AOU-NACC proposals 2014 (1 Viewer)

[Richard Klim]

Proposals 2014-A

www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/pending.php

Proposals 2014-A (PDF)

• 2014-A-1: Transfer Spinus notatus, S. xanthrogastrus, and S. cucullatus to Sporagra (SACC # 488)
• 2014-A-2: Transfer Spinus psaltria, S. lawrencei, and S. tristis to Astralaginus or to Sporagra
• 2014-A-3: Split the Variable Seedeater Sporophila americana (SACC # 287)
• 2014-A-4: Replace the family name Megaluridae with Locustellidae
• 2014-A-5: Elevate Rallus longirostris crepitans, R. l. obsoletus, and Rallus elegans tenuirostris to species rank
• 2014-A-6: Split Guadalupe Junco Junco insularis from Dark-eyed Junco J. hyemalis
• 2014-A-7: Change the English names of Chlorospingus species from "Bush-Tanager" to "Chlorospingus" (SACC # 579)
• 2014-A-8: Divide Aratinga into four genera (SACC # 578)
• 2014-A-9: Lump Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha and R. terrisi into a single species
• 2014-A-10: Split Arctic Warbler Phylloscopus borealis into three species

 

[njlarsen]

With 2014-A-9 recommended rejected!

Niels

 

[Mysticete]

RE: Arctic Warbler splits, from the proposal...

"There is a detailed discussion of the taxonomic status of these forms on birdforum.net
(http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=119101), most of it from prior to the
publication of Alström et al. (2011)."

 

[Richard Klim]

Proposal 2014-A-10: Arctic Warbler

RE: Arctic Warbler splits, from the proposal...
"There is a detailed discussion of the taxonomic status of these forms on birdforum.net (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=119101), most of it from prior to the publication of Alström et al. (2011)."

Pamela Rasmussen notes that, if the proposal is passed, a new account for one of the component taxa, probably examinandus, would be needed in the checklist.

Gibson & Byrd 2007 (Birds of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska) attributes all Aleutians records of P borealis to xanthodryas, and mentions 12 museum specimens of xanthodryas collected in the Aleutians (10 at the University of Alaska Museum and two at USNM); but notes that Aleutian records might represent examinandus (treated as a junior synonym).
[However it's surprising that kennicotti (a trans-Beringian migrant breeding in Alaska, perhaps better treated as a synonym of nominate borealis) is not considered to occur in the Aleutians.]

 

[birdboybowley]

So bristlebirds & grassbirds are groppers now....? Odd - someone bored perchance?

 

[MichaelRetter]

This comment IN A PROPOSAL left my mouth agape: "Since Locustella is the only genus of this new family recorded in the AOU Check-list of North American Birds, there is little doubt that Locustellidae is indeed the correct name." By that logic, we should call the penduline-tit (Verdin) family Auriparidae instead of Remizidae and the bushtit family Pslatriparidae instead of Aegithalidae. The mind boggles...

 

[Snapdragyn]

This comment IN A PROPOSAL left my mouth agape: "Since Locustella is the only genus of this new family recorded in the AOU Check-list of North American Birds, there is little doubt that Locustellidae is indeed the correct name." By that logic, we should call the penduline-tit (Verdin) family Auriparidae instead of Remizidae and the bushtit family Pslatriparidae instead of Aegithalidae. The mind boggles...

I think what may have been intended (albeit poorly worded) was to indicate that regardless of whether or not Locustella and Megalurus are considered part of the same family, the only one occurring in the AOU area is Locustella & therefore the family name Locustellidae must be used.

At least, I hope that was the intent. :eek!:

 

[MichaelRetter]

That's precisely how I read it. And it's quite disturbing. Which genus or genera occur in an area should have absolutely no bearing on the name of their family!

 

[Snapdragyn]

Also, the rails - oh joy, more 'let's split things but keep the same common names from before the split, so that no one will ever know if we mean That Bird sensu lato or That Bird sensu stricto'. UGH! :C

 

[Snapdragyn]

That's precisely how I read it. And it's quite disturbing. Which genus or genera occur in an area should have absolutely no bearing on the name of their family!

Well, I've apparently made the problem worse by not stating my own reading well.

My reading is that they're suggesting there could be BOTH a Locustellidae & a Megaluridae. We don't get anything but Locustella, so clearly we get Locustellidae if there are two families. If there is one family, Locustellidae has been shown to have priority & would therefore still apply.

 

[Richard Klim]

Proposal 2014-A-4: Locustellidae

So bristlebirds & grassbirds are groppers now....? Odd - someone bored perchance?

But Locustellidae is already used by IOC, TiF, eBird/Clements, BOURC, DBA.

AOU was looking a bit lonely with Megaluridae.

 

[Mysticete]

I had the same conclusions Snapdragyn.

Also agree on the Clapper Rail. Not sure what name to replace the eastern form with.

Although I also don't in this case see a problem with something like Western, Eastern, and Mangrove Clapper rails, although as I understand only the eastern form "claps"?

 

[Mysticete]

Yeah the Megaluridae -> Locustellidae change is a bit late for AOU. Although a family only represented by extralimital vagrants probably isn't high on the list of checklist changes.

Still waiting for stonechats and booboks to get "fixed"

 

[l_raty]

2014-A-1: Transfer Spinus notatus, S. xanthrogastrus, and S. cucullatus to Sporagra (SACC # 488)

This is a 2011 SACC proposal being transferred to the NACC... But without the literature being updated, it now looks rather odd.
It should be rewritten taking Zuccon et al. 2012 (which very strongly suggests this move is completely unnecessary...) into account.

 

[MichaelRetter]

Well, I've apparently made the problem worse by not stating my own reading well.

My reading is that they're suggesting there could be BOTH a Locustellidae & a Megaluridae. We don't get anything but Locustella, so clearly we get Locustellidae if there are two families. If there is one family, Locustellidae has been shown to have priority & would therefore still apply.

Right. If there were two families, which member of those families occurs in the NACC Area would be important. But there is no proposal to split them--just to rename Megaluridae.

 

[Snapdragyn]

Re: Clapper Rail sensu stricto - perhaps something else relating to the call, like 'Rattling Rail'?

King Rail sensu stricto could easily be Elegant Rail (which I note from the online HBW would match the French name as well).

 

[Richard Klim]

Proposal 2014-A-1

This is a 2011 SACC proposal being transferred to the NACC... But without the literature being updated, it now looks rather odd.
It should be rewritten taking Zuccon et al. 2012 (which very strongly suggests this move is completely unnecessary...) into account.

Zuccon et al 2012 was discussed here: Fringillidae (post #2+).

 

[MichaelRetter]

"Since Locustella is the only genus of this new family recorded in the AOU Check-list of North American Birds, there is little doubt that Locustellidae is indeed the correct name."

Van Remsen already got back to me regarding this, and he called it a "lapse", which has since been corrected, just not uploaded yet. His speed in replying and openness about the process are truly to be commended!

 

[l_raty]

This is a 2011 SACC proposal being transferred to the NACC... But without the literature being updated, it now looks rather odd.
It should be rewritten taking Zuccon et al. 2012 (which very strongly suggests this move is completely unnecessary...) into account.

Zuccon et al. 2012 contradicts directly the proposal 2014-A-2b. It is not in direct conflict with [2014-A-1 + 2014-A-2a], but makes this move unnecessary (three-way split of a group that is already monophyletic). Zuccon et al. 2012 also contradicts directly Nguembock et al. 2009, that is at the base of these proposals.

The position of C. spinus in Nguembock et al. 2009 is quite unexpected, which led me to have a rapid look at the data in GenBank:
- Blasting the C. spinus ND3 (EU881008) seq of Nguembock et al. places this species within the group that is here suggested to be transferred to another genus. This sequence is 100% congruent with HQ915866 (complete mt genome of C. spinus by Kan & Zhang). Surprisingly, though, a sequences of Coccothraustes (EU881003) also ends up in this group.
- Blasting the C. spinus ATP6 (EU880941) seq of Nguembock et al. places this species within the group that is here suggested to be transferred to another genus. The topology here looks fully compatible with that of Zuccon et al. This sequence is 99% congruent with HQ915866 (complete mt genome of C. spinus by Kan & Zhang).
- Blasting the C. spinus cmos (EU878574), Myo (EU878702) and TGFB2 (EU878639) seqs of Nguembock et al. places these sequences extremely close to, if not within, Loxia. Zuccon et al. also sequenced Myo, their C. spinus seq (JN715244) is different, and falls within the group that is here suggested to be transferred to another genus (ie., it has a signal that is congruent with mtDNA, while the Nguembock et al. sequence has a signal that conflicts with mtDNA).

This looks very much like a contamination, I'm afraid.

 

[Nightjar61]

I always thought Saltmarsh Rail would be a good English name for the eastern Clapper Rail.

Dave