AOS Supplement of Taxonomic Changes for 2022
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
Each year at this time the American Ornithological Society’s (AOS) Committee on the Classification and Nomenclature of North and Middle American Birds (NCAA) publishes updates to the Checklist of North American Birds. The report provides a window into our deepening understanding of birds and their place in various ecosystems. The focus in my annual Corvid Crier article is to highlight the changes that will affect birders in the Western United States. However, this year there are no changes to the taxonomy of birds in the State of Washington. Nevertheless, there are some changes that will interest people who are able to do some birding in the southern United States, Mexico and Middle America. (New or updated species are in bold type.)
SPLIT OF EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Once considered a subspecies of Eastern Meadowlark, “Lilian’s Meadowlark” is now a full species with the name Chihuahuan Meadowlark (Sturnella lilianae). This species has two subspecies, one in the high-elevation desert grasslands of the southwestern U.S. and the other in coastal western Mexico. If you observed an Eastern Meadowlark in eastern Colorado, Southeastern Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, or in the region of the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico, you very well may have seen a Chihuahuan (Lilian’s) Meadowlark.
SEQUENCE CHANGE FOR LABRADOR DUCK
Although extinct, the Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius) is still fond of memory and not forgotten by taxonomists. New genetic information informs us that Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri) and Labrador Duck are sister species and Labrador Duck has been moved into the spot just below Steller’s Eider in the taxonomic order. Sister species are two species which formed when a species splits during evolution. You might expect that with its sister extinct, Steller’s Eider may itself be in some danger. You would be correct as it is currently on the Red List as vulnerable and globally threatened by Bird Life International.
OWLS COMBINED
The genus Ciccaba hosting Mottled Owl (Strix virgata) and Black and White Owl (Strix nigrolineata) has been absorbed into Strix. These neotropical owls are found in wooded areas with Mottled Owl more common in western Mexico and Black and White Owl in eastern Mexico, Yucatan, and Central America.
STONECHAT SPLIT
The AOS has now agreed with other taxonomies that the Asian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus), African Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus), and European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) are separate species. If you have birded in these regions and your bird list is in eBird, you most likely will not see a change to your life list because eBird has listed these as separate species.
MIDDLE AMERICAN CHANGES
Our knowledge of birds in Middle and South America has expanded as a result of increased research in recent years. This information has led to many changes in the taxonomy of hummingbirds. As this productive research continues, we can expect more clarification of the classification of birds in this region. Here is a quick summary of this year’s changes in hummingbirds.
Long-tailed Saberwing was lumped with and is now considered a subspecies of Wedge-tailed Saberwing (Pampa curvipennis excellens).
Antillean Mango has been split into Hispaniolan Mango (Anthracothorax dominicus) and Puerto Rican Mango (Anthracothorax aurulentus).
Broad-billed Hummingbird has been split into three species. Broad-billed Hummmingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) retains its name and is found from the southwestern U.S. south to the state of Colima in Mexico. Tres Marias Hummingbird (Cynanthus lawrencei) is endemic to the Tres Marias Islands off the coast of Nayarit, Mexico. Turquoise-crowned Hummingbird (Cynanthus doubledayi) is endemic to the coastal slope of southwestern Mexico.
The Streamertail, the national bird of Jamaica, and endemic to that island, has been split. Will Jamaican’s agree with this split? Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus) is found more to the west of Jamaica than is Black-billed Streamertail (Trochilus scitulus).
MORE CHANGES IN THE SOUTH
Grayish Saltator has been split. Cinnamon-bellied Saltator (Saltator grandis) is a bird of western Mexico. Bluish-grey Saltator (Saltator coerulescens) is more likely found in eastern Mexico and Central America. Olive-gray Saltator (Saltator olivascens) is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Buffy Tuftedcheek has been split. Buffy Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes lawrencii) in the Chiriqui highlands of Costa Rica and Panama retains its name. Pacific Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes johnsoni) is endemic to the Western Andes of Columbia and Ecuador.
The Galapagos endemic Brujo (BROO-hoh) Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus nanus) has been split from Vermillion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). The females of these two flycatchers are quite distinct.
This is a partial list of changes for 2022. For a complete list please see the full supplement in Ornithology. The information for much of this article was excerpted from Michael Retter, Checklist Supplement Redux, v. 2022, American Birding Association.