BOU Taxonomic Changes

[Brian Stone]

Armchair tickers of the UK rejoice!


14 October 2005

A Press Release from the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION RECORDS COMMITTEE


Taxonomic changes to the British List

The following recommendations relating to the taxonomy of birds on the British
List will take immediate effect with the publication of the BOURC Taxonomic
Subcommittee's (BOURC TSC) report in Ibis (Ibis 147: 821-826).



The items are summarised below, but the full paper or online at

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2005.00483.x



Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Now treated as two separate species:

· Greater Canada Goose B. canadensis (polytypic, with subspecies
canadensis, fulva, interior, maxima, moffitti, occidentalis and parvipes)

· Lesser Canada Goose B. hutchinsii (polytypic, with subspecies
hutchinsii, leucopareia, minima and taverneri)

Greater Canada Goose is on Category C of the British List.

A paper on Canada goose taxonomy is in preparation.



Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Treat as polytypic (previously monotypic), with subspecies A. m. marila and A.
m. nearctica. The subspecies that occurs in Britain is A. m. marila.





Common Scoter Melanitta nigra

Treat as two separate species:

· Common Scoter M. nigra (monotypic)

· Black Scoter M. americana (monotypic).

Both species are on Category A of the British List.





Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca

Treat as two separate species:

· Velvet Scoter M. fusca (monotypic)

· White-winged Scoter M. deglandi (polytypic, with subspecies deglandi
and stejnegeri).

Velvet Scoter is on Category A of the British List.





Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata

Treat as monotypic.





Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis

The three forms breeding in the tropical and subtropical parts of the Atlantic
Ocean (P. l. lherminieri, P. a. baroli, P. a. boydi) that were included in this
study formed a monophyletic group which is not closely related to the other
forms of the complex (including nominate P. a. assimilis).

The three tropical and subtropical Atlantic taxa are best treated as two
species:

· Macaronesian Shearwater P. baroli (polytypic, with subspecies baroli
and boydi)

· Audubon's Shearwater P. lherminieri (monotypic)

Macaronesian Shearwater P. b. baroli is on Category A of the British List
(replacing Little Shearwater P. assimilis).

The taxonomic status of P. b. boydi remains under consideration pending study of
recently collected sound recordings of that taxon.





Western Palearctic taxa of Aquila and Hieraaetus

Western Palearctic species to be treated as follows:

· Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga

· Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina

· Booted Eagle Aquila pennata

· Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos

· Verreauxs' Eagle Aquila verreauxii

· Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata

· Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis

· Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax

· Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca

· Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalbertii

Two of these species are currently on the British List: Greater Spotted Eagle
Aquila clanga (Category B) and Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos (Category A). In
addition, Booted Eagle Aquila pennata is included in Category D.





Herring Gull Larus argentatus

The combined evidence of morphology, vocalisations and molecular phylogenetics
strongly indicates that L. a. michahellis (incl. atlantis), L. a. armenicus and
L. a. argentatus (incl. argenteus) are best treated as separate species:

· Yellow-legged Gull L. michahellis (polytypic)

· Armenian Gull L. armenicus (monotypic)

· Herring Gull L. argentatus (polytypic)

Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull are on Category A of the British List.



The taxonomic status of L. a. smithsonianus and L. a. cachinnans is still under
review. Diagnosability and differentiation of taxa such as these are central
to taxonomic decisions, and the BOU recognises the important contribution that
field birders can make in developing identification criteria. However, decisions
cannot be based solely on knowledge gained from extralimital records of birds of
unknown origin, such as most of the British occurring Caspian Gulls. TSC has
purposely taken its time over this issue, as it was known that research was
still underway, and it was essential to be in full possession of the facts
before attempting to resolve the 'large white-headed gull' situation. A paper
is in preparation that will describe the reasoning behind the current splits,
and the problems that still need to be resolved.

A useful summary of the taxonomic literature on the Larus argentatus - fuscus
complex up to 2001 was published by Dubois (2002. Dutch Birding 24: 271-298).





Generic limits of terns

The species on the British List should be listed in the following sequence (note
change in scientific names of some species):

· Aleutian Tern Onychoprion aleutica

· Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscata

· Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus

· Little Tern Sternula albifrons

· Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica

· Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia

· Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida

· Black Tern Chlidonias niger

· White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus

· Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis

· Royal Tern Sterna maxima

· Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis

· Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri

· Common Tern Sterna hirundo

· Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii

· Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea





Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica

Treat as monotypic.





Generic limits of swallows

The species on the British List should be listed in the following sequence (note
changes to some scientific names):

· Sand Martin Riparia riparia

· Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor

· Eurasian Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris

· Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

· House Martin Delichon urbicum

· Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica

· Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota





Richard's Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae

It is recommended that this taxon be treated as a monotypic species:

· Richard's Pipit A. richardi (monotypic).

Richard's Pipit is in category A of the British List.





Pallas's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus

To be treated as monotypic.



Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla
On the basis of diagnostic differences in both morphology and vocal signals,
together with significant genetic divergence it is recommended that madeirensis
be treated as a separate species.

· Firecrest R. ignicapilla (polytypic, with subspecies ignicapilla,
balearicus)

· Madeira Firecrest R. madeirensis (monotypic).

Only Firecrest is on the British List. A paper on the taxonomy of Regulus will
appear in due course.





Generic limits of tits

The species on the British List should be listed in the following sequence (note
changes to some scientific names):

· Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus

· Great Tit Parus major

· Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus

· Coal Tit Periparus ater

· Willow Tit Poecile montanus

· Marsh Tit Poecile palustris



The full paper can be viewed at

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2005.00483.x



Citation: Sangster, G., Collinson, J.M., Helbig, A.J, Knox, A.G. & Parkin, D.T.
2005. Taxonomic recommendations for British Birds: third report. Ibis 147:
821-826.

[Docmartin]

Blimey, you move fast, that was only PR'd about 2 picoseconds ago.

[James Lowther]

Blimey, that's all a bit complicated isn't it?!
After all that my british list increases by the grand total of 1.
As will my world list, unless anyone knows the full recommendations regarding the richard's pipit complex.
The stuff about genuses seems even more complex than the species stuff.
phew

[Richard D]

What's happened to the Tit's...?

[Brian Stone]

Blimey, you move fast, that was only PR'd about 2 picoseconds ago.

Just copied from a YahooGroup. Must have got lucky and looked just as Steve posted it. All makes work for those of us maintaining local lists ;)

Ah well on with changing the annual report!

[James Lowther]

Just spotted that cachinnans is still lumped in with argentatus rather than with micahellis. I don't know much about the science driving the decision but that seems surprising to me - anyone care to throw some light on the subject?
James

[James Eaton]

Regarding cachinnans, like it said, this taxon is still under review, such is the complexity of identification of extralimital records and birds within both their wintering and breeding ranges, though the taxon is thought by many to be reasonably well known and easy to identify, birders/researchers have only spent a compartively short time studying the taxon.

[redeyedvideo]

This is excellent news from a field birder's point of view but I can't understand why they are dragging their heels with Larus cachinnans, a little at a time perhaps.

Now can we all start taking gulls a little more seriously? :t:



Dave J


p.s. I don't tick...

[jurek]

What's happened to the Tit's...?

BOU got bored with old tits and went for better-looking ones. 8-P

[postcardcv]

What's happened to the Tit's...?

Quite a lot it seems, perviously blue, coal, marsh and willow were all listed as Parus, now they seem to be split into numerous families.

[Dimitris]

Thank God the birds don't care...

[Jos Stratford]

Quite a lot it seems, perviously blue, coal, marsh and willow were all listed as Parus, now they seem to be split into numerous families.


That's sure one disfunctional family now ...talk about family breakdowns!


What I love about the scientific names is they say the scientific names have the advantage over vernicular names as they are constant regardless of vary country ...until someone changes them again of course! :)

[London Birder]

never personally needed any split to take gulls seriously ... good news however

[Steve Lister]

All this is the BOU at long last catching up with the rest of the world. The only thing that I had not already incorporated into my own lists is Madeira Firecrest. Oh, and renaming/splitting Little Shearwater as Macaronesian.

Steve

[Jos Stratford]

Oh, and renaming/splitting Little Shearwater as Macaronesian.

Steve

Macaroni Shearwater comes from Italy? :D

[Phalarope]

Chirping in from North America: Three Huzzahs! for the BOU in choosing rational names for the Canada Goose split! Perhaps the AOU will relinquish "Cackling" that now is being used for BOU's "Lesser" and for a subspecies of Lesser. Unfortunately, it's not that simple, but we can hope for something of an improvement.

Good birding!
Phalarope

[Docmartin]

All this is the BOU at long last catching up with the rest of the world.

Ah well. that's 2 years of my life down the toilet! 3:-)

[Larry Lade]

Here in the states we now have Canada Goose, split to Canada Goose (large forms) and Cackling Goose (small forms). I think it makes much more sense to have the Greater Canada Goose and the Lesser Canada Goose for the large and small forms.

One can only imagine what awaits us in the future for this rather diverse genus!

[Phalarope]

Well, Larry, that makes two votes. Bet we have as much pull with the AOU as we do with our ecologically challenged Missouri congressional delegation.

Phalarope

[Tim Allwood]

This is excellent news from a field birder's point of view but I can't understand why they are dragging their heels with Larus cachinnans, a little at a time perhaps.

Now can we all start taking gulls a little more seriously? :t:



Dave J


p.s. I don't tick...

Hi Dave

see James's reply just after your original post for an excellent summary

cachs are not sorted....yet.

Tim

[jacana]

so is the yellow legged gull a common species.

[Adey Baker]

What about the infamous 'Portland Pipit?' Is that now 'just' a Richard's Pipit no different from any of the others?

[Larry Lade]

Well, Phalarope, at least now (according to the MBRC) we can legally put Trumpeter Swan on our Missouri lists. Hope they don't split that out to Northern Trumpeter and Southern Trumpeter Swans! (Distinguishable by where you see them!)

[Allen S. Moore]

so is the yellow legged gull a common species.
It is in Spain!

[Allen S. Moore]

All this is the BOU at long last catching up with the rest of the world. The only thing that I had not already incorporated into my own lists is Madeira Firecrest.
Steve
Have you seen Madeira Firecrest, Steve? I have, too, and it seemed to my (taxonomically) non-expert eyes (and ears) that it was more a candidate for species status than the tenerife goldcrest. That said, they're great little birds, all of them, and I would never tire of seeing them. Indeed, I'm off to renew my acquaintance with the tenerife goldcrest soon!

[jacana]

does spain in this sense include Majorca? been there, saw loads of Herring gulls....

[Jos Stratford]

Yes...

[jacana]

cool! one more species on the list :bounce:

[Steve Lister]

Have you seen Madeira Firecrest, Steve?

Yes, but I had resisted counting it until either the BOU or Clements (deceased) recognised it.

There does now seem to be a gradual move to conformity between the different bodies, but is it just because the same people are in positions of influence on committees in the main countries? A lot of what have been termed 'Dutch splits' are now supported by the BOU; the BOU taxonomic committee now includes a Swede, possibly a German, and a Dutchman.

Steve

[Gill Osborne]

:eek!: :eek!: :eek!:

What the heck happened to my tits!!!!! They've all got bizarre names :h?:

And I STILL can't tick White Wagtail :C

Oh well...give me a few months and I'm sure the names will stick *just off to change latin names on record cards and in field guides*

Gill

[Jos Stratford]

What the heck happened to my tits!!!!! They've all got bizarre names :h?:




If you get too confused, post a few pictures up on the forum and I'm sure someone will be along to help you saying what's what ;)

[Allen S. Moore]

If you get too confused, post a few pictures up on the forum and I'm sure someone will be along to help you saying what's what ;)
Yes, I'm looking forward to having another good look at the local Cyanistes caeruleus when I'm in La Palma next week.

[jurek]

· Yellow-legged Gull L. michahellis (polytypic)
· Herring Gull L. argentatus (polytypic)


Unfortunately, they hybridise in inland Poland, indeed, most caught birds are undeterminable in hand. Likely, they winter in Western Europe and can easily reach Britain.

It also seems that hybridisation in Western Europe is more than occassional.

Plus, what are strange forms like 'lusitanicus'? There was a saying that they are populations of Yellow-legged x Herring hybrids. Was it proven or disproven?

[jurek]

I get more and more against current 'monophyletic - paraphyletic' view of systematics.

Basically, if one species quickly evolved big visible differences than all group of near-identical forms explodes into a bunch of near-identical species or genera. Sort of thinking that evolution must be constant and taxonomy has no practical value.

[Bluetail]

Speaking as a complete non-scientist I'm the first to admit I know sod-all about the subject, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that trends to split and lump have tended to go in cycles. Could we see a reaction at some point in the future?

[jurek]

Speaking as a complete non-scientist I'm the first to admit I know sod-all about the subject, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that trends to split and lump have tended to go in cycles. Could we see a reaction at some point in the future?

It may be so. Last year Dutch lumped some of their splits again, within few years. And in 19. century people recognised 20000 or 30000 bird species before they lumped them to todays ca. 9000. :egghead:

[gordon g]

Is all this redefinition based on phenotype or genotype?

[James Lowther]

phenotype probably, I think the BOU are biological species concept fans (?)
James

[KnockerNorton]

I think it's genotype, actually. With the tits anyway - there's been a lot of work on genetics lately, and this seems to be based on it.

[Docmartin]

I think it's genotype, actually. With the tits anyway - there's been a lot of work on genetics lately, and this seems to be based on it.

Both really. The genetics has confirmed the 'old' genera that people defined phenotypically for tits before they were all placed in Parus.

[Docmartin]

phenotype probably, I think the BOU are biological species concept fans (?)
James

The BOURC TSC follows a broadly 'evolutionary' species concept. Specifically, the guidelines for assigning species rank as published in Ibis, freely available from a link at http://www.bou.org.uk/recbrlst.html

you can also get all three tsc reports here too.

[Xenospiza]

Both really. The genetics has confirmed the 'old' genera that people defined phenotypically for tits before they were all placed in Parus.
I thought it had been found recently that most tits were actually very closely related and could well regrouped into Parus… (Gill et al, 2005 mention subgenera). I get very annoyed by this genus splitting. Take all these swallow genera… (it would have made more sense to place House Martin in Hirundo: no need for e.g. Cecropis then). I am not too impressed by the support for all those smaller genera (especially since taxon sampling was not exhaustive).
Splitting the Little Shearwaters in two North Atlantic species is the worst choice possible: either one (lherminieri) (as suggested by Austin et al, 2004) or three (lherminieri, boydi, baroli) (to avoid subspecies) would be better.
Not recognising Larus cachinnans is very sad.

Just for the record: Greater Spotted Eagle will soon be in Ictinaetus! Or else Hieraaetus, Aquila, Lophaetus and Ictinaetus should be merged… anyway, unsurprisingly, again the BOU is lagging behind.

Finally, I am in no way responsible for any of the Dutch taxonomic decisions!
I just don't put too much faith in all these "authorities" (BOU, AOU, CSNA, the late James Clements…).

[gordon g]

Both really. The genetics has confirmed the 'old' genera that people defined phenotypically for tits before they were all placed in Parus.

So how do you define a species? How much genetic or phenotypic variation?
The briefest (and clearest) definition that I have read is that a species is a population of organisms that reproduces only within that population. This implies some genetic and phenotypic differences, but does not rely on them. How would the lists look if that definition were applied? (Think of all those hybrid ducks!)

[Docmartin]

So how do you define a species? How much genetic or phenotypic variation?
The briefest (and clearest) definition that I have read is that a species is a population of organisms that reproduces only within that population. This implies some genetic and phenotypic differences, but does not rely on them. How would the lists look if that definition were applied? (Think of all those hybrid ducks!)

Well the last pair of Corn Buntings on Tiree would be a separate species for a start! Is there even a Corn Bunting left on Tiree?

[gordon g]

[QUOTE=Docmartin]Well the last pair of Corn Buntings on Tiree would be a separate species for a start!

Point taken, but seriously, how much variation is permissible within a species? After all, look at how much phenotypic variation there is in homo sapiens sapiens for example, or in domestic lifestock, domestic dogs, cats etc.