dmark@cs.Buffalo.EDU (David Mark) (08/02/89)
The July 1989 issue of the American Birding Association's newsletter "Winging It" contains some information from the 37th supplement to the AOU Check-List of North American Birds. This time, they report 4 "splits" in which two forms of a former species are elevated to species status, and NO lumps, in which two 'species' are found not to be distinct, and are combined. Thus, if you know you've seen both forms, then you can add a bird (or 4!) to your life list without ever leaving the library (or in this case, the terminal). So, here are the splits: 1. Hummingbirds Chlorostilbon bracei Brace's Emerald Chlorostilbon ricordii Cuban Emerald [first, the 6th edition of the AOU Check-List does not list subspecies for C. ricordii; I can only speculate that bracei is the Bahamas form (can anyone confirm or correct that? Secondly, the ABA said they were only reporting changes effecting the ABA checklist (US & Canada), so have BOTH of these ocurred in the US?!?] 2. Empidonax flycatchers [arghh!!! ANOTHER empi?!?] Empidonax occidentalis Cordilleran Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis Pacific-slope Flycatcher [terrible name, eh?] As discussed in Birding, v. 18, no. 6, p. 324-5, difficilus is on the coast, and the eastern limits are marked "by the Coast Ranges, the Cascades, and the Sierra Nevada." occidentalis breeds from southern Alberta south into New Mexico and extends west to Crater Lake area of Oregon (but difficilis is around Mount Shasta). It probably is safe to add occidentalis to your life list if you have seen the species in Alberta, Arizona, or New Mexico; and to add difficilis if you've seen "Western" flycatchers in those coastal mountains mentioned. Other than range, they are best separated in the field by calls: Coastal: single, strongly up-slurred note "peweap!" or "pseeyeet!" Interior: similar, but sharply two-syllabled "pit-peet!" 3. Gnatcatchers Polioptila californica California Gnatcatcher Polioptila melanura Black-tailed Gnatcatcher melanura in the deserts of the southwest; californica in the coastal sagebrush and thorn forest of the coast, from LA county south into Baja California. 4. Towhees Pipilo crissalis California Towhee Pipilo fuscus Canyon Towhee [split of "Brown Towhee"] crissalis occurs on the California coast including the Baja. fuscus occurs from SE California through the southern Great Basin areas and into mainland Mexico. (see Zink, R.M., The Condor 90:72-82 for details). =============================================================================== Also, there is now: Anthus rubescens American Pipit split from the old world Water Pipit and Rock Pipit, which I assume have been split from each other. So, if you've seen them in America and also both forms in Europe, add at least 1, and perhaps 2, to your world life-list. And finally, did you hear that the previous AOU Check-List supplement re- instated Yellow-green Vireo (V. flavoviridis) are a full species (it had been lumped with Red-eyed Vireo in 1973)? =============================================================================== So, how did you do? I gained a Towhee and a Flycatcher (on range). David Mark dmark@cs.buffalo.edu
mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (08/04/89)
In article <8948@cs.Buffalo.EDU>, dmark@cs.Buffalo.EDU (David Mark) writes: > > So, how did you do? I gained a Towhee and a Flycatcher (on range). Same here. I got Canyon Towhee while I was in Arizona last year. California Towhees are a common breeding bird here, where I live. The towhees are easy to identify by plumage. The Pacific-Slope Flycatcher is also a common breeder here. I saw Cordilleran Flycatchers twice: once in Colorado (this bird was quiet and had to be identified by range; please don't tell the ABA) and once in the south fork of Cave Creek Canyon in Arizona (where, luckily, the bird was calling constantly). I've been waiting patiently over a year for these splits to take place, but I would like to know where they came up with the flycatcher names. Ugh! I also heard that they were planning on splitting the Rocky Mountain form of Solitary Vireo. Has anyone heard anything more about this? Mike