Has the WGAC published a list? (1 Viewer)

[Mysticete]

I do know the Yellow-rumped Warbler split would have passed with a majority the last time it was voted on, but failed in a supermajority vote. What this means for WGAC who knows...

 

[Mysticete]

We haven't discussed it much on this forum, but something I've wondered about is, after WGAC achieves its "goal" - then what? Judging from what I know of their alignment with the other checklists (admittedly little), especially the "base" IOC that they started from, it seems that in theory they are very welcome to both "bottom up" suggestions from local organizations and "top down" review of newer research... especially in those geographies without a robust advisory effort. It's not necessarily an either/or problem.

BUT, there is something to add to the management problem metaphor here - what if one of your satellite offices has vastly different procedural norms than the rest of your offices? And they don't want to change? And that office happens to cover the entirety of the New World? Do you accept that office doing their own thing, or do you override them at "corporate level?"

Yep, a lot of question marks on the future of the WGAC: what happens to the other lists? what will be there update process going forward? how will they deal with local committees? in what format will the list be available? Will they have there own website or co-op and existing one? How will they deal with subspecies groups or other details covered by one list or not another? Will we ever see the proposals being used to usher in taxonomic changes?

 

[Maffong]

I don't think this was posted before (and I'm quite surprised I have apparently not checked the WGAC site since January?!), so here you go...

Update (January 2024)

Progress on the Checklist

Work is continuing on the Checklist and it expected that the final draft will be completed by late 2024. There will be a period of cross-checking before it is made public in early 2025. As part of the release the summary statements on the decisions made will also be made available.

Common Names

The maintenance and establishment of common names is outside of the scope of our group. Our list will adopt the common names published within the IOC List of Recommended Names as its default. Where other established names are in common usage (in English or any other languages), these will also be presented where possible and appropriate.

Working Group Avian Checklists | International Ornithologists' Union