Date: 7/30/25 10:34 am From: Kent Fiala (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Check-List Changes
Also, earlier I was looking at an older working draft from eBird and it had our familiar Yellow Warbler renamed to Northern Yellow Warbler. But I see that AviList currently has it as American Yellow Warbler. So stay tuned on that.
Kent Fiala
On 7/30/2025 1:20 PM, Wayne Hoffman wrote: > Regarding the Yellow Warbler split: The Yellow Warbler complex > includes 3 main groups: Yellow Warbler (migratory, breeds in > temperate and boreal North America, Golden Warbler (non-migratory, > lives mainly in the West Indies) and Mangrove Warbler (non-migratory, > breeds mainly in coastal areas of Mexico, Central America, northern > South America. > > The split Kent described separates out the migratory Yellow Warbler > from all the tropical non-migratory forms; in other words keeps > Mangrove Warblers and Golden Warblers together under the name > "Mangrove Warbler." > > One detail that is important to North American birders: (Cuban) Golden > Warblers colonized the Florida Keys in the 1940s, and have spread > north at least to the north shores of Florida Bay (including Flamingo > in Everglades National Park). They pretty much confine themselves to > mangrove and Buttonwood habitats. So that "Yellow" Warbler you saw on > a winter trip to south Florida was probably a Golden Warbler, > therefore a Mangrove Warbler, and a stealth North American lifer. If > you saw Yellow Warblers on a spring trip to the Dry Tortugas they > were likely true Yellow Warblers in their migration north. > > Wayne Hoffman > Wilmington > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From: *"Kent Fiala" <carolinabirds...> > *To: *"carolinabirds" <carolinabirds...> > *Sent: *Wednesday, July 30, 2025 10:33:24 AM > *Subject: *Re: Check-List Changes > > I share Steve's mystification over what is happening with the AOS > checklist committee. But note that the AviList taxonomy is published > and is pretty definitely what eBird will follow in its October update. > The AOS committee is generally seen as stodgy and slow moving so I > think it's unlikely that they will lead the way on any changes that > AviList has not made. > > So you can rest easy about the changes that Steve suggested: the > titmice are not lumped and Warbling Vireo is not split. Not this year > anyway. I'm sad to say that Myrtle and Audubon's Warblers likewise > still are not split. I'm a little surprised that even Green-winged > Teal is not split since that is a split that other taxonomies have > made in the past. > > I see about three changes that do apply in the ABA area: > > Fea's Petrel split into Cape Verde Petrel and Desertas Petrel > > We get Coppery-tailed Trogon back (those of us old enough to remember > it); split from Elegant Trogon. > > Northern Yellow Warbler and Mangrove Warbler split. > > Kent Fiala > On 7/30/2025 9:57 AM, Steve wrote: > > > Hi all- > > I think many are aware that in the world of check-lists this > is a big year as a “new” unified list of birds (AviList) will > become the backbone of eBird, replacing the Clements list that > many of us are “used to”. > > eBird/Cornell offers a webinar tomorrow morning to discuss the > new checklist. Information below on registering/attending. > > Along the same lines, folks may have noticed that the normally > standard July release of the AOS Check-List committee > decisions appears to be delayed. We typically see these in > July, but it will soon be August, and I have not seen any > concrete info on when the 66^th supplement will be publicized. > It seems possible that due to the AviList changes, the AOS > update could be affected, but I am just speculating. While > most of the anticipated changes affect Middle and South > American birds, or realign order, etc, the two potential > changes that might be most recognized by U.S. birders are the > suggested split of Warbling Vireo and the suggested lump of > Tufted Titmouse. Many US listers would experience a net zero > (one split, one lump) if both of these are accepted. > > Happy listing, > > Steve Shultz > Apex NC (not likely to be split soon) > > *Introducing AviList: a unified global avian checklist* > > *Date/Time: 31 July 2025 at 9:00 am ET* > *Speakers: Members of the AviList Executive Committee: Paul > Donald, Pamela Rasmussen, and Marshall Iliff* > Registration link: > https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MUWY_wwMSlqcLYm7q4WLUg > > Join us for a deep discussion about AviList, a unified global > avian checklist that provides the most current and > authoritative taxonomy of birds. AviList was released in June > 2025 by experts in taxonomy, nomenclature, and bioinformatics, > including researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, > American Ornithological Society, BirdLife International, > International Ornithologists’ Union, and Avibase (Birds > Canada), among others. > > The new checklist recognizes 11,131 species of birds in the > world, classified within 252 families. This effort was the > culmination of thousands of hours of effort over four years to > harmonize the global checklist of birds with the aim of > providing a single list of species names that will make it > easier to compile and share information on bird species to > improve conservation and scientific outcomes. This massive > collaborative effort resulted in a single current consensus > taxonomy for the birds of the world, along with key > information on taxonomy and nomenclature. > > THIS WEBINAR WILL COVER: > What were the goals of AviList? How will it affect scientific > progress in ornithology? What problems does it solve? And what > are some interesting species concepts the team had to resolve > to reach this new consensus? And finally, how will AviList > impact and improve birding tools and resources such as eBird > and Birds of the World? > > PANELISTS INCLUDE: > Members of the AviList Executive Committee will join us: *Paul > Donald* (BirdLife International), *Pamela Rasmussen* (The > Cornell Lab, Birds of the World), and *Marshall Iliff* (The > Cornell Lab, eBird). > > For more information: > AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, > v2025. <https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025> > Birds of the World YouTube Playlist > <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgSpqOFj1Ta7bnCNBAlWcN76UbnLthyO1> > >
