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North American splits (1 Viewer)

Sycamore nuthatch? Not perfect, but has a nice ring to it.

American planetree Nuthatch? Sycamore has other meanings outside of North America.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steffro1/5592113430 .

I like for the name of the eastern bird Catesby's Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis Latham is based on Brisson who based it on Catesby’s Sitta capite nigro Natural History Carolina, Florida, and Bahaman islands I, 1753 p. 22, pl. 22 .

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypl...sLabel=Catesby, Mark&sort=&imgs=20&pos=26&e=w .
 
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I agree that retaining "White-breasted" for the eastern bird is madness. Almost anything else is preferable. On a par with SACC's Tristan Penguin.

cheers, alan
 
Fine with Pacific and Mexican, but I am not in favor of Great Basin. If I am reading this correctly, the range is much broader, and I wonder if Mountain or Rocky Mountain Might be a better name (Although open to alternatives)

For the eastern form, maybe Eastern? or is this more applicable to some of the East Asian forms? Really no clue here...
“Eastern” would be fine by me (cf. - Bluebird, - Kingbird, - Wood-Pewee). I had actually listed it as Eastern White-breasted Nuthatch, which is quite cumbersome. For Asia “Oriental” is available in the not entirely hypothetical case some eastern nuthatch needs to be split.
I used “Interior” for tenuissima.

Is splitting Mexican and Great Basin not a bit over the top though? The split is not that old and mixed haplotypes occur in the same population... (e.g. in the Black Hills, where I've seen it!)
 
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White-breasted Nuthatch

Wrt my (rather presumptuous) post #37, the IOC World Bird Names website doesn't explicitly state that Sitta carolinensis sensu stricto would retain the name White-breasted Nuthatch... :h?:
 
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I believe it's Mexican that is poorly named as far as extent of range goes - it's the one that goes right up the Rocky Mountains into southern Canada! Great Basin is at least more restricted, even if Mexican is also found in some of the southern Great Basin (in the geographical sense).
 
White-breasted Nuthatch

I believe it's Mexican that is poorly named as far as extent of range goes - it's the one that goes right up the Rocky Mountains into southern Canada! Great Basin is at least more restricted, even if Mexican is also found in some of the southern Great Basin (in the geographical sense).
Yes, 'Mexican Nuthatch' Sitta lagunae represents the RGM (Rocky Mountain, Great Basin and Mexico) clade.

'Great Basin Nuthatch' Sitta tenuissima represents the ESNNR (Eastern Sierra Nevada and Northern Rockies) clade.
 
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“Eastern” would be fine by me (cf. - Bluebird, - Kingbird, - Wood-Pewee).

Forgive a European, but I feel there's way too much americism going on here. The comparison with the bluebirds, kingbirds and wood-pewees halter. They're all restricted to the Americas, the nuthatches are definitely not. "Eastern" is therefore just dead wrong. If "Eastern" ever occurs as a modifier to a cosmopolitan bird group (and not part of a dichotomy), it refers to the Orient (Eastern Curlew, for instance).
 
Wow...what a buzz! :)

These initial names are just placeholders. Recommended English names for these candidates await discussion and decisions on species taxonomy. Hopefully the AOU/NACC will weigh in.
 
I don't really see how Americans using "eastern" and "western" in common names is any different from the proliferation of "common" in the old world.
 
I don't really see how Americans using "eastern" and "western" in common names is any different from the proliferation of "common" in the old world.
Although I find myself residing in the old world, in my book "Common" is a whole lot worse :) I have no problems with "Eastern" and "Western" if it refers to species groups or pairs restricted to the Americas.
 
"Slender-billed Nuthatch" would be a good name for tenuissima, if only the term had not been less appropriately used for aculeata for many years.

"Stout-billed Nuthatch" (or something like it), works for the Rocky Mt./Mexican clade, though getting less and less appropriate the further south they go.

Bent called I]tenuissima[/I] the "Inyo Nuthatch." For more fun with Arthur Bent:

http://www.birdzilla.com/birds/White-breasted-Nuthatch/bent_life_history.html
 
"Slender-billed Nuthatch" would be a good name for tenuissima, if only the term had not been less appropriately used for aculeata for many years.

"Stout-billed Nuthatch" (or something like it), works for the Rocky Mt./Mexican clade, though getting less and less appropriate the further south they go.

Bent called I]tenuissima[/I] the "Inyo Nuthatch." For more fun with Arthur Bent:

http://www.birdzilla.com/birds/White-breasted-Nuthatch/bent_life_history.html

It has been years since I have thought of A.C. Bent. I still have the entire series stowed away in California. Who knows if they are worth anything...
 
It has been years since I have thought of A.C. Bent. I still have the entire series stowed away in California. Who knows if they are worth anything...



You could pretty much purchase a complete set using Abe Books for less than some people spend on twitching a long-distance rarity in the UK, and the postage would be the larger part of the damage. And, in some ways, quite right too; paper is far more renewable a resource than fuel.
 
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