Clements 2024 checklist update (2 Viewers)

[Mysticete]

While the "official" update is quite a few months off, a working google list is publicly. A lot of these have been made publicly known via IOC updates, but some of these updates I think are new, and many will effect ABA based birders.

Hope you got your Island Thrushes worked out, because that is split into 17 (!) species, which has got to be a recent record.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Iybsy3ZZ_B1_pYhGG8rNytY1aNvQo1ytLMfvoestRHc/edit?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3bxjLOHfOP9v6bbrNMqYUbaAdLCDj2HAxnVUpi9G2k1XCySdJ7N8y9Ss0_aem_aVRBNYeX_HdjDDaI5FZGog&pli=1

 

[Mysticete]

Of note, to ABA birders,

Siberian Pipit is split from American
Scopoli's Shearwater is split from Cory's
Herring Gull is split four ways (American, European, Vega, Mongolian...already recognized by IOC)
Redpoll lumped
Cocos Booby split from Brown Booby
7 Way split of House Wren, including Northern vs Southern
Barn Owl split three-ways (already in IOC)

Of other note, Japanese Tit is lumped into Cinereous, and Northern/Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, a year after being split, is being relumped again

 

[Lophostrix]

Wow! That's a lot to digest!

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Wow. I can see a lot of armchair ticks coming. I hope this happens sooner rather than later, because I really don't want to hit 6,000 species via an armchair tick.

 

[Mysticete]

Siberian Pipit should be uh...fun. My understanding is that they are annual in American Pipit flocks in Socal in the fall. That's going to be an interesting ID challenge!

 

[raymie]

That White-rumped Shama split may be relevant to the ABA area, as was discussed on another thread.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Siberian Pipit should be uh...fun. My understanding is that they are annual in American Pipit flocks in Socal in the fall. That's going to be an interesting ID challenge!

They're also pretty regular on the Alaskan Islands. I've seen one at Gambell.

 

[TicoTyler]

Of note, to ABA birders,

Siberian Pipit is split from American
Scopoli's Shearwater is split from Cory's
Herring Gull is split four ways (American, European, Vega, Mongolian...already recognized by IOC)
Redpoll lumped
Cocos Booby split from Brown Booby
7 Way split of House Wren, including Northern vs Southern
Barn Owl split three-ways (already in IOC)

Of other note, Japanese Tit is lumped into Cinereous, and Northern/Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, a year after being split, is being relumped again

I'm interested in the naming of Cocos Booby given that Isla del Coco is far from the center of abundance for that species and in fact the Colombian subspecies is more common there as far as I know. Unless there's another Isla del Coco outside of Costa Rica it is referencing but I couldn't find anything obvious.

 

[TicoTyler]

Also I don't see any mention of the Giant Hummingbird split in the update.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

I'm interested in the naming of Cocos Booby given that Isla del Coco is far from the center of abundance for that species and in fact the Colombian subspecies is more common there as far as I know. Unless there's another Isla del Coco outside of Costa Rica it is referencing but I couldn't find anything obvious.

It's not named after the island, but after the Cocos tectonic plate (just like Nazca Booby is named after the Nazca plate).

Cocos plate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TicoTyler]

It's not named after the island, but after the Cocos tectonic plate (just like Nazca Booby is named after the Nazca plate).

Cocos plate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks yeah I just found the proposal. Although it’s kind of both. It’s named after the plate not the island…but the plate is named after the island. So it’s named after the island just once removed. There were comments on the proposal that it might cause confusion with the other three Cocos species that are endemic to the island that I agree with. But since they’re stuck not using eponyms I guess that’s what makes the most sense.

 

[Ian Lewis]

Wow. I can see a lot of armchair ticks coming. I hope this happens sooner rather than later, because I really don't want to hit 6,000 species via an armchair tick.

You just have to ignore the armchair ticks until you pass 6000 and then have a big tidy up afterwards

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

You just have to ignore the armchair ticks until you pass 6000 and then have a big tidy up afterwards

That feels like cheeting...

 

[raymie]

I'm interested in the naming of Cocos Booby given that Isla del Coco is far from the center of abundance for that species and in fact the Colombian subspecies is more common there as far as I know. Unless there's another Isla del Coco outside of Costa Rica it is referencing but I couldn't find anything obvious.

I think the Colombian subspecies is staying with Brown Booby.

 

[Xenospiza]

Also I don't see any mention of the Giant Hummingbird split in the update.

Too much unclarity around that one, I assume.

 

[Kirk Roth]

Thanks yeah I just found the proposal. Although it’s kind of both. It’s named after the plate not the island…but the plate is named after the island. So it’s named after the island just once removed. There were comments on the proposal that it might cause confusion with the other three Cocos species that are endemic to the island that I agree with. But since they’re stuck not using eponyms I guess that’s what makes the most sense.

"Coco" is slang for a beautiful girl, especially in Latin American countries... and it is slang for cocaine in several places. This novel name is a particularly cringe-worthy choice. So much for non-offensive bird names.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

You just have to ignore the armchair ticks until you pass 6000 and then have a big tidy up afterwards

I've decided that since they say the taxonomic decisions are pretty much set and they're just doing "clean-up" on the ranges, etc. I'm going to update my list now. That way, I'll hit 6,000 on my next trip in September (hopefully).

 

[Ian Lewis]

I've decided that since they say the taxonomic decisions are pretty much set and they're just doing "clean-up" on the ranges, etc. I'm going to update my list now. That way, I'll hit 6,000 on my next trip in September (hopefully).

where will that trip be and how many lifers do you hope for?

My 6000th was the wonderful Akiapolaau 21 years ago

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

where will that trip be and how many lifers do you hope for?

My 6000th was the wonderful Akiapolaau 21 years ago

Oooh, Aki'. Great bird!

The Sept. trip is to Bolivia. I expect anywhere between 100 and 130 lifers, but probably closer to the middle of that range. So my real expectation would be to be just below 6,000 after that trip. From what I can see I'll get 10-20 armchair ticks from the taxonomy change, so there would be a real chance of an armchair 6,000.

I've started processing the changes right now. I've gotten as far as bee-eaters, and I've netted 6 armchair ticks so far. Unfortunately, I've only seen one of the Island Thrush complex.

 

[TicoTyler]

I think the Colombian subspecies is staying with Brown Booby.

They're including it with Brewster's/Coco whatever it gets called. From the SACC proposal that I found online:

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES



Cocos Booby. The rationale for this name is similar to that of the Nazca Booby, which is named for a tectonic plate in the earth’s crust that contains part of the range of that species. The Cocos Plate is located in the eastern Pacific and is adjacent to and north of the Nazca Plate. The Cocos Plate extends off the west coast of the Americas from Panama north to the Mexican state of Jalisco (Figure 1). The volcanoes and earthquakes in western Mexico and Central America are fueled by plate convergence and subduction of the Cocos Plate under the North American and Caribbean plates. The Cocos Plate is named for Cocos Island, which rides upon the plate and is the only part of the plate above sea level. Cocos Island is an important nesting site for S. brewsteri, although the colonies there are not among the largest of the species. One downside to this name is that the Cocos Plate encompasses only a small portion of the geographic range of S. brewsteri, although it contains a larger proportion of the range than the Nazca Plate contains of the Nazca Booby range. The parallel naming of Nazca Booby and Cocos Booby would provide a logical, geographical rationale for these two species that overlap considerably in range.



Mexican Booby. The name Mexican Booby would recognize that much of the range of S. brewsteri occurs in Mexico and Mexican Waters and that the type specimens were collected in Mexico. Two drawbacks to this name are that 1) two subspecies that would be included with S. brewsteri (S. b. nesiotes and S. b. etesiaca) are not found in Mexico, and 2) increasingly less of the range of S. brewsteri will be in Mexico if the current range expansion continues across the Pacific. These same drawbacks also pertain to the name Cocos Booby. The name Mexican Booby would provide historical context for the likely origin for many of these dispersing birds.