[James Lowther]

Hello all,
can anyone help me with the relative distributions of the potential splits within tropical gnatcatcher i.e. tropical gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea and white-browed gnatcatcher Polioptila bilineata.
I'd specifically like to know which putative species is found in the Yucatan peninsula?
thanks,
james

[njlarsen]

I have the Clements checklist, but the pre-split tropical G has about 12 subspecies, and I don't know which will be included in either form. Could you provide some more info on the potential split? Reference? Then I might be able to help you (maybe someone else already knows and can help you).

Cheers
Niels

[Xenospiza]

This split would include all Trans-Andean and Central American forms: bilineata (W. Col-Peru), cinericia (Panama), superciliaris (Mex-Panama), brodkorbi (Mex-Nicaragua).

[Edward woodwood]

as was proposed (but things have perhaps changed it seems)

Polioptila plumbea bilineata elevated to White-browed Gnatcatcher (Mexican)
Polioptila plumbea plumbea elevated to Tropical Gnatcatcher (central and northern South America)
Polioptila plumbea maior elevated to Maranon Gnatcatcher (restricted i guess to Maranon Valley area in Peru)

Also in Yucutan but rather restricted is the attractive White-lored which i saw at Rio Lagartos

[James Lowther]

Thanks all,
Niels, i came across the split in a list of incipient species cadged from somewhere on the net and have not found any direct references but it seems Tim and Xeno are more up to speed!
Tim, I missed the white-lored at Rio lagartos (plenty of blue-grays though) but saw quite a few tropicals/white-broweds along the Vigia Chico road
kudos on the trip report (again)

may have some more of these puzzlers later on!

cheers,

James

[njlarsen]

Well, I did a little searching, and found at the SACC website http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline09.html (about 2/3s down the page) a note that they think the analysis is lacking, even though they seem to think that some splits should happen and perhaps even more than those presented here.

I have tried to summarize the content of this thread in the Opus page.

Niels

[tomjenner]

If there are other splits going on, I do wonder about those Yucatan White-lored Gnatcatchers. It is a species that is confined almost entirely to the dry Pacific slope of Central Mexico down to North west Costa Rica, apart from this widely separated population in the north of the Yucatan.
I would certainly be interested in hearing more about these potential splits.

Tom

[Chris Benesh]

Originally Posted by tomjenner

If there are other splits going on, I do wonder about those Yucatan White-lored Gnatcatchers. It is a species that is confined almost entirely to the dry Pacific slope of Central Mexico down to North west Costa Rica, apart from this widely separated population in the north of the Yucatan.
I would certainly be interested in hearing more about these potential splits.

Hi All,

I'm not sure if any of you have had a chance to hear the albiventris subspecies of White-lored Gnatcatcher from the Yucatan. I first learned the calls of White-lored Gnatcatcher in the Motagua Valley of Guatemala. Birds there sound much as they do throughout that species' range along the pacific slope thorn forest belt. When I first heard albiventris gnatcatchers in the Yucatan, I did not even recognize them as White-lored Gnatcatchers at all. Here are links to vocalizations of widespread forms (both recorded in nw Costa Rica):
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/upl...DTOO/1_008.mp3
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/upl...DTOO/1_007.mp3
Though I've never heard one give a song like this.

Attached is an mp3 of a couple of birds I recorded in the Yucatan.

I have a vague recollection that someone is actually working on the White-lored Gnatcatcher complex at the moment, but I cannot remember any specifics.

Chris

[l_raty]

Originally Posted by Chris Benesh

I have a vague recollection that someone is actually working on the White-lored Gnatcatcher complex at the moment, but I cannot remember any specifics.

John Klicka? See Mark Robbins' comment on SACC proposal #204 :
http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop204.html

Laurent -