesser Antilles) —> American Barn Owl (Lesser Antilles)
• Barn Owl (Galapagos) —> American Barn Owl (Galapagos)
• Oriental Scops-Owl (Oriental) —> Oriental Scops-Owl (Southern)
• Southern Boobook —> Australian Boobook
• Southern Boobook (Boobook) —> Australian Boobook (Boobook)
• Southern Boobook (Red) —> Australian Boobook (Red)
• Southern/Tasmanian Boobook —> Australian/Tasmanian Boobook
• Madagascar Bee-eater —> Olive Bee-eater
• Marquesas Kingfisher —> Marquesan Kingfisher
• Rufous-crowned Roller —> Purple Roller
• Yellow-billed Barbet —> Western Yellow-billed Barbet
• Yellow-billed Barbet (Western) —> Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)
• Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo) —> Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)
• Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern) —> Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet
• Red-fronted Tinkerbird —> Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird
• Cassin’s Honeyguide —> Cassin’s Honeybird
• Green-backed Honeyguide —> Green-backed Honeybird
• Wahlberg’s Honeyguide —> Brown-backed Honeybird
• small honeyguide sp. —> honeybird sp.
• Rufous-necked Wryneck —> Red-throated Wryneck
• Rufous-necked Wryneck (Rufous-necked) —> Red-throated Wryneck (Rufous-necked)
• Rufous-necked Wryneck (Bar-throated) —> Red-throated Wryneck (Bar-throated)
• Rufous-necked Wryneck (Ethiopian) —> Red-throated Wryneck (Ethiopian)
• Reichenow’s Woodpecker —> Speckle-throated Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker (Guatemalan) —> Guatemalan Flicker
• Ducorps’s Cockatoo —> Solomons Corella
• Cyclopsitta sp. —> fig-parrot sp.
• Festive Parrot —> Festive Amazon
• Festive Parrot (Northern) —> Festive Amazon (Northern)
• Festive Parrot (Southern) —> Festive Amazon (Southern)
• Vinaceous-breasted Parrot —> Vinaceous-breasted Amazon
• Tucuman Parrot —> Tucuman Amazon
• Red-spectacled Parrot —> Red-spectacled Amazon
• Red-crowned Parrot —> Red-crowned Amazon
• Lilac-crowned Parrot —> Lilac-crowned Amazon
• Red-crowned x Lilac-crowned Parrot (hybrid) —> Red-crowned x Lilac-crowned Amazon (hybrid)
• Red-crowned/Lilac-crowned Parrot —> Red-crowned/Lilac-crowned Amazon
• Red-lored Parrot —> Red-lored Amazon
• Red-lored Parrot (Red-lored) —> Red-lored Amazon (Red-lored)
• Red-lored Parrot (Lilacine) —> Red-lored Amazon (Lilacine)
• Red-lored Parrot (Diademed) —> Red-lored Amazon (Diademed)
• Red-crowned x Red-lored Parrot (hybrid) —> Red-crowned x Red-lored Amazon (hybrid)
• Blue-cheeked Parrot —> Blue-cheeked Amazon
• Red-browed Parrot —> Red-browed Amazon
• Red-necked Parrot —> Red-necked Amazon
• Martinique Parrot —> Martinique Amazon
• St. Lucia Parrot —> St. Lucia Amazon
• Yellow-naped Parrot —> Yellow-naped Amazon
• Yellow-headed Parrot —> Yellow-headed Amazon
• Yellow-headed Parrot (Tres Marias Is.) —> Yellow-headed Amazon (Tres Marias Is.)
• Yellow-headed Parrot (Mainland) —> Yellow-headed Amazon (Mainland)
• Yellow-naped x Yellow-headed Parrot (hybrid) —> Yellow-naped x Yellow-headed Amazon (hybrid)
• Yellow-naped/Yellow-headed Parrot —> Yellow-naped/Yellow-headed Amazon
• Yellow-crowned Parrot —> Yellow-crowned Amazon
• Yellow-shouldered Parrot —> Yellow-shouldered Amazon
• Turquoise-fronted Parrot —> Turquoise-fronted Amazon
• Black-billed Parrot —> Black-billed Amazon
• White-fronted Parrot —> White-fronted Amazon
• Yellow-lored Parrot —> Yellow-lored Amazon
• Yellow-billed Parrot —> Yellow-billed Amazon
• Black-billed/Yellow-billed Parrot —> Black-billed/Yellow-billed Amazon
• Cuban Parrot —> Cuban Amazon
• Cuban Parrot (Cuban) —> Cuban Amazon (Cuban)
• Cuban Parrot (Bahamas) —> Cuban Amazon (Bahamas)
• Cuban Parrot (Cayman Is.) —> Cuban Amazon (Cayman Is.)
• Hispaniolan Parrot —> Hispaniolan Amazon
• Puerto Rican Parrot —> Puerto Rican Amazon
• Mealy Parrot —> Mealy Amazon
• Mealy Parrot (Northern) —> Mealy Amazon (Northern)
• Mealy Parrot (Southern) —> Mealy Amazon (Southern)
• Kawall’s Parrot —> Kawall’s Amazon
• Imperial Parrot —> Imperial Amazon
• Guadeloupe Parrot —> Guadeloupe Amazon
• Red-tailed Parrot —> Red-tailed Amazon
• St. Vincent Parrot —> St. Vincent Amazon
• Orange-winged Parrot —> Orange-winged Amazon
• Scaly-naped Parrot —> Scaly-naped Amazon
• Amazona sp. —> amazon sp.
• South Papuan Pitta —> Papuan Pitta
• North Papuan Pitta —> Papuan Pitta (Northern)
• South Papuan Pitta (Western) —> Papuan Pitta (Southern)
• South Papuan Pitta (D’Entrecasteaux) —> Papuan Pitta (D’Entrecasteaux)
• Long-tailed Woodcreeper (Little) —> Piping Woodcreeper
• Long-tailed Woodcreeper (Northern) —> Whistling Woodcreeper
• Long-tailed Woodcreeper (Southern) —> Mournful Woodcreeper
• Plain Xenops (mexicanus Group) —> Northern Plain-Xenops
• Plain Xenops (genibarbis Group) —> Amazonian Plain-Xenops
• Plain Xenops (White-throated) —> Atlantic Plain-Xenops
• White-tailed Tityra (unrecognized species) —> White-tailed Tityra
• Snethlage’s Tody-Tyrant (Snethlage’s) —> Snethlage’s Tody-Tyrant (E of Madeira)
• Tumbes Tyrannulet —> Tumbesian Tyrannulet
• Tumbes/Mara√±on Tyrannulet —> Tumbesian/Mara√±on Tyrannulet
• Northern/Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet —> Mouse-colored Tyrannulet
• Northern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet —> Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Northern)
• Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet —> Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Southern)
• Nutting’s Flycatcher (flavidior) —> Nutting’s Flycatcher (Salvadoran)
• Rufous Grasswren (Pilbara) —> Pilbara Grasswren
• Rufous Grasswren (Sandhill) —> Sandhill Grasswren
• Chatham Island Bellbird —> Chatham Islands Bellbird
• Meliphaga/Territornis/Microptilotis sp. —> Meliphaga sp.
• Gibber Chat —> Gibberbird
• Dusky Myzomela (Moluccan) —> Moluccan Myzomela
• Dusky Myzomela (Obi) —> Red-tinged Myzomela
• Dusky Myzomela (Red-brown) —> Biak Myzomela
• Dusky Myzomela (Dusky) —> Dusky Myzomela
• Red Myzomela (Red) —> Red Myzomela
• Red Myzomela (Reddish) —> Reddish Myzomela
• Orange-breasted Myzomela —> Sulphur-breasted Myzomela
• Chattering Giant-Honeyeater —> Yellow-billed Giant-Honeyeater
• Chatham Island Gerygone —> Chatham Islands Gerygone
• Large Cuckooshrike (Indian) —> Indian Cuckooshrike
• Javan Cuckooshrike —> Oriental Cuckooshrike (Javan)
• Large Cuckooshrike (Large) —> Oriental Cuckooshrike (Oriental)
• Large Cuckooshrike (Malayan) —> Malayan Cuckooshrike
• Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike (Visayan) —> Visayan Cuckooshrike
• Black-browed Triller (Biak) —> Biak Triller
• Large/Black-headed Cuckooshrike —> Indian/Oriental/Black-headed Cuckooshrike
• Common Cicadabird (Pohnpei) —> Pohnpei Cicadabird
• Black-bibbed Cuckooshrike —> Black-bibbed Cicadabird
• Solomons Cuckooshrike —> Solomons Cicadabird
• Solomons Cuckooshrike (New Georgia) —> Solomons Cicadabird (New Georgia)
• Common Cicadabird (Palau) —> Palau Cicadabird
• Common Cicadabird (Yap) —> Yap Cicadabird
• Common Cicadabird (Geelvink) —> Geelvink Cicadabird
• Common Cicadabird (Moluccan) —> North Moluccan Cicadabird (North Moluccan)
• Common Cicadabird (Melanesian) —> Bismarck Cicadabird
• Common Cicadabird (Gray-capped) —> Bismarck Cicadabird (New Ireland)
• Common Cicadabird (Rossel) —> Rossel Cicadabird
• Common Cicadabird —> Sahul Cicadabird
• Yellow-throated Whistler (Banda Sea) —> Fawn-breasted Whistler (Banda Sea)
• Fiji Whistler (White-throated) —> White-throated Fiji Whistler
• Fiji Whistler (Fiji) —> Yellow-throated Fiji Whistler
• Rusty-breasted Whistler —> Tenggara Whistler
• Rusty-breasted Whistler (Rusty-breasted) —> Tenggara Whistler (Rusty-breasted)
• Yellow-throated Whistler (Timor) —> Tenggara Whistler (Timor)
• Rusty-breasted Whistler (Salayar) —> Selayar Whistler
• Yellow-throated Whistler —> Moluccan Whistler
• Yellow-throated Whistler (Babar) —> Babar Whistler
• Golden/Western Whistler —> Golden Whistler
• Western Whistler —> Golden Whistler (Western)
• Golden Whistler —> Golden Whistler (Eastern)
• Yellow-throated Whistler (Damar) —> Black-tailed Whistler (Damar)
• White Helmetshrike —> White-crested Helmetshrike
• White Helmetshrike (Long-crested) —> White-crested Helmetshrike (Long-crested)
• White Helmetshrike (Yellow-eyed) —> White-crested Helmetshrike (Yellow-eyed)
• Fiji Streaked Fantail (Fiji) —> Fiji Streaked Fantail (Viti Levu)
• Comoro Drongo —> Grande Comore Drongo
• Blyth’s Paradise-Flycatcher (Lesser Sundas) —> Tenggara Paradise-Flycatcher
• Marquesas Monarch —> Marquesan Monarch
• Fatuhiva Monarch —> Fatu Hiva Monarch
• Loetoe Monarch —> Tanimbar Monarch
• Truk Monarch —> Chuuk Monarch
• Bougainville Monarch —> Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Bougainville)
• Black-chinned Monarch —> Boano Monarch
• Spectacled Monarch (Halmahera) —> Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Halmahera)
• Spectacled Monarch (Obi) —> Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Obi)
• Spectacled Monarch (Seram) —> Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Seram)
• Spectacled Monarch —> Australian Spectacled Monarch
• Spectacled Monarch (Spectacled) —> Australian Spectacled Monarch (Western)
• Spectacled Monarch (Australian) —> Australian Spectacled Monarch (Eastern)
• White-tailed Monarch —> Kai Monarch
• White-tipped Monarch —> Tanahjampea Monarch
• Black-tipped Monarch —> Buru Monarch
• White-breasted Monarch —> Mussau Monarch
• Black-tailed Monarch —> Bismarck Monarch
• Black-tailed Monarch (Djaul) —> Bismarck Monarch (Djaul)
• Black-tailed Monarch (Black-tailed) —> Bismarck Monarch (Black-tailed)
• Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons) —> Solomons Monarch
• Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked) —> Malaita Monarch
• Black-bibbed Monarch —> Banda Sea Monarch
• Oceanic Flycatcher —> Chuuk Flycatcher
• Dull Flycatcher (Mussau) —> Mussau Flycatcher
• Dull Flycatcher (Velvet) —> Velvet Flycatcher (Velvet)
• Dull Flycatcher (Djaul) —> Velvet Flycatcher (Djaul)
• Black Magpie (Malayan) —> Malayan Black Magpie
• Black Magpie (Bornean) —> Bornean Black Magpie
• Eurasian Nutcracker (Northern) —> Northern Nutcracker
• Eurasian Nutcracker (Southern) —> Southern Nutcracker
• Eurasian Nutcracker —> Northern/Southern Nutcracker
• Slender-billed Crow (Sunda) —> Sunda Crow
• Slender-billed Crow (Sulawesi) —> Sulawesi Crow
• Chatham Robin —> Black Robin
• Pacific Robin (Solomons) —> Solomons Robin
• Cinereous Tit —> Asian Tit (Cinereous)
• Japanese Tit (Japanese) —> Asian Tit (Japanese)
• Japanese Tit (commixtus) —> Asian Tit (commixtus)
• Japanese Tit (Amami) —> Asian Tit (Amami)
• Japanese Tit (Okinawa) —> Asian Tit (Okinawa)
• Japanese Tit (Ishigaki) —> Asian Tit (Ishigaki)
• Spike-heeled Lark (Beesley’s) —> Beesley’s Lark
• Cape Lark —> Cape Long-billed Lark
• Cape Lark (Cape) —> Cape Long-billed Lark (Cape)
• Cape Lark (Agulhas) —> Cape Long-billed Lark (Agulhas)
• Singing/Indian Bushlark —> Indian/Singing Bushlark
• Rufous-naped Lark (Sudan) —> Highland Lark (Sudan)
• Rufous-naped Lark (Bamenda) —> Highland Lark (Bamenda)
• Rufous-naped Lark (Malbrant’s) —> Plains Lark (Malbrant’s)
• Rufous-naped Lark (Blackish) —> Plateau Lark
• Somali Long-billed Lark —> Somali Lark
• Ash’s Lark —> Somali Lark (Ash’s)
• Sharpe’s Lark —> Russet Lark
• Mongolian Short-toed/Hume’s Lark —> Hume’s Lark/Mongolian Short-toed Lark
• Cape Crombec —> Long-billed Crombec
• Salvadori’s Eremomela —> Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Salvadori’s)
• Greencap Eremomela —> Green-capped Eremomela
• Yellow-rumped Eremomela —> Karoo Eremomela
• Kopje Warbler —> Cinnamon-breasted Warbler
• Rock-loving Cisticola (Huambo) —> Huambo Cisticola
• Red-headed Cisticola —> Gray-backed Cisticola
• Red-headed Cisticola (Namib) —> Gray-backed Cisticola (Namib)
• Red-headed Cisticola (Red-headed) —> Gray-backed Cisticola (Red-headed)
• Red-headed Cisticola (Plain-breasted) —> Gray-backed Cisticola (Plain-breasted)
• Wailing Cisticola (Lynes’s) —> Lynes’s Cisticola
• Cloud-scraping Cisticola —> Dambo Cisticola
• Rimitara Reed Warbler —> Rimatara Reed Warbler
• Yellow-browed Oxylabes —> Madagascar Yellowbrow
• Rock Martin (Pale Crag-Martin) —> Pale Crag-Martin
• Eurasian Crag-Martin/Rock Martin —> Eurasian/Pale Crag-Martin
• Rock Martin (Red-throated) —> Red-throated Crag-Martin
• Rock Martin (Large) —> Southern Crag-Martin
• Red-throated/Large Crag-Martin —> Red-throated/Southern Crag-Martin
• Pacific Swallow (Tahiti) —> Tahiti Swallow
• Barn/Pacific Swallow —> Pacific/Barn Swallow
• Barn x Red-rumped Swallow (hybrid) —> Barn x European Red-rumped Swallow (hybrid)
• Red-rumped Swallow (West African) —> African Red-rumped Swallow (domicella)
• Red-rumped/Striated Swallow —> Eastern Red-rumped Swallow
• Striated Swallow —> Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated)
• Red-rumped Swallow —> European/African/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow
• Lesser Bristlebill (Brown-eyed) —> Yellow-lored Bristlebill
• Lesser Bristlebill (Yellow-eyed) —> Yellow-eyed Bristlebill
• Yellow-throated Greenbul (flavicollis) —> Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul
• Yellow-throated Greenbul (soror) —> Pale-throated Greenbul (soror)
• Yellow-throated Greenbul (flavigula) —> Pale-throated Greenbul (flavigula)
• Eastern Mountain Greenbul (Olive-breasted) —> Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul
• Eastern Mountain Greenbul (Mountain) —> Black-headed Mountain Greenbul
• Stripe-cheeked Greenbul (Stripe-faced) —> Olive-headed Greenbul (Stripe-faced)
• Stripe-cheeked Greenbul (Olive-headed) —> Olive-headed Greenbul (Olive-headed)
• White-throated Greenbul (White-throated) —> White-throated Greenbul
• White-throated Greenbul (Green-crowned) —> Angola Greenbul
• Truk White-eye —> Teardrop White-eye
• Javan Gray-throated White-eye —> Javan Heleia
• Gray-hooded White-eye —> Gray-hooded Heleia
• Pygmy White-eye —> Pygmy Heleia
• Mindanao White-eye —> Mindanao Heleia
• Streak-headed White-eye —> Sulawesi Heleia
• White-browed White-eye —> Eyebrowed Heleia
• Dark-crowned White-eye —> Dark-crowned Heleia
• Timor White-eye —> Timor Heleia
• Flores White-eye —> Flores Heleia
• Yellow-spectacled White-eye —> Yellow-spectacled Heleia
• Heuglin’s White-eye —> Ethiopian White-eye
• Heuglin’s White-eye (Kaffa) —> Kafa White-eye (Kafa)
• Heuglin’s White-eye (Kulal) —> Kafa White-eye (Kulal)
• Northern Yellow White-eye (quanzae Group) —> Angola White-eye
• Wangi-Wangi White-eye —> Wangi-wangi White-eye
• Layard’s White-eye —> Fiji White-eye
• Silvereye/Layard’s White-eye —> Silvereye/Fiji White-eye
• Gray-throated White-eye —> Makira White-eye
• Great Kai White-eye —> Kai Besar White-eye
• Little Kai White-eye —> Kai Kecil White-eye
• Ganongga White-eye —> Ranongga White-eye
• Buff-chested Babbler —> Rufous-fronted Babbler (Buff-chested)
• Rufous-fronted Babbler —> Rufous-fronted Babbler (Rufous-fronted)
• Short-tailed Babbler (Leaflitter) —> Short-tailed Babbler (Glissando)
• Short-tailed Babbler (Glissando) —> Short-tailed Babbler (Leaflitter)
• Gray-faced Liocichla —> Emei Shan Liocichla
• Steere’s Liocichla —> Taiwan Liocichla
• Tropical Gnatcatcher (Marañon) —> Marañon Gnatcatcher
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (obscura Group) —> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Western)
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (caerulea) —> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Eastern)
• House Wren —> Northern House Wren
• House Wren (Northern) —> Northern House Wren (Northern)
• House Wren (Brown-throated) —> Northern House Wren (Brown-throated)
• House Wren (Cozumel I.) —> Cozumel Wren
• House Wren (Guadeloupe) —> Kalinago Wren (Guadeloupe)
• House Wren (Dominica) —> Kalinago Wren (Dominica)
• House Wren (Martinique) —> Kalinago Wren (Martinique)
• House Wren (St. Lucia) —> St. Lucia Wren
• House Wren (St. Vincent) —> St. Vincent Wren
• House Wren (Grenada) —> Grenada Wren
• House Wren (Southern) —> Southern House Wren
• Eurasian Wren (Faeroe) —> Eurasian Wren (Faroe)
• House x Carolina Wren (hybrid) —> Northern House x Carolina Wren (hybrid)
• Rufous-naped Wren (Sclater’s) —> Russet-naped Wren
• Rufous-naped Wren (Veracruz) —> Veracruz Wren
• Rufous-naped Wren (Rufous-backed) —> Rufous-backed Wren
• Plain-tailed Wren (Gray-browed) —> Gray-browed Wren
• Chestnut-breasted Wren (Northern) —> Northern Chestnut-breasted Wren
• Chestnut-breasted Wren (Southern) —> Southern Chestnut-breasted Wren
• Norfolk Starling —> Tasman Starling
• White-breasted Thrasher (Martinique) —> Martinique Thrasher
• White-breasted Thrasher (St. Lucia) —> St. Lucia Thrasher
• Olive x Karoo Thrush (hybrid) —> Karoo x Olive Thrush (hybrid)
• Olive/Karoo Thrush —> Karoo/Olive Thrush
• Japanese x Black-breasted Thrush (hybrid) —> Black-breasted x Japanese Thrush (hybrid)
• Island Thrush (Mindoro) —> Mindoro Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (Luzon) —> Luzon Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (Negros) —> Mindanao Island-Thrush (Negros)
• Island Thrush (Malindang) —> Mindanao Island-Thrush (Malindang)
• Island Thrush (Katanglad) —> Mindanao Island-Thrush (Katanglad)
• Island Thrush (Apo) —> Mindanao Island-Thrush (Apo)
• Island Thrush (Christmas) —> Christmas Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (Latimojong) —> Wallacean Island-Thrush (Latimojong)
• Island Thrush (Lompobattang) —> Wallacean Island-Thrush (Lompobattang)
• Island Thrush (Schlegel’s) —> Wallacean Island-Thrush (Schlegel’s)
• Island Thrush (Sterling’s) —> Wallacean Island-Thrush (Sterling’s)
• Island Thrush (Loeser’s) —> Sundaic Island-Thrush (Loeser’s)
• Island Thrush (Sumatran) —> Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sumatran)
• Island Thrush (Sooty) —> Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sooty)
• Island Thrush (Stresemann’s) —> Sundaic Island-Thrush (Stresemann’s)
• Island Thrush (Bornean) —> Sundaic Island-Thrush (Bornean)
• Island Thrush (Taliabu) —> Moluccan Island-Thrush (Taliabu)
• Island Thrush (Seram) —> Moluccan Island-Thrush (Seram)
• Island Thrush (Jayawijaya) —> Papuan Island-Thrush (Jayawijaya)
• Island Thrush (Ashy) —> Papuan Island-Thrush (Ashy)
• Island Thrush (Papuan) —> Papuan Island-Thrush (Papuan)
• Island Thrush (Goodenough) —> Papuan Island-Thrush (Goodenough)
• Island Thrush (Kolombangara) —> Solomons Island-Thrush (Kolombangara)
• Island Thrush (Mare) —> Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Mare)
• Island Thrush (Vanuatu) —> Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Vanuatu)
• Island Thrush (Ureparapara) —> Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Ureparapara)
• Island Thrush (Efate) —> Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Efate)
• Island Thrush (White-headed) —> White-headed Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (New Caledonian) —> New Caledonian Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (Lord Howe I.) —> Tasman Sea Island-Thrush (Lord Howe I.)
• Island Thrush (Norfolk I.) —> Tasman Sea Island-Thrush (Norfolk I.)
• Island Thrush (Samoan) —> Samoan Island-Thrush
• Island Thrush (Viti Levu) —> Fiji Island-Thrush (Viti Levu)
• Island Thrush (Kadavu) —> Fiji Island-Thrush (Kadavu)
• Island Thrush (Vanua Levu) —> Fiji Island-Thrush (Vanua Levu)
• Island Thrush (Satanic) —> Fiji Island-Thrush (Gau)
• Island Thrush (Taveuni) —> Fiji Island-Thrush (Taveuni)
• Red-backed Scrub-Robin —> White-browed Scrub-Robin
• Red-backed Scrub-Robin (White-winged) —> White-browed Scrub-Robin (White-winged)
• Red-backed Scrub-Robin (Red-backed) —> White-browed Scrub-Robin (Red-backed)
• Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Philippine) —> Philippine Jungle Flycatcher
• Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Sulu) —> Sulu Jungle Flycatcher
• Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Crocker) —> Crocker Jungle Flycatcher
• Cholo Alethe —> Thyolo Alethe
• Sunda Robin (Sumatran) —> Sumatran Robin
• Sunda Robin (Javan) —> Javan Robin
• Red-flanked Bluetail (Red-flanked) —> Red-flanked Bluetail
• Red-flanked Bluetail (Qilian) —> Qilian Bluetail
• Red-flanked Bluetail —> Red-flanked/Qilian Bluetail
• White-browed Bush-Robin (Taiwan) —> Taiwan Bush-Robin
• White-browed/Collared Bush-Robin —> Taiwan/Collared Bush-Robin
• Mountain Wheatear —> Mountain Chat
• White-bellied Flowerpecker —> Buzzing Flowerpecker
• White-bellied Flowerpecker (obscurum/cagayanense) —> Buzzing Flowerpecker (obscurum/cagayanense)
• White-bellied Flowerpecker (pontifex) —> Buzzing Flowerpecker (pontifex)
• White-bellied Flowerpecker (hypoleucum/mindanense) —> Buzzing Flowerpecker (hypoleucum/mindanense)
• Blood-breasted Flowerpecker (Sumba) —> Sumba Flowerpecker
• Blood-breasted Flowerpecker (Timor) —> Timor Flowerpecker
• Pink-breasted Flowerpecker (Aru) —> Mistletoebird (Aru)
• Dicaeum sp. —> Pachyglossa/Dicaeum sp.
• Green Sunbird (Yellow-throated) —> Yellow-chinned Sunbird
• Green Sunbird (Gray-throated) —> Gray-chinned Sunbird
• Beautiful Sunbird (Gorgeous) —> Gorgeous Sunbird
• Shining Sunbird —> Abyssinian Sunbird
• Shining Sunbird (Arabian) —> Arabian Sunbird
• White-breasted Sunbird —> White-bellied Sunbird
• Gray-headed Social-Weaver —> Gray-capped Social-Weaver
• Ballman’s Malimbe —> Gola Malimbe
• Clarke’s Weaver —> Kilifi Weaver
• Salvadori’s Weaver —> Juba Weaver
• Forest Weaver —> Dark-backed Weaver
• Peters’s Twinspot —> Red-throated Twinspot
• Reichenow’s Firefinch —> Chad Firefinch
• Baka Indigobird —> Barka Indigobird
• Variable Indigobird —> Dusky Indigobird
• American Pipit (japonicus) —> Siberian Pipit
• Water/American Pipit —> Water/Siberian/American Pipit
• Olive-rumped Serin —> Arabian Serin
• Tanzania Seedeater —> Kipengere Seedeater
• Reichard’s Seedeater (Stripe-breasted) —> Stripe-breasted Seedeater
• Reichard’s Seedeater (Reichard’s) —> Reichard’s Seedeater
• redpoll sp. —> Redpoll
• Common Redpoll —> Redpoll (Common)
• Common Redpoll (flammea) —> Redpoll (flammea)
• Common Redpoll (rostrata/islandica) —> Redpoll (rostrata/islandica)
• Lesser Redpoll —> Redpoll (Lesser)
• Common/Lesser Redpoll —> Redpoll (Common/Lesser)
• Hoary Redpoll —> Redpoll (Hoary)
• Hoary Redpoll (exilipes) —> Redpoll (exilipes)
• Hoary Redpoll (hornemanni) —> Redpoll (hornemanni)
• Common x Hoary Redpoll (hybrid) —> Redpoll (Common x Hoary )
• Common/Hoary Redpoll —> Redpoll (Common/Hoary)
• White-winged Crossbill (bifasciata) —> White-winged Crossbill (Eurasian)
• White-winged Crossbill (leucoptera) —> White-winged Crossbill (American)
• Mountain Serin (Mountain) —> Indonesian Serin
• Mountain Serin (Mindanao) —> Mindanao Serin
• European Goldfinch (Eastern) —> Gray-crowned Goldfinch
• Black-capped Sparrow (Black-capped) —> Black-capped Sparrow
• Black-capped Sparrow (Marañon) —> Marañon Sparrow
• Tricolored Brushfinch (Choco) —> Choco Brushfinch
• Tricolored Brushfinch (Tricolored) —> Golden-crowned Brushfinch
• Slaty Brushfinch (Slaty) —> Northern Slaty Brushfinch
• Slaty Brushfinch (Taczanowski’s) —> Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch
• Yellow-breasted Chat x new world oriole sp. (hybrid) —> Yellow-breasted Chat x Hooded Oriole (hybrid)
• Gray-hooded Bush Tanager (rubrirostris) —> Gray-hooded Bush Tanager (Red-billed)
• Gray-hooded Bush Tanager (chrysogaster) —> Gray-hooded Bush Tanager (Black-billed)

SCIENTIFIC NAME CHANGES

These are cases where an existing species_code in eBird is renamed. See the Clements Checklist updates (to be posted soon here) for full discussion of the reasoning behind these name changes. Note that some relate directly to splits discussed above, since some of the taxa that were formerly species may appear here. For example, if a widespread bird that occurs in North America and Eurasia that is split into unique species on each continent, the population occurring on both continents might be retained here as a “slash” and appear as a name change (also a downgrade from species to slash). We display the primary (v2024) English name as well (thus, the English name would match the revised Scientific Name in instances of a split).

One particularly notable set of scientific names this cycle pertain to the former genus Accipiter, which is hereby split into five. They are not all their closest relatives, and Circus harriers were more closely related to some former Accipiters than they were to each other. We discuss this update in our feature story, but it is also worth getting used to Astur and Accipiter (in the Americas), along with Tachyspiza, Aerospiza, and a couple of Lophospiza in Eurasia and Africa. This will take some getting used to, but often shakeups of genera like this can help understand these birds better in the field, as some of their important differences start to pop out and take on new meaning.

Another very notable genus change involves Mirafra larks, which are now subdivided into four genera: Corypha covers the Rufous-naped Lark complex (see splits above) and other large African larks; Calendulauda for Rusty Lark and Gillett’s Lark; Plocealauda for five Asian species (e.g., Indian Bushlark); Amirafra for Collared, Flappet, and Angola Larks; and a remnant few (actually seven) Mirafra. These and many other scientific name changes are below.

• Great Spotted Kiwi: Apteryx haastii —> Apteryx maxima
• Spot-bellied Bobwhite: Colinus cristatus [leucopogon Group] —> Colinus leucopogon
• Willow Ptarmigan (Red Grouse): Lagopus lagopus scotica —> Lagopus lagopus scotica/hibernica
• Thick-billed Green-Pigeon (Thick-billed): Treron curvirostra curvirostra —> Treron curvirostra [curvirostra Group]
• Thick-billed Green-Pigeon (Barusan): Treron curvirostra hypothapsinus —> Treron curvirostra hypothapsinus/smicrus
• Violet Turaco: Musophaga violacea —> Tauraco violaceus
• Ross’s Turaco: Musophaga rossae —> Tauraco rossae
• Red-capped Coua: Coua ruficeps ruficeps —> Coua ruficeps
• Olive-capped Coua: Coua ruficeps olivaceiceps —> Coua olivaceiceps
• White-browed Coucal: Centropus superciliosus superciliosus/loandae —> Centropus superciliosus
• Burchell’s Coucal: Centropus superciliosus burchellii/fasciipygialis —> Centropus burchellii
• White-browed/Burchell’s Coucal: Centropus superciliosus —> Centropus superciliosus/burchellii
• Mentawai Malkoha: Phaenicophaeus curvirostris oeneicaudus —> Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus
• Chrysococcyx/Chalcites sp.: Chrysococcyx sp. —> Chrysococcyx/Chalcites sp.
• Long-billed Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx megarhynchus —> Chalcites megarhynchus
• Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx basalis —> Chalcites basalis
• Black-eared Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx osculans —> Chalcites osculans
• Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx ruficollis —> Chalcites ruficollis
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx lucidus —> Chalcites lucidus
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Solomons): Chrysococcyx lucidus harterti —> Chalcites lucidus harterti
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (New Caledonian): Chrysococcyx lucidus layardi —> Chalcites lucidus layardi
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Shining): Chrysococcyx lucidus lucidus —> Chalcites lucidus lucidus
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Golden): Chrysococcyx lucidus plagosus —> Chalcites lucidus plagosus
• White-eared Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx meyerii —> Chalcites meyerii
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx minutillus —> Chalcites minutillus
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Little): Chrysococcyx minutillus [minutillus Group] —> Chalcites minutillus [minutillus Group]
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Gould’s): Chrysococcyx minutillus [poecilurus Group] —> Chalcites minutillus [poecilurus Group]
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Banda): Chrysococcyx minutillus rufomerus/salvadorii —> Chalcites minutillus rufomerus/salvadorii
• Shining/Little Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx lucidus/minutillus —> Chalcites lucidus/minutillus
• Pied Bronze-Cuckoo: Chrysococcyx minutillus crassirostris —> Chalcites crassirostris
• bronze-cuckoo sp.: Chrysococcyx sp. (bronze-cuckoo sp.) —> Chalcites sp. (bronze-cuckoo sp.)
• Pallid Cuckoo: Cacomantis pallidus —> Heteroscenes pallidus
• White-crowned Cuckoo: Cacomantis leucolophus —> Caliechthrus leucolophus
• Sunda Brush Cuckoo: Cacomantis variolosus sepulcralis/everetti —> Cacomantis sepulcralis
• Sulawesi Brush Cuckoo: Cacomantis variolosus virescens —> Cacomantis virescens
• Sahul Brush Cuckoo: Cacomantis variolosus [variolosus Group] —> Cacomantis variolosus
• Tanimbar Brush Cuckoo (undescribed form): Cacomantis variolosus [undescribed form] —> Cacomantis [undescribed form]
• Solomons Brush Cuckoo: Cacomantis variolosus addendus —> Cacomantis addendus
• Manus Brush Cuckoo: Cacomantis variolosus blandus —> Cacomantis blandus
• Roraiman Nightjar: Setopagis whitelyi —> Tepuiornis whitelyi
• Tschudi’s Nightjar: Systellura decussata —> Quechuavis decussata
• Spot-tailed Nightjar: Hydropsalis maculicaudus —> Antiurus maculicaudus
• Timor Nightjar: Caprimulgus [undescribed Timor form] —> Caprimulgus ritae
• Karimui Owlet-nightjar: Aegotheles bennettii terborghi —> Aegotheles terborghi
• White-nest Swiftlet: Aerodramus fuciphagus/germani —> Aerodramus fuciphagus
• White-nest Swiftlet (Germain’s): Aerodramus germani —> Aerodramus fuciphagus germani/amechanus
• White-nest Swiftlet (White-nest): Aerodramus fuciphagus —> Aerodramus fuciphagus [fuciphagus Group]
• Rivoli’s x White-eared Hummingbird (hybrid): Eugenes fulgens x Hylocharis leucotis —> Eugenes fulgens x Basilinna leucotis
• Mangrove Hummingbird: Amazilia boucardi —> Chrysuronia boucardi
• Ecuadorian Rail: Rallus limicola aequatorialis/meyerdeschauenseei —> Rallus aequatorialis
• African Crake: Crex egregia —> Crecopsis egregia
• St. Helena Rail: Atlantisia podarces —> Aphanocrex podarces
• Striped Crake: Amaurornis marginalis —> Aenigmatolimnas marginalis
• Black-banded Crake: Anurolimnas fasciatus —> Rufirallus fasciatus
• Red-and-white Crake: Laterallus leucopyrrhus —> Rufirallus leucopyrrhus
• Rufous-faced Crake: Laterallus xenopterus —> Rufirallus xenopterus
• Chestnut-headed Crake: Rufirallus castaneiceps —> Anurolimnas castaneiceps
• Inaccessible Island Rail: Atlantisia rogersi —> Laterallus rogersi
• Speckled Rail: Coturnicops notatus —> Laterallus notatus
• Yellow-breasted Crake: Hapalocrex flaviventer —> Laterallus flaviventer
• Red-and-white/Rufous-sided Crake: Laterallus melanophaius/leucopyrrhus —> Rufirallus leucopyrrhus/Laterallus melanophaius
• Dot-winged Crake: Porzana spiloptera —> Laterallus spilopterus
• Porzana/Zapornia sp.: Porzana/Zapornia/Hapalocrex sp. —> Porzana/Zapornia sp.
• Black-winged x Black-necked Stilt (hybrid): Himantopus mexicanus x himantopus —> Himantopus himantopus x mexicanus
• Hooded Plover: Charadrius cucullatus —> Thinornis cucullatus
• Black-fronted Dotterel: Charadrius melanops —> Thinornis melanops
• Shore Plover: Charadrius novaeseelandiae —> Thinornis novaeseelandiae
• Forbes’s Plover: Charadrius forbesi —> Thinornis forbesi
• Three-banded Plover: Charadrius tricollaris —> Thinornis tricollaris
• Three-banded Plover (African): Charadrius tricollaris tricollaris —> Thinornis tricollaris tricollaris
• Three-banded Plover (Madagascar): Charadrius tricollaris bifrontatus —> Thinornis tricollaris bifrontatus
• Little Ringed Plover: Charadrius dubius —> Thinornis dubius
• Little Ringed Plover (curonicus): Charadrius dubius curonicus —> Thinornis dubius curonicus
• Little Ringed Plover (dubius/jerdoni): Charadrius dubius dubius/jerdoni —> Thinornis dubius dubius/jerdoni
• Common/Little Ringed Plover: Charadrius hiaticula/dubius —> Charadrius hiaticula/Thinornis dubius
• Long-billed Plover: Charadrius placidus —> Thinornis placidus
• Charadrius/Thinornis sp.: Charadrius sp. —> Charadrius/Thinornis sp.
• sand-plover sp.: Anarhynchus atrifrons/mongolus/leschenaultii —> Anarhynchus mongolus/atrifrons/leschenaultii
• small plover sp.: Charadrius/Anarhynchus sp. —> Charadrius/Thinornis/Anarhynchus sp.
• large shorebird sp.: Scolopacidae sp. (large shorebird sp.) —> Charadriiformes sp. (large shorebird sp.)
• Australian Pratincole: Stiltia isabella —> Glareola isabella
• Collared/Black-winged Pratincole: Glareola nordmanni/pratincola —> Glareola pratincola/nordmanni
• Collared/Oriental Pratincole: Glareola maldivarum/pratincola —> Glareola pratincola/maldivarum
• shorebird sp.: Charadriiformes sp. —> Charadriiformes sp. (shorebird sp.)
• American Herring Gull: Larus argentatus smithsonianus —> Larus smithsonianus
• Ring-billed x American Herring Gull (hybrid): Larus delawarensis x argentatus —> Larus delawarensis x smithsonianus
• Vega Gull: Larus argentatus vegae —> Larus vegae
• Mongolian Gull: Larus argentatus mongolicus —> Larus mongolicus
• European Herring Gull: Larus argentatus argentatus/argenteus —> Larus argentatus
• Kelp x American Herring Gull (hybrid): Larus dominicanus x argentatus —> Larus dominicanus x smithsonianus
• American Herring x Great Black-backed Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x marinus —> Larus smithsonianus x marinus
• American Herring/Vega/European Herring x Glaucous Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x hyperboreus —> Larus smithsonianus/vegae/argentatus x hyperboreus
• Herring complex/Lesser Black-backed Gull: Larus argentatus/fuscus —> Larus smithsonianus/vegae/mongolicus/argentatus/fuscus
• American Herring x California Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x californicus —> Larus smithsonianus x californicus
• American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x glaucescens —> Larus smithsonianus x glaucescens
• American Herring/Glaucous-winged Gull: Larus argentatus/glaucescens —> Larus smithsonianus/glaucescens
• Vega x Slaty-backed Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x schistisagus —> Larus vegae x schistisagus
• American Herring x Iceland Gull (hybrid): Larus argentatus x glaucoides —> Larus smithsonianus x glaucoides
• American Herring/Iceland Gull: Larus argentatus/glaucoides —> Larus smithsonianus/glaucoides
• Cory’s Shearwater: Calonectris diomedea borealis —> Calonectris borealis
• Scopoli’s Shearwater: Calonectris diomedea diomedea —> Calonectris diomedea
• Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwater: Calonectris diomedea —> Calonectris borealis/diomedea
• Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Cape Verde Shearwater: Calonectris diomedea/edwardsii —> Calonectris borealis/diomedea/edwardsii
• Cory’s/Scopoli’s/Great Shearwater: Calonectris diomedea/Ardenna gravis —> Calonectris borealis/diomedea/Ardenna gravis
• small shearwater sp.: Puffinus sp. (black-and-white shearwater sp.) —> Puffinus sp.
• Cocos Booby (Brewster’s): Sula leucogaster brewsteri —> Sula brewsteri brewsteri
• Cocos Booby (Colombian): Sula leucogaster etesiaca —> Sula brewsteri etesiaca
• Guanay Cormorant: Leucocarbo bougainvillii —> Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum
• Stripe-backed Bittern: Ixobrychus involucris —> Botaurus involucris
• Least Bittern: Ixobrychus exilis —> Botaurus exilis
• Black Bittern: Ixobrychus flavicollis —> Botaurus flavicollis
• Cinnamon Bittern: Ixobrychus cinnamomeus —> Botaurus cinnamomeus
• Schrenck’s Bittern: Ixobrychus eurhythmus —> Botaurus eurhythmus
• Cinnamon/Schrenck’s Bittern: Ixobrychus cinnamomeus/eurhythmus —> Botaurus cinnamomeus/eurhythmus
• Dwarf Bittern: Ixobrychus sturmii —> Botaurus sturmii
• Little Bittern: Ixobrychus minutus —> Botaurus minutus
• Little Bittern (Little): Ixobrychus minutus minutus —> Botaurus minutus minutus
• Little Bittern (African): Ixobrychus minutus payesii —> Botaurus minutus payesii
• Little Bittern (Madagascar): Ixobrychus minutus podiceps —> Botaurus minutus podiceps
• Yellow Bittern: Ixobrychus sinensis —> Botaurus sinensis
• Cinnamon/Yellow Bittern: Ixobrychus cinnamomeus/sinensis —> Botaurus cinnamomeus/sinensis
• Black-backed Bittern: Ixobrychus dubius —> Botaurus dubius
• New Zealand Bittern: Ixobrychus novaezelandiae —> Botaurus novaezelandiae
• small bittern sp.: Ixobrychus sp. —> Botaurus sp. (small bittern sp.)
• Little Egret (Australasian): Egretta garzetta nigripes —> Egretta garzetta immaculata
• Western Cattle-Egret: Bubulcus ibis —> Ardea ibis
• Eastern Cattle-Egret: Bubulcus coromandus —> Ardea coromanda
• Western/Eastern Cattle-Egret: Bubulcus ibis/coromandus —> Ardea ibis/coromanda
• Western Cattle-Egret/Yellow-billed Egret: Bubulcus ibis/Ardea brachyrhyncha —> Ardea ibis/brachyrhyncha
• Eastern Cattle-Egret/Medium Egret: Bubulcus coromandus/Ardea intermedia —> Ardea coromanda/intermedia
• Eastern Cattle-Egret/Plumed Egret: Bubulcus coromandus/Ardea plumifera —> Ardea coromanda/plumifera
• white egret sp.: Egretta/Bubulcus/Ardea sp. —> Egretta/Ardea sp.
• Turkey Vulture (Northern): Cathartes aura aura/septentrionalis —> Cathartes aura [aura Group]
• Congo Snake-Eagle: Dryotriorchis spectabilis —> Circaetus spectabilis
• Steppe/Tawny Eagle: Aquila rapax/nipalensis —> Aquila nipalensis/rapax
• Crested Goshawk: Accipiter trivirgatus —> Lophospiza trivirgata
• Sulawesi Goshawk: Accipiter griseiceps —> Lophospiza griseiceps
• African Goshawk: Accipiter tachiro —> Aerospiza tachiro
• African Goshawk (Banded): Accipiter tachiro macroscelides —> Aerospiza tachiro macroscelides
• African Goshawk (Red-chested): Accipiter tachiro toussenelii/canescens —> Aerospiza tachiro toussenelii/canescens
• African Goshawk (Bioko): Accipiter tachiro lopezi —> Aerospiza tachiro lopezi
• African Goshawk (Ethiopian): Accipiter tachiro unduliventer/croizati —> Aerospiza tachiro unduliventer/croizati
• African Goshawk (Eastern): Accipiter tachiro sparsimfasciatus —> Aerospiza tachiro sparsimfasciata
• African Goshawk (Pemba): Accipiter tachiro pembaensis —> Aerospiza tachiro pembaensis
• African Goshawk (Southern): Accipiter tachiro tachiro —> Aerospiza tachiro tachiro
• Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk: Accipiter castanilius —> Aerospiza castanilius
• Red-thighed Sparrowhawk: Accipiter erythropus —> Tachyspiza erythropus
• Little Sparrowhawk: Accipiter minullus —> Tachyspiza minulla
• Besra: Accipiter virgatus —> Tachyspiza virgata
• Crested Goshawk/Besra: Accipiter trivirgatus/virgatus —> Lophospiza trivirgata/Tachyspiza virgata
• Small Sparrowhawk: Accipiter nanus —> Tachyspiza nanus
• Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk: Accipiter erythrauchen —> Tachyspiza erythrauchen
• Collared Sparrowhawk: Accipiter cirrocephalus —> Tachyspiza cirrocephala
• New Britain Sparrowhawk: Accipiter brachyurus —> Tachyspiza brachyura
• Vinous-breasted Sparrowhawk: Accipiter rhodogaster —> Tachyspiza rhodogaster
• Japanese Sparrowhawk: Accipiter gularis —> Tachyspiza gularis
• Besra/Japanese Sparrowhawk: Accipiter gularis/virgatus —> Tachyspiza virgata/gularis
• Shikra: Accipiter badius —> Tachyspiza badia
• Shikra (African): Accipiter badius sphenurus/polyzonoides —> Tachyspiza badia sphenura/polyzonoides
• Shikra (Asian): Accipiter badius [badius Group] —> Tachyspiza badia [badia Group]
• Nicobar Sparrowhawk: Accipiter butleri —> Tachyspiza butleri
• Levant Sparrowhawk: Accipiter brevipes —> Tachyspiza brevipes
• Chinese Sparrowhawk: Accipiter soloensis —> Tachyspiza soloensis
• Imitator Sparrowhawk: Accipiter imitator —> Tachyspiza imitator
• Frances’s Sparrowhawk: Accipiter francesiae —> Tachyspiza francesiae
• Spot-tailed Goshawk: Accipiter trinotatus —> Tachyspiza trinotata
• Gray-headed Goshawk: Accipiter poliocephalus —> Tachyspiza poliocephala
• New Britain Goshawk: Accipiter princeps —> Tachyspiza princeps
• Gray Goshawk: Accipiter novaehollandiae —> Tachyspiza novaehollandiae
• Variable Goshawk: Accipiter hiogaster —> Tachyspiza hiogaster
• Variable Goshawk (Lesser Sundas): Accipiter hiogaster sylvestris —> Tachyspiza hiogaster sylvestris
• Variable Goshawk (Variable): Accipiter hiogaster [hiogaster Group] —> Tachyspiza hiogaster [hiogaster Group]
• Black-mantled Goshawk: Accipiter melanochlamys —> Tachyspiza melanochlamys
• Pied Goshawk: Accipiter albogularis —> Tachyspiza albogularis
• Fiji Goshawk: Accipiter rufitorques —> Tachyspiza rufitorques
• Moluccan Goshawk: Accipiter henicogrammus —> Tachyspiza henicogramma
• Slaty-mantled Goshawk: Accipiter luteoschistaceus —> Tachyspiza luteoschistacea
• New Caledonian Goshawk: Accipiter haplochrous —> Tachyspiza haplochroa
• Brown Goshawk: Accipiter fasciatus —> Tachyspiza fasciata
• Collared Sparrowhawk/Brown Goshawk: Accipiter fasciatus/cirrocephalus —> Tachyspiza cirrocephala/fasciata
• Variable/Brown Goshawk: Accipiter hiogaster/fasciatus —> Tachyspiza hiogaster/fasciata
• Levant/Eurasian Sparrowhawk: Accipiter brevipes/nisus —> Tachyspiza brevipes/Accipiter nisus
• Bicolored Hawk: Accipiter bicolor —> Astur bicolor
• Bicolored Hawk (Bicolored): Accipiter bicolor bicolor/fidens —> Astur bicolor bicolor/fidens
• Bicolored Hawk (Spotted): Accipiter bicolor pileatus/guttifer —> Astur bicolor pileatus/guttifer
• Chilean Hawk: Accipiter chilensis —> Astur chilensis
• Bicolored/Chilean Hawk: Accipiter bicolor/chilensis —> Astur bicolor/chilensis
• Cooper’s Hawk: Accipiter cooperii —> Astur cooperii
• Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk: Accipiter striatus/cooperii —> Accipiter striatus/Astur cooperii
• Gundlach’s Hawk: Accipiter gundlachi —> Astur gundlachi
• Eurasian Goshawk: Accipiter gentilis —> Astur gentilis
• Eurasian Sparrowhawk/Eurasian Goshawk: Accipiter nisus/gentilis —> Accipiter nisus/Astur gentilis
• American Goshawk: Accipiter atricapillus —> Astur atricapillus
• Cooper’s Hawk x American Goshawk (hybrid): Accipiter cooperii x atricapillus —> Astur cooperii x atricapillus
• Cooper’s Hawk/American Goshawk: Accipiter cooperii/atricapillus —> Astur cooperii/atricapillus
• Eurasian/American Goshawk: Accipiter gentilis/atricapillus —> Astur gentilis/atricapillus
• Meyer’s Goshawk: Accipiter meyerianus —> Astur meyerianus
• Black Goshawk: Accipiter melanoleucus —> Astur melanoleucus
• Henst’s Goshawk: Accipiter henstii —> Astur henstii
• Accipitrine hawk sp. (former Accipiter sp.): Accipiter sp. —> Aerospiza/Tachyspiza/Accipiter/Astur sp.
• Bald Eagle x Steller’s Sea-Eagle (hybrid): Haliaeetus pelagicus x leucocephalus —> Haliaeetus leucocephalus x pelagicus
• Common Black Hawk (Common): Buteogallus anthracinus anthracinus/utilensis —> Buteogallus anthracinus anthracinus
• Broad-winged x Red-shouldered Hawk (hybrid): Buteo lineatus x platypterus —> Buteo platypterus x lineatus
• Broad-winged/Red-shouldered Hawk: Buteo lineatus/platypterus —> Buteo platypterus/lineatus
• Eastern Barn Owl (Eastern): Tyto alba [javanica Group] —> Tyto javanica [javanica Group]
• Eastern Barn Owl (Boang): Tyto alba crassirostris —> Tyto javanica crassirostris
• American Barn Owl: Tyto alba —> Tyto furcata
• American Barn Owl (American): Tyto alba [tuidara Group] —> Tyto furcata [tuidara Group]
• American Barn Owl (White-winged): Tyto alba furcata —> Tyto furcata furcata
• American Barn Owl (Curacao): Tyto alba bargei —> Tyto furcata bargei
• American Barn Owl (Lesser Antilles): Tyto alba insularis/nigrescens —> Tyto furcata nigrescens/insularis
• American Barn Owl (Galapagos): Tyto alba punctatissima —> Tyto furcata punctatissima
• Black-tailed Trogon (Black-tailed): Trogon melanurus [melanurus Group] —> Trogon melanurus melanurus/eumorphus
• Rufous Hornbill (Southern): Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis/semigaleatus —> Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis
• Western Yellow-billed Barbet: Trachyphonus purpuratus —> Trachylaemus goffinii
• Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Western): Trachyphonus purpuratus goffinii —> Trachylaemus goffinii goffinii
• Western Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo): Trachyphonus purpuratus togoensis —> Trachylaemus goffinii togoensis
• Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet: Trachyphonus purpuratus purpuratus/elgonensis —> Trachylaemus purpuratus
• Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird: Pogoniulus pusillus —> Pogoniulus uropygialis
• Guatemalan Flicker: Colaptes auratus mexicanoides —> Colaptes mexicanoides
• Peregrine Falcon (Australian): Falco peregrinus macropus/submelanogenys —> Falco peregrinus macropus
• Kakapo: Strigops habroptila —> Strigops habroptilus
• Bourke’s Parrot: Neophema bourkii —> Neopsephotus bourkii
• Dusky-cheeked Fig-Parrot: Cyclopsitta melanogenia —> Nannopsittacus melanogenia
• Blue-fronted Fig-Parrot: Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii —> Nannopsittacus gulielmitertii
• Black-fronted Fig-Parrot: Cyclopsitta nigrifrons —> Nannopsittacus nigrifrons
• Black-fronted Fig-Parrot (Black-fronted): Cyclopsitta nigrifrons nigrifrons —> Nannopsittacus nigrifrons nigrifrons
• Black-fronted Fig-Parrot (Creamy-breasted): Cyclopsitta nigrifrons amabilis/ramuensis —> Nannopsittacus nigrifrons amabilis/ramuensis
• Large Fig-Parrot: Psittaculirostris desmarestii —> Cyclopsitta desmarestii
• Large Fig-Parrot (Large): Psittaculirostris desmarestii [desmarestii Group] —> Cyclopsitta desmarestii [desmarestii Group]
• Large Fig-Parrot (Yellow-naped): Psittaculirostris desmarestii godmani —> Cyclopsitta desmarestii godmani
• Large Fig-Parrot (Red-faced): Psittaculirostris desmarestii cervicalis —> Cyclopsitta desmarestii cervicalis
• Edwards’s Fig-Parrot: Psittaculirostris edwardsii —> Cyclopsitta edwardsii
• Salvadori’s Fig-Parrot: Psittaculirostris salvadorii —> Cyclopsitta salvadorii
• fig-parrot sp.: Cyclopsitta sp. —> Nannopsittacus/Cyclopsitta sp.
• Striated Lorikeet: Synorhacma multistriata —> Charmosyna multistriata
• Duchess Lorikeet: Charmosynoides margarethae —> Vini margarethae
• Little Lorikeet: Parvipsitta pusilla —> Psitteuteles pusillus
• Purple-crowned Lorikeet: Parvipsitta porphyrocephala —> Psitteuteles porphyrocephalus
• Dusky Lory: Pseudeos fuscata —> Chalcopsitta fuscata
• Cardinal Lory: Pseudeos cardinalis —> Chalcopsitta cardinalis
• Musk Lorikeet: Glossopsitta concinna —> Trichoglossus concinnus
• Mindanao Lorikeet: Saudareos johnstoniae —> Trichoglossus johnstoniae
• Iris Lorikeet: Saudareos iris —> Trichoglossus iris
• Ornate Lorikeet: Saudareos ornata —> Trichoglossus ornatus
• Yellow-cheeked Lorikeet: Saudareos meyeri —> Trichoglossus meyeri
• Sula Lorikeet: Saudareos flavoviridis —> Trichoglossus flavoviridis
• Blue-streaked Lory: Eos reticulata —> Trichoglossus reticulatus
• Blue-eared Lory: Eos semilarvata —> Trichoglossus semilarvatus
• Red Lory: Eos bornea —> Trichoglossus borneus
• Black-winged Lory: Eos cyanogenia —> Trichoglossus cyanogenius
• Red-and-blue Lory: Eos histrio —> Trichoglossus histrio
• Violet-necked Lory: Eos squamata —> Trichoglossus squamatus
• Musk x Rainbow Lorikeet (hybrid): Glossopsitta concinna x Trichoglossus moluccanus —> Trichoglossus concinnus x moluccanus
• lorikeet sp. (Musk/Rainbow/Scaly-breasted Lorikeet hybrid): Glossopsitta/Trichoglossus sp. (hybrid) —> Trichoglossus sp. (Musk/Rainbow/Scaly-breasted Lorikeet hybrid)
• Papuan Pitta (Northern): Erythropitta habenichti —> Erythropitta macklotii habenichti
• Piping Woodcreeper: Deconychura longicauda [typica Group] —> Deconychura typica
• Whistling Woodcreeper: Deconychura longicauda longicauda —> Deconychura longicauda
• Mournful Woodcreeper: Deconychura longicauda [pallida Group] —> Deconychura pallida
• Northern Plain-Xenops: Xenops minutus [mexicanus Group] —> Xenops mexicanus
• Amazonian Plain-Xenops: Xenops minutus [genibarbis Group] —> Xenops genibarbis
• Atlantic Plain-Xenops: Xenops minutus minutus —> Xenops minutus
• Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner: Philydor fuscipenne —> Neophilydor fuscipenne
• Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner (Dusky-winged): Philydor fuscipenne fuscipenne —> Neophilydor fuscipenne fuscipenne
• Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner (Rufous-backed): Philydor fuscipenne erythronotum —> Neophilydor fuscipenne erythronotum
• Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner: Philydor erythrocercum —> Neophilydor erythrocercum
• Araripe Manakin: Antilophia bokermanni —> Chiroxiphia bokermanni
• Helmeted Manakin: Antilophia galeata —> Chiroxiphia galeata
• Helmeted x Blue-backed Manakin (hybrid): Antilophia galeata x Chiroxiphia pareola —> Chiroxiphia galeata x pareola
• Helmeted x Swallow-tailed Manakin (hybrid): Antilophia galeata x Chiroxiphia caudata —> Chiroxiphia galeata x caudata
• White-tailed Tityra: Tityra leucura [unrecognized species] —> Tityra leucura
• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet: Nesotriccus incomtus/murinus —> Nesotriccus murinus
• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Northern): Nesotriccus incomtus —> Nesotriccus murinus incomtus/eremonomus
• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Southern): Nesotriccus murinus —> Nesotriccus murinus murinus/wagae
• White-fronted Tyrannulet: Phyllomyias zeledoni —> Acrochordopus zeledoni
• White-fronted Tyrannulet (Zeledon’s): Phyllomyias zeledoni zeledoni —> Acrochordopus zeledoni zeledoni
• White-fronted Tyrannulet (White-fronted): Phyllomyias zeledoni [leucogonys Group] —> Acrochordopus zeledoni [leucogonys Group]
• Rough-legged Tyrannulet: Phyllomyias burmeisteri —> Acrochordopus burmeisteri
• Black-capped Tyrannulet: Phyllomyias nigrocapillus —> Tyranniscus nigrocapillus
• Ashy-headed Tyrannulet: Phyllomyias cinereiceps —> Tyranniscus cinereiceps
• Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet: Phyllomyias uropygialis —> Tyranniscus uropygialis
• Pilbara Grasswren: Amytornis whitei whitei —> Amytornis whitei
• Sandhill Grasswren: Amytornis whitei oweni —> Amytornis oweni
• Streak-breasted Honeyeater: Territornis reticulata —> Meliphaga reticulata
• Kimberley Honeyeater: Territornis fordiana —> Meliphaga fordiana
• White-lined Honeyeater: Territornis albilineata —> Meliphaga albilineata
• Orange-cheeked Honeyeater: Oreornis chrysogenys —> Meliphaga chrysogenys
• Forest Honeyeater: Microptilotis montanus —> Meliphaga montana
• Mottled Honeyeater: Microptilotis mimikae —> Meliphaga mimikae
• Yellow-gaped Honeyeater: Microptilotis flavirictus —> Meliphaga flavirictus
• Mountain Honeyeater: Microptilotis orientalis —> Meliphaga orientalis
• Scrub Honeyeater: Microptilotis albonotatus —> Meliphaga albonotata
• Mimic Honeyeater: Microptilotis analogus —> Meliphaga analoga
• Tagula Honeyeater: Microptilotis vicina —> Meliphaga vicina
• Graceful Honeyeater: Microptilotis gracilis —> Meliphaga gracilis
• Cryptic Honeyeater: Microptilotis imitatrix —> Meliphaga imitatrix
• Elegant Honeyeater: Microptilotis cinereifrons —> Meliphaga cinereifrons
• Graceful/Elegant Honeyeater: Microptilotis gracilis/cinereifrons —> Meliphaga gracilis/cinereifrons
• Meliphaga sp.: Meliphaga/Territornis/Microptilotis sp. —> Meliphaga sp.
• Moluccan Myzomela: Myzomela obscura simplex/mortyana —> Myzomela simplex
• Red-tinged Myzomela: Myzomela obscura rubrotincta —> Myzomela rubrotincta
• Biak Myzomela: Myzomela obscura rubrobrunnea —> Myzomela rubrobrunnea
• Dusky Myzomela: Myzomela obscura [obscura Group] —> Myzomela obscura
• Red Myzomela: Myzomela cruentata cruentata/coccinea —> Myzomela cruentata
• Reddish Myzomela: Myzomela cruentata [erythrina Group] —> Myzomela erythrina
• Mountain Mouse-Warbler: Crateroscelis robusta —> Origma robusta
• Rusty Mouse-Warbler: Crateroscelis murina —> Origma murina
• Comoro Cuckooshrike: Coracina cucullata —> Ceblepyris cucullatus
• Madagascar Cuckooshrike: Coracina cinerea —> Ceblepyris cinereus
• Grauer’s Cuckooshrike: Coracina graueri —> Ceblepyris graueri
• Gray Cuckooshrike: Coracina caesia —> Ceblepyris caesius
• White-breasted Cuckooshrike: Coracina pectoralis —> Ceblepyris pectoralis
• Indian Cuckooshrike: Coracina macei macei/layardi —> Coracina macei
• Oriental Cuckooshrike (Javan): Coracina javensis —> Coracina javensis javensis
• Oriental Cuckooshrike (Oriental): Coracina macei [nipalensis Group] —> Coracina javensis [nipalensis Group]
• Malayan Cuckooshrike: Coracina macei larutensis —> Coracina larutensis
• Visayan Cuckooshrike: Coracina striata panayensis —> Coracina panayensis
• Halmahera Cuckooshrike: Celebesia parvula —> Coracina parvula
• Biak Triller: Lalage atrovirens leucoptera —> Lalage leucoptera
• Indian/Oriental/Black-headed Cuckooshrike: Coracina macei/Lalage melanoptera —> Coracina macei/javensis/Lalage melanoptera
• Pygmy Cuckooshrike: Celebesia abbotti —> Celebesica abbotti
• New Caledonian Cuckooshrike: Analisoma analis —> Edolisoma anale
• Blackish Cuckooshrike: Analisoma coerulescens —> Edolisoma coerulescens
• White-winged Cuckooshrike: Analisoma ostenta —> Edolisoma ostentum
• Pohnpei Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre insperatum —> Edolisoma insperatum
• Palau Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre monacha —> Edolisoma monacha
• Yap Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre nesiotis —> Edolisoma nesiotis
• Geelvink Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre meyerii/numforanum —> Edolisoma meyerii
• North Moluccan Cicadabird (North Moluccan): Edolisoma tenuirostre grayi —> Edolisoma grayi grayi
• Bismarck Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre [erythropygium Group] —> Edolisoma remotum
• Bismarck Cicadabird (New Ireland): Edolisoma tenuirostre remotum —> Edolisoma remotum remotum
• Rossel Cicadabird: Edolisoma tenuirostre rostratum —> Edolisoma rostratum
• Mangrove Vireo (Northern Central America): Vireo pallens ochraceus/semiflavus —> Vireo pallens [semiflavus Group]
• Mangrove Vireo (Southern Central America): Vireo pallens pallens —> Vireo pallens [pallens Group]
• Fawn-breasted Whistler (Banda Sea): Pachycephala macrorhyncha par/compar —> Pachycephala orpheus par/compar
• White-throated Fiji Whistler: Pachycephala vitiensis [vitiensis Group] —> Pachycephala vitiensis
• Yellow-throated Fiji Whistler: Pachycephala vitiensis [graeffii Group] —> Pachycephala graeffii
• Tenggara Whistler: Pachycephala fulvotincta —> Pachycephala calliope
• Tenggara Whistler (Rusty-breasted): Pachycephala fulvotincta [fulvotincta Group] —> Pachycephala calliope [fulvotincta Group]
• Tenggara Whistler (Timor): Pachycephala macrorhyncha calliope —> Pachycephala calliope calliope
• Selayar Whistler: Pachycephala fulvotincta teysmanni —> Pachycephala teysmanni
• Babar Whistler: Pachycephala macrorhyncha sharpei —> Pachycephala sharpei
• Golden Whistler: Pachycephala pectoralis/fuliginosa —> Pachycephala pectoralis
• Golden Whistler (Western): Pachycephala fuliginosa —> Pachycephala pectoralis fuliginosa/occidentalis
• Golden Whistler (Eastern): Pachycephala pectoralis —> Pachycephala pectoralis [pectoralis Group]
• Black-tailed Whistler (Damar): Pachycephala macrorhyncha dammeriana —> Pachycephala melanura dammeriana
• Chestnut Wattle-eye: Platysteira castanea —> Dyaphorophyia castanea
• West African Wattle-eye: Platysteira hormophora —> Dyaphorophyia hormophora
• White-spotted Wattle-eye: Platysteira tonsa —> Dyaphorophyia tonsa
• Gray-green Bushshrike: Telophorus bocagei —> Chlorophoneus bocagei
• Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike: Telophorus sulfureopectus —> Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus
• Olive Bushshrike: Telophorus olivaceus —> Chlorophoneus olivaceus
• Many-colored Bushshrike: Telophorus multicolor —> Chlorophoneus multicolor
• Black-fronted Bushshrike: Telophorus nigrifrons —> Chlorophoneus nigrifrons
• Mount Kupe Bushshrike: Telophorus kupeensis —> Chlorophoneus kupeensis
• Santa Cruz Fantail: Rhipidura melaenolaema —> Rhipidura melanolaema
• Santa Cruz Fantail (White-fronted): Rhipidura melaenolaema melaenolaema/utupuae —> Rhipidura melanolaema melanolaema/utupuae
• Santa Cruz Fantail (Brown-fronted): Rhipidura melaenolaema agilis —> Rhipidura melanolaema agilis
• Fiji Streaked Fantail (Viti Levu): Rhipidura layardi layardi/erythronota —> Rhipidura layardi layardi
• Vogelkop Lophorina: Lophorina niedda —> Lophorina superba
• Greater Lophorina: Lophorina superba —> Lophorina latipennis
• Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Northern): Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata/ilex —> Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata/illex
• Tenggara Paradise-Flycatcher: Terpsiphone affinis floris/sumbaensis —> Terpsiphone floris
• Maupiti Monarch: Pomarea pomarea —> Pomarea maupitiensis
• Chestnut-bellied Monarch (Bougainville): Monarcha erythrostictus —> Monarcha castaneiventris erythrostictus
• Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Halmahera): Symposiachrus trivirgatus bimaculatus —> Symposiachrus bimaculatus bimaculatus
• Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Obi): Symposiachrus trivirgatus diadematus —> Symposiachrus bimaculatus diadematus
• Moluccan Spectacled Monarch (Seram): Symposiachrus trivirgatus nigrimentum —> Symposiachrus bimaculatus nigrimentum
• Solomons Monarch: Symposiachrus barbatus barbatus —> Symposiachrus barbatus
• Malaita Monarch: Symposiachrus barbatus malaitae —> Symposiachrus malaitae
• Mussau Flycatcher: Myiagra hebetior hebetior —> Myiagra hebetior
• Velvet Flycatcher (Velvet): Myiagra hebetior eichhorni —> Myiagra eichhorni eichhorni
• Velvet Flycatcher (Djaul): Myiagra hebetior cervinicolor —> Myiagra eichhorni cervinicolor
• Yellow-billed Shrike: Lanius corvinus —> Corvinella corvina
• Magpie Shrike: Lanius melanoleucus —> Urolestes melanoleucus
• shrike sp.: Lanius sp. —> Laniidae sp.
• Malayan Black Magpie: Platysmurus leucopterus leucopterus —> Platysmurus leucopterus
• Bornean Black Magpie: Platysmurus leucopterus aterrimus —> Platysmurus aterrimus
• Black-throated Magpie-Jay: Calocitta colliei —> Cyanocorax colliei
• White-throated Magpie-Jay: Calocitta formosa —> Cyanocorax formosus
• Black-throated x White-throated Magpie-Jay (hybrid): Calocitta colliei x formosa —> Cyanocorax colliei x formosus
• Black-throated/White-throated Magpie-Jay: Calocitta colliei/formosa —> Cyanocorax colliei/formosus
• Brown Jay: Psilorhinus morio —> Cyanocorax morio
• Northern Nutcracker: Nucifraga caryocatactes [caryocatactes Group] —> Nucifraga caryocatactes
• Southern Nutcracker: Nucifraga caryocatactes [hemispila Group] —> Nucifraga hemispila
• Northern/Southern Nutcracker: Nucifraga caryocatactes —> Nucifraga caryocatactes/hemispila
• Eurasian Jackdaw: Corvus monedula —> Coloeus monedula
• Daurian Jackdaw: Corvus dauuricus —> Coloeus dauuricus
• Eurasian/Daurian Jackdaw: Corvus monedula/dauuricus —> Coloeus monedula/dauuricus
• Sunda Crow: Corvus enca enca/compilator —> Corvus enca
• Sulawesi Crow: Corvus enca celebensis/mangoli —> Corvus celebensis
• Collared Crow: Corvus pectoralis —> Corvus torquatus
• Solomons Robin: Petroica pusilla [polymorpha Group] —> Petroica polymorpha
• Black-chinned Robin: Heteromyias brachyurus —> Leucophantes brachyurus
• Asian Tit (Cinereous): Parus cinereus —> Parus cinereus [cinereus Group]
• Asian Tit (Japanese): Parus minor [minor Group] —> Parus cinereus [minor Group]
• Asian Tit (commixtus): Parus minor commixtus —> Parus cinereus commixtus
• Asian Tit (Amami): Parus minor amamiensis —> Parus cinereus amamiensis
• Asian Tit (Okinawa): Parus minor okinawae —> Parus cinereus okinawae
• Asian Tit (Ishigaki): Parus minor nigriloris —> Parus cinereus nigriloris
• Beesley’s Lark: Chersomanes albofasciata beesleyi —> Chersomanes beesleyi
• Rusty Lark: Mirafra rufa —> Calendulauda rufa
• Gillett’s Lark: Mirafra gilletti —> Calendulauda gilletti
• Burmese Bushlark: Mirafra microptera —> Plocealauda microptera
• Indochinese Bushlark: Mirafra erythrocephala —> Plocealauda erythrocephala
• Jerdon’s Bushlark: Mirafra affinis —> Plocealauda affinis
• Indian Bushlark: Mirafra erythroptera —> Plocealauda erythroptera
• Bengal Bushlark: Mirafra assamica —> Plocealauda assamica
• Jerdon’s/Indian Bushlark: Mirafra affinis/erythroptera —> Plocealauda affinis/erythroptera
• Indian/Singing Bushlark: Mirafra javanica/erythroptera —> Plocealauda erythroptera/Mirafra javanica
• Collared Lark: Mirafra collaris —> Amirafra collaris
• Flappet Lark: Mirafra rufocinnamomea —> Amirafra rufocinnamomea
• Angola Lark: Mirafra angolensis —> Amirafra angolensis
• Highland Lark (Sudan): Mirafra africana kurrae —> Corypha kurrae kurrae
• Highland Lark (Bamenda): Mirafra africana stresemanni/bamendae —> Corypha kurrae stresemanni/bamendae
• Cape Clapper Lark: Mirafra apiata —> Corypha apiata
• Cape Clapper Lark (Cape): Mirafra apiata apiata —> Corypha apiata apiata
• Cape Clapper Lark (Agulhas): Mirafra apiata marjoriae —> Corypha apiata marjoriae
• Eastern Clapper Lark: Mirafra fasciolata —> Corypha fasciolata
• Plains Lark (Malbrant’s): Mirafra africana malbranti —> Corypha kabalii malbranti
• Plateau Lark: Mirafra africana nigrescens/nyikae —> Corypha nigrescens
• Rufous-naped Lark: Mirafra africana —> Corypha africana
• Rufous-naped Lark (Rufous-naped): Mirafra africana [africana Group] —> Corypha africana [africana Group]
• Rufous-naped Lark (Serengeti): Mirafra africana tropicalis —> Corypha africana tropicalis
• Somali Lark: Mirafra somalica —> Corypha somalica
• Somali Lark (Ash’s): Mirafra ashi —> Corypha somalica ashi
• Red-winged Lark: Mirafra hypermetra —> Corypha hypermetra
• Red-winged Lark (Rift Valley): Mirafra hypermetra gallarum —> Corypha hypermetra gallarum
• Russet Lark: Mirafra sharpii —> Corypha sharpii
• Hume’s Lark/Mongolian Short-toed Lark: Calandrella dukhunensis/acutirostris —> Calandrella acutirostris/dukhunensis
• Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Salvadori’s): Eremomela salvadorii —> Eremomela icteropygialis salvadorii
• Huambo Cisticola: Cisticola aberrans bailunduensis —> Cisticola bailunduensis
• Lynes’s Cisticola: Cisticola lais distinctus —> Cisticola distinctus
• Dusky Tetraka: Xanthomixis tenebrosa —> Crossleyia tenebrosa
• Pale Crag-Martin: Ptyonoprogne fuligula [obsoleta Group] —> Ptyonoprogne obsoleta
• Eurasian/Pale Crag-Martin: Ptyonoprogne rupestris/fuligula —> Ptyonoprogne rupestris/obsoleta
• Red-throated Crag-Martin: Ptyonoprogne fuligula fusciventris/bansoensis —> Ptyonoprogne rufigula
• Southern Crag-Martin: Ptyonoprogne fuligula [fuligula Group] —> Ptyonoprogne fuligula
• Pacific Swallow: Hirundo tahitica —> Hirundo javanica
• Tahiti Swallow: Hirundo tahitica tahitica —> Hirundo tahitica
• Pacific/Barn Swallow: Hirundo rustica/tahitica —> Hirundo javanica/rustica
• Barn x European Red-rumped Swallow (hybrid): Hirundo rustica x Cecropis daurica —> Hirundo rustica x Cecropis rufula
• African Red-rumped Swallow (domicella): Cecropis daurica domicella —> Cecropis melanocrissus domicella
• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow: Cecropis daurica/striolata —> Cecropis daurica
• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated): Cecropis striolata —> Cecropis daurica [striolata Group]
• European/African/Eastern Red-rumped Swallow: Cecropis daurica —> Cecropis rufula/melanocrissus/daurica
• Yellow-lored Bristlebill: Bleda notatus notatus —> Bleda notatus
• Yellow-eyed Bristlebill: Bleda notatus ugandae —> Bleda ugandae
• Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul: Atimastillas flavicollis flavicollis —> Atimastillas flavicollis
• Pale-throated Greenbul (soror): Atimastillas flavicollis soror —> Atimastillas flavigula soror
• Pale-throated Greenbul (flavigula): Atimastillas flavicollis flavigula —> Atimastillas flavigula flavigula
• Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul: Arizelocichla nigriceps kikuyuensis —> Arizelocichla kikuyuensis
• Black-headed Mountain Greenbul: Arizelocichla nigriceps nigriceps/usambarae —> Arizelocichla nigriceps
• Olive-headed Greenbul (Stripe-faced): Arizelocichla milanjensis striifacies —> Arizelocichla striifacies striifacies
• Olive-headed Greenbul (Olive-headed): Arizelocichla milanjensis olivaceiceps —> Arizelocichla striifacies olivaceiceps
• White-throated Greenbul: Phyllastrephus albigularis albigularis —> Phyllastrephus albigularis
• Angola Greenbul: Phyllastrephus albigularis viridiceps —> Phyllastrephus viridiceps
• Nicobar Bulbul: Ixos nicobariensis —> Hypsipetes nicobariensis
• Reed Parrotbill: Calamornis heudei —> Paradoxornis heudei
• Reed Parrotbill (Northern): Calamornis heudei polivanovi —> Paradoxornis heudei polivanovi
• Reed Parrotbill (Reed): Calamornis heudei heudei —> Paradoxornis heudei heudei
• Great Parrotbill: Conostoma aemodium —> Paradoxornis aemodius
• Brown Parrotbill: Cholornis unicolor —> Paradoxornis unicolor
• Three-toed Parrotbill: Cholornis paradoxus —> Paradoxornis paradoxus
• Gray-headed Parrotbill: Psittiparus gularis —> Paradoxornis gularis
• Black-headed Parrotbill: Psittiparus margaritae —> Paradoxornis margaritae
• Gray-headed x Black-headed Parrotbill (hybrid): Psittiparus gularis x margaritae —> Paradoxornis gularis x margaritae
• White-breasted Parrotbill: Psittiparus ruficeps —> Paradoxornis ruficeps
• Rufous-headed Parrotbill: Psittiparus bakeri —> Paradoxornis bakeri
• Kafa White-eye (Kafa): Zosterops poliogastrus kaffensis —> Zosterops kaffensis kaffensis
• Kafa White-eye (Kulal): Zosterops poliogastrus kulalensis —> Zosterops kaffensis kulalensis
• Angola White-eye: Zosterops senegalensis [quanzae Group] —> Zosterops kasaicus
• Rufous-fronted Babbler (Buff-chested): Cyanoderma ambiguum —> Cyanoderma rufifrons [ambiguum Group]
• Rufous-fronted Babbler (Rufous-fronted): Cyanoderma rufifrons —> Cyanoderma rufifrons [rufifrons Group]
• Short-tailed Babbler (Glissando): Pellorneum malaccense poliogenys —> Pellorneum malaccense saturatum
• Short-tailed Babbler (Leaflitter): Pellorneum malaccense sordidum —> Pellorneum malaccense poliogene
• Marañon Gnatcatcher: Polioptila plumbea maior —> Polioptila maior
• Cozumel Wren: Troglodytes aedon beani —> Troglodytes beani
• Kalinago Wren (Guadeloupe): Troglodytes aedon guadeloupensis —> Troglodytes martinicensis guadeloupensis
• Kalinago Wren (Dominica): Troglodytes aedon rufescens —> Troglodytes martinicensis rufescens
• Kalinago Wren (Martinique): Troglodytes aedon martinicensis —> Troglodytes martinicensis martinicensis
• St. Lucia Wren: Troglodytes aedon mesoleucus —> Troglodytes mesoleucus
• St. Vincent Wren: Troglodytes aedon musicus —> Troglodytes musicus
• Grenada Wren: Troglodytes aedon grenadensis —> Troglodytes grenadensis
• Southern House Wren: Troglodytes aedon [musculus Group] —> Troglodytes musculus
• Russet-naped Wren: Campylorhynchus rufinucha humilis —> Campylorhynchus humilis
• Veracruz Wren: Campylorhynchus rufinucha rufinucha —> Campylorhynchus rufinucha
• Rufous-backed Wren: Campylorhynchus rufinucha [capistratus Group] —> Campylorhynchus capistratus
• Gray-browed Wren: Pheugopedius euophrys schulenbergi —> Pheugopedius schulenbergi
• Northern Chestnut-breasted Wren: Cyphorhinus thoracicus dichrous —> Cyphorhinus dichrous
• Southern Chestnut-breasted Wren: Cyphorhinus thoracicus thoracicus —> Cyphorhinus thoracicus
• Red-billed Oxpecker: Buphagus erythrorynchus —> Buphagus erythroryncha
• Red-billed/Yellow-billed Oxpecker: Buphagus erythrorynchus/africanus —> Buphagus erythroryncha/africanus
• Martinique Thrasher: Ramphocinclus brachyurus brachyurus —> Ramphocinclus brachyurus
• St. Lucia Thrasher: Ramphocinclus brachyurus sanctaeluciae —> Ramphocinclus sanctaeluciae
• Karoo x Olive Thrush (hybrid): Turdus olivaceus x smithi —> Turdus smithi x olivaceus
• Karoo/Olive Thrush: Turdus olivaceus/smithi —> Turdus smithi/olivaceus
• Sulawesi Thrush: Cataponera turdoides —> Turdus turdoides
• Black-breasted x Japanese Thrush (hybrid): Turdus cardis x dissimilis —> Turdus dissimilis x cardis
• Mindoro Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus mindorensis —> Turdus mindorensis
• Luzon Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus thomassoni/mayonensis —> Turdus thomassoni
• Mindanao Island-Thrush (Negros): Turdus poliocephalus nigrorum —> Turdus nigrorum nigrorum
• Mindanao Island-Thrush (Malindang): Turdus poliocephalus malindangensis —> Turdus nigrorum malindangensis
• Mindanao Island-Thrush (Katanglad): Turdus poliocephalus katanglad —> Turdus nigrorum katanglad
• Mindanao Island-Thrush (Apo): Turdus poliocephalus kelleri —> Turdus nigrorum kelleri
• Christmas Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus erythropleurus —> Turdus erythropleurus
• Wallacean Island-Thrush (Latimojong): Turdus poliocephalus hygroscopus —> Turdus schlegelii hygroscopus
• Wallacean Island-Thrush (Lompobattang): Turdus poliocephalus celebensis —> Turdus schlegelii celebensis
• Wallacean Island-Thrush (Schlegel’s): Turdus poliocephalus schlegelii —> Turdus schlegelii schlegelii
• Wallacean Island-Thrush (Sterling’s): Turdus poliocephalus sterlingi —> Turdus schlegelii sterlingi
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Loeser’s): Turdus poliocephalus loeseri —> Turdus javanicus loeseri
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sumatran): Turdus poliocephalus indrapurae —> Turdus javanicus indrapurae
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Sooty): Turdus poliocephalus fumidus —> Turdus javanicus fumidus/biesenbachi
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Stresemann’s): Turdus poliocephalus whiteheadi/stresemanni —> Turdus javanicus whiteheadi/stresemanni
• Sundaic Island-Thrush (Bornean): Turdus poliocephalus seebohmi —> Turdus javanicus seebohmi
• Moluccan Island-Thrush (Taliabu): Turdus poliocephalus sukahujan —> Turdus deningeri sukahujan
• Moluccan Island-Thrush (Seram): Turdus poliocephalus deningeri —> Turdus deningeri deningeri
• Papuan Island-Thrush (Jayawijaya): Turdus poliocephalus versteegi —> Turdus papuensis versteegi
• Papuan Island-Thrush (Ashy): Turdus poliocephalus erebus —> Turdus papuensis erebus
• Papuan Island-Thrush (Papuan): Turdus poliocephalus papuensis —> Turdus papuensis papuensis
• Papuan Island-Thrush (Goodenough): Turdus poliocephalus canescens —> Turdus papuensis canescens
• Solomons Island-Thrush (Kolombangara): Turdus poliocephalus kulambangrae —> Turdus kulambangrae kulambangrae
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Mare): Turdus poliocephalus mareensis —> Turdus vanikorensis mareensis
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Vanuatu): Turdus poliocephalus [vanikorensis Group] —> Turdus vanikorensis [vanikorensis Group]
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Ureparapara): Turdus poliocephalus placens —> Turdus vanikorensis placens
• Vanikoro Island-Thrush (Efate): Turdus poliocephalus efatensis —> Turdus vanikorensis efatensis
• White-headed Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus pritzbueri/albifrons —> Turdus pritzbueri
• New Caledonian Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus xanthopus —> Turdus xanthopus
• Samoan Island-Thrush: Turdus poliocephalus samoensis —> Turdus samoensis
• Fiji Island-Thrush (Viti Levu): Turdus poliocephalus layardi —> Turdus ruficeps layardi
• Fiji Island-Thrush (Kadavu): Turdus poliocephalus ruficeps —> Turdus ruficeps ruficeps
• Fiji Island-Thrush (Vanua Levu): Turdus poliocephalus vitiensis —> Turdus ruficeps vitiensis
• Fiji Island-Thrush (Gau): Turdus poliocephalus hades —> Turdus ruficeps hades
• Fiji Island-Thrush (Taveuni): Turdus poliocephalus tempesti —> Turdus ruficeps tempesti
• Böhm’s Flycatcher: Bradornis boehmi —> Myopornis boehmi
• Ussher’s Flycatcher: Bradornis ussheri —> Artomyias ussheri
• Sooty Flycatcher: Bradornis fuliginosus —> Artomyias fuliginosa
• Herero Chat: Melaenornis herero —> Namibornis herero
• Silverbird: Melaenornis semipartitus —> Empidornis semipartitus
• Fiscal Flycatcher: Melaenornis silens —> Sigelus silens
• Karoo Scrub-Robin: Cercotrichas coryphoeus —> Tychaedon coryphoeus
• Forest Scrub-Robin: Cercotrichas leucosticta —> Tychaedon leucosticta
• Forest Scrub-Robin (Forest): Cercotrichas leucosticta [leucosticta Group] —> Tychaedon leucosticta [leucosticta Group]
• Forest Scrub-Robin (Huila): Cercotrichas leucosticta reichenowi —> Tychaedon leucosticta reichenowi
• Brown Scrub-Robin: Cercotrichas signata —> Tychaedon signata
• Bearded Scrub-Robin: Cercotrichas quadrivirgata —> Tychaedon quadrivirgata
• Bearded Scrub-Robin (Bearded): Cercotrichas quadrivirgata quadrivirgata —> Tychaedon quadrivirgata quadrivirgata
• Bearded Scrub-Robin (Zanzibar): Cercotrichas quadrivirgata greenwayi —> Tychaedon quadrivirgata greenwayi
• Miombo Scrub-Robin: Cercotrichas barbata —> Tychaedon barbata
• Philippine Jungle Flycatcher: Cyornis ruficauda [ruficauda Group] —> Cyornis ruficauda
• Sulu Jungle Flycatcher: Cyornis ruficauda ocularis —> Cyornis ocularis
• Crocker Jungle Flycatcher: Cyornis ruficauda ruficrissa/isola —> Cyornis ruficrissa
• Mountain Robin-Chat: Cossypha isabellae —> Cossyphicula isabellae
• Mountain Robin-Chat (Highland): Cossypha isabellae batesi —> Cossyphicula isabellae batesi
• Mountain Robin-Chat (Mountain): Cossypha isabellae isabellae —> Cossyphicula isabellae isabellae
• Archer’s Robin-Chat: Cossypha archeri —> Dessonornis archeri
• Archer’s Robin-Chat (Archer’s): Cossypha archeri archeri —> Dessonornis archeri archeri
• Archer’s Robin-Chat (Kabobo): Cossypha archeri kimbutui —> Dessonornis archeri kimbutui
• Olive-flanked Robin-Chat: Cossypha anomala —> Dessonornis anomalus
• Olive-flanked Robin-Chat (White-bellied): Cossypha anomala grotei —> Dessonornis anomalus grotei
• Olive-flanked Robin-Chat (Black): Cossypha anomala mbuluensis —> Dessonornis anomalus mbuluensis
• Olive-flanked Robin-Chat (Olive-flanked): Cossypha anomala [anomala Group] —> Dessonornis anomalus [anomalus Group]
• Cape Robin-Chat: Cossypha caffra —> Dessonornis caffer
• White-throated Robin-Chat: Cossypha humeralis —> Dessonornis humeralis
• Sumatran Robin: Myiomela diana sumatrana —> Myiomela sumatrana
• Javan Robin: Myiomela diana diana —> Myiomela diana
• Red-flanked Bluetail: Tarsiger cyanurus cyanurus —> Tarsiger cyanurus
• Qilian Bluetail: Tarsiger cyanurus albocoeruleus —> Tarsiger albocoeruleus
• Red-flanked/Qilian Bluetail: Tarsiger cyanurus —> Tarsiger cyanurus/albocoeruleus
• Taiwan Bush-Robin: Tarsiger indicus formosanus —> Tarsiger formosanus
• Taiwan/Collared Bush-Robin: Tarsiger indicus/johnstoniae —> Tarsiger formosanus/johnstoniae
• Olive-backed Flowerpecker: Prionochilus olivaceus —> Pachyglossa olivacea
• Thick-billed Flowerpecker: Dicaeum agile —> Pachyglossa agilis
• Thick-billed Flowerpecker (Indian): Dicaeum agile agile/zeylonicum —> Pachyglossa agilis agilis/zeylonica
• Thick-billed Flowerpecker (obsoletum Group): Dicaeum agile [obsoletum Group] —> Pachyglossa agilis [obsoleta Group]
• Thick-billed Flowerpecker (Striped): Dicaeum agile [aeruginosum Group] —> Pachyglossa agilis [aeruginosa Group]
• Brown-backed Flowerpecker: Dicaeum everetti —> Pachyglossa everetti
• Whiskered Flowerpecker: Dicaeum proprium —> Pachyglossa propria
• Yellow-vented Flowerpecker: Dicaeum chrysorrheum —> Pachyglossa chrysorrhea
• Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker: Dicaeum melanozanthum —> Pachyglossa melanozantha
• White-throated Flowerpecker: Dicaeum vincens —> Pachyglossa vincens
• Thick-billed/Pale-billed Flowerpecker: Dicaeum agile/erythrorhynchos —> Pachyglossa agilis/Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
• Sumba Flowerpecker: Dicaeum sanguinolentum wilhelminae —> Dicaeum wilhelminae
• Timor Flowerpecker: Dicaeum sanguinolentum hanieli —> Dicaeum hanieli
• Mistletoebird (Aru): Dicaeum keiense ignicolle —> Dicaeum hirundinaceum ignicolle
• Pachyglossa/Dicaeum sp.: Dicaeum sp. —> Pachyglossa/Dicaeum sp.
• flowerpecker sp.: Prionochilus/Dicaeum sp. —> Dicaeidae sp.
• Yellow-chinned Sunbird: Anthreptes rectirostris rectirostris —> Anthreptes rectirostris
• Gray-chinned Sunbird: Anthreptes rectirostris tephrolaemus —> Anthreptes tephrolaemus
• Gorgeous Sunbird: Cinnyris pulchellus melanogastrus —> Cinnyris melanogastrus
• Arabian Sunbird: Cinnyris habessinicus hellmayri/kinneari —> Cinnyris hellmayri
• Star Finch: Bathilda ruficauda —> Emblema ruficauda
• Plum-headed Finch: Aidemosyne modesta —> Emblema modesta
• Siberian Pipit: Anthus rubescens japonicus —> Anthus japonicus
• Water/Siberian/American Pipit: Anthus spinoletta/rubescens —> Anthus spinoletta/japonicus/rubescens
• Stripe-breasted Seedeater: Crithagra reichardi striatipectus —> Crithagra striatipectus
• Reichard’s Seedeater: Crithagra reichardi reichardi —> Crithagra reichardi
• Redpoll: Acanthis sp. —> Acanthis flammea
• Redpoll (Common): Acanthis flammea —> Acanthis flammea flammea/rostrata/islandica
• Redpoll (Lesser): Acanthis cabaret —> Acanthis flammea cabaret
• Redpoll (Common/Lesser): Acanthis flammea/cabaret —> Acanthis flammea [flammea Group/cabaret]
• Redpoll (Hoary): Acanthis hornemanni —> Acanthis flammea hornemanni/exilipes
• Redpoll (exilipes): Acanthis hornemanni exilipes —> Acanthis flammea exilipes
• Redpoll (hornemanni): Acanthis hornemanni hornemanni —> Acanthis flammea hornemanni
• Redpoll (Common x Hoary): Acanthis flammea x hornemanni —> Acanthis flammea [flammea Group x hornemanni/exilipes]
• Redpoll (Common/Hoary): Acanthis flammea/hornemanni —> Acanthis flammea [flammea Group/hornemanni/exilipes]
• Indonesian Serin: Chrysocorythus estherae [estherae Group] —> Chrysocorythus estherae
• Mindanao Serin: Chrysocorythus estherae mindanensis —> Chrysocorythus mindanensis
• Gray-crowned Goldfinch: Carduelis carduelis [caniceps Group] —> Carduelis caniceps
• Black-capped Sparrow: Arremon abeillei abeillei —> Arremon abeillei
• Marañon Sparrow: Arremon abeillei nigriceps —> Arremon nigriceps
• Choco Brushfinch: Atlapetes tricolor crassus —> Atlapetes crassus
• Golden-crowned Brushfinch: Atlapetes tricolor tricolor —> Atlapetes tricolor
• Northern Slaty Brushfinch: Atlapetes schistaceus [schistaceus Group] —> Atlapetes schistaceus
• Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch: Atlapetes schistaceus taczanowskii —> Atlapetes taczanowskii
• Yellow-breasted Chat x Hooded Oriole (hybrid): Icteria virens x Icterus sp. —> Icteria virens x Icterus cucullatus
• Red-throated Ant-Tanager: Habia fuscicauda —> Driophlox fuscicauda
• Red-throated Ant-Tanager (Salvin’s): Habia fuscicauda [salvini Group] —> Driophlox fuscicauda [salvini Group]
• Red-throated Ant-Tanager (Red-throated): Habia fuscicauda [fuscicauda Group] —> Driophlox fuscicauda [fuscicauda Group]
• Sooty Ant-Tanager: Habia gutturalis —> Driophlox gutturalis
• Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager: Habia atrimaxillaris —> Driophlox atrimaxillaris
• Crested Ant-Tanager: Habia cristata —> Driophlox cristata
• ant-tanager sp.: Habia sp. —> Habia/Driophlox sp.

Additional changes

Miscellaneous other changes are mentioned below. There are several changes to families and orders this year; the Orders and Families can be seen on eBird species pages, such as for Indian Spotted Creeper or for Shining Sunbeam. Importantly, there are three new families that we recognize this year, but we also recognize even more new orders as we reassess the Caprimulgiformes.

• Onychorhynchidae (Royal Flycatchers and Allies) is recognized as a separate family from Oxyruncidae (Sharpbill), rendering the latter monotypic with Sharpbill Oxyruncus cristatus as its only member. Sharpbill is totally unique and awesome, but Onychorhynchidae also is a fascinating family, with a wide-range of body types from royal flycatchers (currently two species) with their wild headdresses, to active little Myiobius “flycatchers” that recall an Australasian fantail from the genus Rhipura, to the tiny, unobtrusive Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher Terenotriccus erythrurus that could pass for a little reddish Empidonax if you weren’t paying attention.
• Salpornithidae (Spotted Creepers) is separated from Certhidae (Treecreepers), owing to the genetic distinctiveness of the two family’s species: Indian Spotted Creeper and African Spotted Creeper
• Erythrocercidae (Yellow Flycatchers) is split from Hyliidae (Hylias) and recognized as its own family, bringing the global total to 254 families. It has just three, distinctive species:
  • Chestnut-capped Flycatcher Erythrocercus mccallii
  • Yellow Flycatcher Erythrocercus holochlorus
  • Livingstone’s Flycatcher Erythrocercus livingstonei
• One species also moves between families: Boulder Chat Pinarornis plumosus has been placed in Muscicapidae, where it was a bit of an outlier, but is conclusively placed in Turdidae now. Note that many other checklists had adopted this some time ago, so eBird/Clements is a bit late to this party.
• Also, we have a dramatic increase in the number of Orders of birds (41 increasing to 46 total). While some authors recognize one broad Caprimulgiformes, including 8 families, an alternative treatment is to split these into six orders, as shown below. As you may have guessed by now, eBird has switched from the broad Caprimulgiformes to the 6-order treatment, in an attempt to align around the consensus AviList treatment. Critics of the single-order treatment rightly would point out that treating Bee Hummingbird, Crested Treeswift, Lesser Nighthawk, Rufous Potoo, White-throated Needletail, Tawny Frogmouth, Karimui Owlet-nightjar, and Oilbird in a single order is pretty hard to wrap your head around. Here’s the new breakdown:
  • Caprimulgiformes
    • Caprimulgidae (Nightjars and Allies)
  • Nyctibiiformes
    • Nyctibiidae (Potoos)
  • Steatornithiformes
    • Steatornithidae (Oilbird)
  • Podargiformes
    • Podargidae (Frogmouths)
  • Aegotheliformes
    • Aegothelidae (Owlet-nightjars)
  • Apodiformes
    • Apodidae (Swifts)
    • Hemiprocnidae (Treeswifts)
    • Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)
• The linear sequence of certain families and orders are adjusted, with moves for the following families: Rheiformes (rheas and cassowaries), Tinamiformes (tinamous) and Apterygidae (kiwis); Podargiformes (frogmouths); Phoenicopteriformes (flamingos) and Podicipediformes (grebes); Opisthocomiformes (hoatzin); and Threskiornithidae (ibises and spoonbills).
• Also, the linear sequence within these taxa are adjusted: Musophagidae (turacos), Caprimulgidae (nightjars), Rallidae (rails), Tetrao (capercaillies), Glareolidae (pratincoles and coursers), Cathartiformes (new world vultures), Accipitriformes (hawks), Meropidae (bee-eaters), Edolisoma cicadabirds, Cyanocorax jays, Alaudidae (larks), Turdus thrushes, and Copsychus shamas. See the Clements narrative for more details on these changes.
• A long-standing data error is now corrected. Many observers had reported Peregrine Falcon (Barbary) Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides from south and central Asia (e. Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Mongolia, and w. China) although the nesting birds there are the similar Peregrine Falcon (Red-capped) Falco peregrinus babylonicus. This error is likely because IOC and other global bird checklists previously split Barbary Falcon and including babylonicus within that species (although eBird never grouped them together). This is just one of many examples for why having a consensus global bird checklist (the forthcoming AviList) will be a huge benefit, since these observers reported a species correctly for IOC taxonomy but did it in eBird taxonomy, probably without knowing of the difference. Regardless, we have now fixed it so that the ranges of these subspecies are now shown more accurately.