AOU-NACC Proposals 2022 (1 Viewer)

[Mysticete]

If that is the case then why not explain it. As it is, they simply look deliberately obtuse: why not go with what every other country (where it occurs) has called it for years and then if changes come along amend it then - as everyone else will.

Experts, hey...

Brian

Well, they very likely will whenever the voting commentary is published on the NACC checklist. That used to be within a week or so of the proposals if not same day, but lately its months later.

 

[Mysticete]

I am no longer the least surprised by NACC decisions but it is interesting to see them.

Shame Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Whimbrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Elegant Trogon were not passed. The non-passing of House Wren doesn’t surprise at all, though I should think/hope that many of the members can recognize how obviously different they are. shrug

I do wish names and votes were published along with the comments… quite anachronistic how it functions in comparison with SACC even.

My sense is that the reason for the House Wren proposal was that there was no formal peer-reviewed paper. I don't really agree with this sort of rejection, since I think it sort of renders the whole proposal system pointless. Why bother writing detailed proposals when really you can just go "X paper says this, what do we think?"

Probably also worth pointing out this reminder: The committee isn't a monolithic body, and that proposals need more than a majority to pass. I'd be shocked if the House Wren split wasn't a close vote. There are definitely folks on the committee who probably agree with many of the statements here.

It wouldn't surprise me if most of the complaints might just be down to a couple of specific individuals.

 

[Paul Clapham]

Not splitting it should not be based on ability to ID.

I didn't mean to say that it wasn't possible to ID a Fork-tailed-type Swift flying off the Pribilofs to species. On the contrary, observers out there take great care to do that sort of identification for casual Asian birds. However as far as I know that hasn't been done retrospectively for old observations so the best that the NACC could do is to replace "Fork-tailed Swift" by "Fork-tailed type of Swift" in the list. And they don't do that, if it isn't a documented species it doesn't get to be in the list.

(EDIT) There's maybe a dozen species in the NACC list in this situation, Asian birds which have been split by other authorities since being added to the list. Narcissus Flycatcher, Pallas's Leaf Warbler, and so on.

 

[njlarsen]

I thought I had seen a link to listing with voting comments for NACC 2022 but cannot find it online - has it been published?
Niels

 

[Mysticete]

I haven't seen anything. The comments seem to come later and later nowadays.

 

[Mysticete]

For those interested, comments are now up!

2022 Proposals - American Ornithological Society

Proposals 2022-A View Comments 2022-A-1: Reinstate Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus as a species 2022-A-2: Recognize Turdus confinis (San Lucas Robin) as a separate species from Turdus migratorius (American Robin) 2022-A-3a: Treat Turdus plumbeus (Red-legged Thrush) as two species 2022-A-3b...

americanornithology.org

 

[raymie]

For those interested, comments are now up!

2022 Proposals - American Ornithological Society

Proposals 2022-A View Comments 2022-A-1: Reinstate Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus as a species 2022-A-2: Recognize Turdus confinis (San Lucas Robin) as a separate species from Turdus migratorius (American Robin) 2022-A-3a: Treat Turdus plumbeus (Red-legged Thrush) as two species 2022-A-3b...

americanornithology.org

At least everyone voted no on calling the Whimbrel a curlew?

 

[pbjosh]

At least everyone voted no on calling the Whimbrel a curlew?

A minor miracle after the painful justifying the Short-billed Gull name.

 

[Mysticete]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this in case people clicked on it and got there hopes up, but has anyone heard anything about the 2023 updates? Last year the first batch went up in November, and we are almost through January with no update. Just wondering if this is simply a matter of no one in charge of the website having time to put things up, something to do with the WGAC or bird name committee, or something else entirely?

 

[gusasp]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this in case people clicked on it and got there hopes up, but has anyone heard anything about the 2023 updates? Last year the first batch went up in November, and we are almost through January with no update. Just wondering if this is simply a matter of no one in charge of the website having time to put things up, something to do with the WGAC or bird name committee, or something else entirely?

I'm wondering the same thing. In a couple of proposed lumps on the IOC website, NACC 2023 proposals are referenced (see below, on the Mealy Amazon and the cacique). Which means there is at least one batch of proposals out there. Which makes it even more intriguing why it's not posted.

Proposed Splits/Lumps – IOC World Bird List

 

[Mysticete]

I'm wondering the same thing. In a couple of proposed lumps on the IOC website, NACC 2023 proposals are referenced (see below, on the Mealy Amazon and the cacique). Which means there is at least one batch of proposals out there. Which makes it even more intriguing why it's not posted.

Proposed Splits/Lumps – IOC World Bird List

SACC proposals have also referenced NACC proposals in the last few months

I've commented on this elsewhere. The least conspiratorial answer could simply be that the NACC relies upon a volunteer from the AOS to update this section of the website, and that person either left or is overwhelmed at work. Hell, someone could have just lost a password. Laugh but I have heard of that happening enough times with other equivalent groups that it wouldn't shock me. Alternatively, due to the WGAC reconciliation process, the NACC is overwhelmed with more proposals than in a normal year. so voting and debating these has taken precedence over getting them posted, or its enough of a constant stream that folks in charge are waiting to get them all at once rather than have to deal with posting proposal batch "L" or something.

Alternatively, it could also be a change in the set-up of how the committee operates. There is apparently discussion of a separate NACC committee taking over common names. Perhaps, due to increased internet criticism, some of which is pretty scathing, they are less inclined to be more transparent. This way they feel they don't have to worry about outside pressures or jumping through extra hoops (like letting ebird reviewers vote for a meadowlark common name) Or it could be increased discord between the committee and other taxonomic/taxonomic-related groups, like ebird or WGAC. I will just say the longer the proposals don't get posted, the more likely it feels that it may be an intentional move towards less transparency.