Jan, I am curious about one location in Panama, a site called San Francisco that was a couple of hours east of the airport along the main highway, and not far from the highway. I have assumed it is panamensis that would be found in that location, does that fit with your impression?
thanks
Niels
Splits of Schiffornis (turdina) stenorhyncha, S (t) veraepacis, S (t) aenea and S (t) olivacea accepted for v3.2 (Draft).Proposal 505 (Split Thrush-like Manakin Schiffornis turdina into five species) passed April 24th, 2012.
This map shows a continuous distribution of S. verapacis from Central America to Ecuador, including most of Panama (only excluding the Tacarcuna range in extreme eastern Panama); however, it is acropholites (and not panamensis) the form found in the Tacarcuna region (specimens collected at Cerro Mali and Cerro Tacarcuna). Panamensis is found in the lowlands of central Panama (around the canal, and where it is partially sympatric with dumicola-like birds living in the adjacent foothills -Cerro Azul/Jefe-) and both lowlands and foothills in eastern Panama, including the Alturas de Nique range (where Cana and "Cerro Pirre" are); thus, bisecting the known range of what we are now calling S. verapacis.
Thomas's xeno-canto article hasn't been mentioned in this thread: Schiffornis turdina.Donegan, Quevedo, McMullan & Salaman 2011. Revision of the status of bird species occurring or reported in Colombia 2011 – Revisión del estatus de las especies de aves que existen o han sido reportadas en Colombia 2011. Conservación Colombiana 15: 4-21. [pdf]
Includes several taxonomic changes, including detailed justification for a 5-way split of Schiffornis turdina.
SACC Proposal #543 (Stiles, Sep 2012): English names for Schiffornis (genus and species).
Abstract
The following species are added to Colombia's bird checklist: Pacific Parrotlet Forpus coelestis (sight record, Nariño), Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii) (lost specimen, Providencia), Foothill Elaenia (Myiopagis olallai) (recently described subspecies, Antioquia) and Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) (photograph, San Andrés). Proposed splits are accepted of Sclerurus Leaftossers (with three species in Colombia: andina, obscurior and peruviana), Bicolored Antbirds Gymnopithys leucaspis / bicolor and Three-striped Warblers Basileuterus tristriatus / tacarcunae. Photographs and sonograms are presented of some of these split taxa. Colombian subspecies occidentalis of Great-billed Seed-Finch Oryzoborus maximiliani is lumped into Large-billed Seed-Finch O. crassirostris. Several amendments to genus and species names, English names and linear order are made, following recent publications. As a result of these changes, the Colombian checklist again increases again, to 1,911 species (excluding escapes), of which 1,835 are documented by 'confirmed' records on the mainland.
Perijá Scytalopus (Auk, in press).]
Donegan, Quevedo, Verhelst, Cortés, Pacheco & Salaman 2014. Revision of the status of bird species occurring or reported in Colombia 2014. Conservación Colombiana 21: 3–11. [pdf]
Just noticed that the ProAves List of the Birds of Colombia is now available online for download as an Excel file...Introduction
... The checklist will be available online in the near future. ...
Ellery 2015. The Serranía del Perijá—an exciting new destination in Colombia. Neotrop Birding 17: 58–67.López-O, Avendaño, Gutiérrez-Pinto & Cuervo 2014. The birds of the Serranía de Perijá: The northernmost avifauna of the Andes. Las aves de la Serranía de Perijá: la avifauna más septentrional de los Andes. Ornitol Colomb 14: 62–93. [pdf]
Donegan, Quevedo, Verhelst, Cortés-Herrera, Ellery & Salaman 2015. Revision of the status of bird species occurring or reported in Colombia 2015, with discussion of BirdLife International's new taxonomy. Conserv Colomb 23: 3–48. [pdf]Lynx-BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist
Maybe with criticisms on both the splitters' and lumpers' sides of different committees, this means a semblance of balance has been achieved? We are going through all the splits relevant to Colombia right now and noted a number of good novel insights. Also some stuff (e.g. in toucans especially) that makes little sense. But overall a lot of useful proposals that helps takes things forwards. Watch this space for a discussion based on analysis of actual taxonomic proposals rather than all this rhetoric...
Abstract
Subtropical Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium parkeri, Fiery-tailed Awlbill Avocettula recurvirostris and Pale-rumped Swift Chaetura egregia are added to Colombia's bird checklist based on photographic records. Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro, Golden-spangled Piculet Picumnus exilis, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flaviventris and Yellow-throated Tanager Iridisornis analis are all elevated to the status of confirmed species occurring on the mainland, also following photographic records. We considered taxonomic proposals by del Hoyo & Collar (2014) using Tobias et al. (2010)'s "species scoring system". We studied possible changes relevant to Colombia in detail, based on new studies of vocalisations, our own fieldwork data and published molecular studies. We conclude that the following proposed Trochilidae (hummingbird) splits are supported by differentiation in voice: White-throated Wedgebill Schistes albogularis from Geoffroy's Wedgebill S. geoffroyi (Wedge-billed Hummingbird); Longuemare's Sunangel Heliangelus clarisse and Merida Sunangel H. spencei from Amethystine Sunangel Heliangelus amethysticollis; White-tailed Hillstar Urochroa leucura from Rufous-gaped Hillstar U. bougeri; and Humboldt's Sapphire Amazilia humboldtii from Gray's Sapphire A. grayi. In light of these positive assessments, we accepted proposed splits of morphologically distinctive hummingbirds in a little-vocalising genus: Perija Starfrontlet Coeligena consita and Golden Starfrontlet C. eos from Golden-bellied Starfrontlet C. bonapartei and Green Inca C. conradii from Collared Inca C. torquata. We adopt the proposed split of Double-banded Puffbird Hypnelus bicinctus from Rufous-throated Puffbird H. ruficollis, highlighting vocal differences. We suggest transfer of subspecies striaticollis to the bicinctus group. We split Splendid Woodpecker Campephilus splendens from C. haematogaster based on differences in voice, plumage, distribution and drumming behaviour. Carribean Coot Fulica caribaea is lumped with American Coot F. americana on account of widely reported intergradation. After studying vocal differentiation in three genera, we reject 10 proposed splits in Ramphastidae (toucans) of forms which either intergrade with one another or which are not as vocally distinct as sympatric toucans. Our vocal analyses instead suggest that the Groove-billed Toucanet subspecies Aulacorhynchus sulcatus erythrognatus of Venezuela may merit species rank. The widely adopted split of Andean Duck Oxyura ferruginea from Ruddy Duck O. jamaicensis is again rejected, due to well-documented intergradation in Colombia. We conclude that del Hoyo & Collar (2014)'s taxonomy has been useful and worthwhile in drawing attention to novel taxonomic situations, especially in Trochilidae. However, we suggest using the Tobias et al. (2010) system as a point of reference and not a sole criterion to determine taxonomic rank. After analysis of sound recordings of putative related species, we conclude that Providencia Vireo V. approximans merits species rank. We split the Blossomcrowns Anthocephala. Several amendments to genus and species names, English names and linear order are made, following recent publications. The Colombian checklist increases again to 1,922 species (excluding escapes), of which 1,847 are documented by 'confirmed' records on the mainland.