john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (12/30/89)
Ken Burton e-mailed me a question about my use of the name Canyon Towhee in a recent posting. I thought it would be appropriate to post my reply, since the new names are official and not many folks have heard about them yet. Reference: ``The Auk,'' volume 106, number 3, July, 1989, pp. 532--538; this is the ``Thirty-Seventh Supplement'' to the AOU checklist. The AOU (American Ornithological Union) publishes a supplement every two years or so. Here are most of the important changes for the U.S. and Canada. Stejneger's Petrel, _Pterodroma_longirostris_, goes from Appendix A to the Main List; accidental in the Hawaiian Islands, also a sight record from 65 miles off Monterey, CA. Sooty Storm-Petrel, _Oceanodroma_tristrami_: English name becomes Tristram's Storm-Petrel. Gannet, _Sula_bassanus_, is moved to genus _Morus_. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, _Nycticorax_violaceus_, is moved back to _Nyctanassa_violacea_. Green Sandpiper, _Tringa_ocrophus_: correct the spelling of the species name to _ochropus_. Black-tailed Gull, _Larus_crassirostris_, is moved from Appendix A to the main list; accidental in Alaska. Eurasian Collared-Dove, _Streptopelia_decaocto_, is added to the main list. Some birds in Florida are apparently this species; formerly, all were considered to be _S._risoria_ (Ringed Turtle-Dove). Common Barn-Owl, _Tyto_alba_, becomes simply Barn Owl. This is possible because the Ashy-faced Barn-Owl, _Tyto_glaucops_, was renamed Ashy-faced Owl. Northern Hawk-Owl, _Surnia_ulula_, becomes Northern Hawk Owl; it is not related to hawk-owls of the genus _Ninox_. Common Pauraque, _Nyctidromus_albicollis_, becomes simply Pauraque. Two other birds formerly considered to be types of pauraque are now considered poorwills. Western Flycatcher, _Empidonax_difficilis_, has been split into two species: Pacific-slope Flycatcher, _E._difficilis_, and Cordilleran Flycatcher, _E._occidentalis_. The dividing line is roughly the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. California Gnatcatcher, _P._californica_, has been split out of Black-tailed Gnatcather, _Polioptila_melanura_. Only birds from extreme SW California are included in the new species. Water Pipit, _Anthus_spinoletta_, becomes American Pipit, _A._rubescens. All North American records are changed; this bird has been split from the European form. Brown Towhee, _Pipilo_fuscus_, is split into two species: California Towhee, _P._crissalis_, and Canyon Towhee, _P._fuscus_. Generally all California birds are the former species (with uniform brown coloring) and birds from Arizona east are the latter (with distinct rusty cap and light throat patch). Yellow-breasted Bunting, _Emberiza_aureola_, is added to the main list; accidental in Alaska. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico USENET: ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john CSNET: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu ``Let's go outside and commiserate with nature.'' --Dave Farber