Latest IOC Diary Updates (3 Viewers)

[sicklebill]

For sure, quite a few lumps, but you guys must still be unlucky - about four times more splits than lumps in this update so far!
Up until now I've lost 4 and gained 15.

15 splits and 7 lumps for me so far based on IOC 12.2 and 13.1, so ahead of the game still

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Nov 7 Reassign five species in Muscicapidae from Cyornis to Eumyias.

From Cyornis hyacinthinus, Cyornis hoevelli, Cyornis sanfordi, Cyornis oscillans, Cyornis stresemanni

(Timor Blue Flycatcher, Blue-fronted Blue Flycatcher, Matinan Blue Flycatcher, Flores Jungle Flycatcher, Sumba Jungle Flycatcher)

To Eumyias hyacinthinus, Eumyias hoevelli, Eumyias sanfordi, Eumyias oscillans, Eumyias stresemanni
MJB

As long as to do, given the low divergence time between Cyanoptila and Eumyias, I would place all Eumyias species in Cyanoptila

 

[l_raty]

Nov 7 Reassign five species in Muscicapidae from Cyornis to Eumyias.

From Cyornis hyacinthinus, Cyornis hoevelli, Cyornis sanfordi, Cyornis oscillans, Cyornis stresemanni

(Timor Blue Flycatcher, Blue-fronted Blue Flycatcher, Matinan Blue Flycatcher, Flores Jungle Flycatcher, Sumba Jungle Flycatcher)

To Eumyias hyacinthinus, Eumyias hoevelli, Eumyias sanfordi, Eumyias oscillans, Eumyias stresemanni
MJB

As long as to do, given the low divergence time between Cyanoptila and Eumyias, I would place all Eumyias species in Cyanoptila

FWIW, I do not think it is advisable at all to accept changes based on "unpublished genetic data".

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

FWIW, I do not think it is advisable at all to accept changes based on "unpublished genetic data".

I'm based on Zhao & al. 2022 😉

 

[l_raty]

I'm based on Zhao & al. 2022 😉

I was actually reacting to the announcement which you reacted to, rather than to your comment itself. (Sorry if this was not obvious. I have edited my post and added your quote of Mike's original post. Hope it's a bit clearer now.)

I agree Zhao et al's estimate of the age of this split is on the low side, but would hesitate to act on this alone.
For one, if there really are data for five additional taxa that would be part of the same group, I would want to see how including these taxa in the analysis affects the estimated age.
Second, I'm left a bit uncomfortable by how strongly conflicting some of the gene trees (see supplementary data 2) for this group actually are. E.g., LDH has Cyanoptila embedded in Eumyias -- sister to Eumyias thalassinus (BS = 99), with E. indigo and E. additus clading together (BS = 100) as their sister group; ODC has E. thalassinus sister to E. indigo (BS = 100), and E. additus sister to these (BS = 99), while Cyanoptila is basal in the group; mtDNA results in a monophyletic Eumyias (BS = 100, PP = 1), like ODC and unlike LDH, but within this monophyletic Eumyias, E. thalassinus is closer to E. additus than to E. indigo (BS= 100, PP = 1), while it's the opposite in the ODC tree... Given such conflicts, the first thing I would want to see is a confirmation that the sequences are genuine. Once (if) the data gets confirmed as genuine, I would also like to see a BEAST-type species tree, in addition to trees derived from the concatenation of data that tell what looks like totally incongruent stories.

 

[gusasp]

Nov 10 Post proposed split of Tenggara Hill Myna from Common Hill Myna.

Nov 8 Post proposed deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald Riccordia elegans as a doubtfully valid taxon following AOS.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

Nov 19 Post proposed lump of Cape Verde Buzzard with Common Buzzard.

Nov 19 Reassign nine owl species from Bubo to Ketupa.

Nov 18 Accept deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald.

Nov 18 Accept split of Malawi Batis from Cape Batis.

Nov 18 Accept lump of Black-fronted Spurfowl with Chestnut-naped Spurfowl.

Nov 18 Accept split of Tenggara Hill Myna from Common Hill Myna.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

Nov 20 Post proposed lump of Abyssinian Waxbill with Fawn-breasted Waxbill.

Nov 20 Post proposed lump of Malaita Dwarf Kingfisher with Guadalcanal Dwarf Kingfisher.

 

[mb1848]

"Nov 18 Accept deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald."
All ten voters of the AOS voted Doubtful Taxon.
Comments 2022-C - American Ornithological Society .

Nov 8 Post proposed deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald Riccordia elegans as a doubtfully valid taxon following AOS. I like this description better. Science requires that words have meaning. I do not believe a doubtful taxon can be considered extinct until there is no doubt.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

"Nov 18 Accept deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald."
All ten voters of the AOS voted Doubtful Taxon.
Comments 2022-C - American Ornithological Society .

Nov 8 Post proposed deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald Riccordia elegans as a doubtfully valid taxon following AOS. I like this description better. Science requires that words have meaning. I do not believe a doubtful taxon can be considered extinct until there is no doubt.

Extinct species are included in the IOC list, so the deletion of "extinct Gould's Emerald" mean that the IOC removed the species, since it's validity as a species in not accepted anymore - extinct or not. But I agree that the sentence if open to interpreration...

 

[DDonsker]

"Nov 18 Accept deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald."
All ten voters of the AOS voted Doubtful Taxon.
Comments 2022-C - American Ornithological Society .

Nov 8 Post proposed deletion of extinct Gould's Emerald Riccordia elegans as a doubtfully valid taxon following AOS. I like this description better. Science requires that words have meaning. I do not believe a doubtful taxon can be considered extinct until there is no doubt.

Remember that all Diary entries are intended to be merely telegraphic as a "heads up" to our users for any upcoming changes to the IOC list. The actual Update entry for this taxon is under Species Updates and reflects the actual Comments that will be published in 13.1 IOC spreadsheet and BOW pages. So, it's always good to read the actual Update entries for any details announced in the Diary.

Here is the Species Update entry:

"The extinct Gould's Emerald Riccordia elegans, formerly included in this genus [Riccordia], is known solely from the unique type specimen of unknown geographic origin. It is regarded as a "taxon of uncertain status" by WGAC and is classified as a "doubtful taxon" by the AOS in NACC 2022-C-3. As such, it is tentatively deleted until, and if, genetic analysis and/or stable isotope analysis sheds further light on its status"

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

Nov 21 Post proposed split of Coxen's Fig Parrot from Double-eyed Fig Parrot.

Nov 21 Post proposed split of Orange-breasted Fig Parrot into four species.

Nov 21 Post proposed split of Black-billed Hanging Parrot from Philippine Hanging Parrot.

Nov 21 Add extinct Oceanic Electus to the list.

Nov 21 Accept split of Electus Parrot into four species.

Nov 21 Post proposed restoration of White-belled Tanager as a split from Turquoise Tanager.

Nov 21 Post proposed lump of Red-backed Mannikin with Black-and-white Mannikin.

 

[Xenospiza]

Nov 19 Post proposed lump of Cape Verde Buzzard with Common Buzzard.

What's the reasoning behind this?
Why not lump Mountain Buzzard too?

 

[Jacana]

What's the reasoning behind this?
Why not lump Mountain Buzzard too?

This will have been proposed as part of the movement towards a single list. I suspect that the reason why it has taken longer to be even proposed by the IOC than many of the other splits and lumps that have occurred since the last Cornell/eBird update is that it is harder to justify right now.

Cape Verde Buzzard Buteo bannermani was previously split from Common/Eurasian Buzzard (Clouet & Wink 2000). But the taxonomic status of Cape Verde Buzzard is unsettled. Limited mtDNA analyses suggest close relationship with Socotra Buzzard (Couet & Wink 2000; Kruckenhauser et al. 2004). But their relationships to other Buteo species in the buteo/rufinus/oreophilus complex between studies are contradictory and confusing. Proposal to tentatively treat bannermani as a subspecies of Buteo buteo based on plumage characteristics (del Hoyo & Collar 2014; Clements 2022; HBW/BirdLife) is adopted here.

Buteo remains a mess and we certainly haven't heard the last about species limits in this genus.

 

[Xenospiza]

This will have been proposed as part of the movement towards a single list. I suspect that the reason why it has taken longer to be even proposed by the IOC than many of the other splits and lumps that have occurred since the last Cornell/eBird update is that it is harder to justify right now.


Buteo remains a mess and we certainly haven't heard the last about species limits in this genus.

Thanks.

If I read this 18-year old article, IOC should then also lump Forest Buzzard and "non-Long-legged Buzzard" ssp cirtensis with Common Buzzard.

I cannot see how anyone could defend IOC's current proposal without also changing the status of trizonatus and cirtensis along the same lines...

 

[Jacana]

I think the proposal has only been made because of the Cornell/eBird decision. Like I say, the delay in making the proposal in the first place might be a clue to the IOC's feelings on the matter.

 

[pbjosh]

And the eBird/Clements decision, I assume, is related to the outcome of a WGAC vote/decision and thus is a WGAC decision that goes against IOC at the moment and n hits closer to home for many than the myriad S American and SE Asian shuffles…

 

[Mysticete]

On a related note, I think its interesting that several taxonomic groups have been covered by WGAC without changes in either Clements/Ebird OR IOC, despite conflicting treatments.

For instance, Parulidae is apparently in the "done" pile by WGAC, but ebird/clements has not split American Yellow Warbler nor Yellow-rumped Warbler; both species are currently split into two and three species respectively by IOC. It's possible that these are still put on hold pending proposals by AOS. Or it's possible that ebird has been putting off North American focused splits not recognized by AOS until the end of review, over not making waves.

If anyone knows some insight into these, I would be most interested...

 

[Jacana]

On a related note, I think its interesting that several taxonomic groups have been covered by WGAC without changes in either Clements/Ebird OR IOC, despite conflicting treatments.

For instance, Parulidae is apparently in the "done" pile by WGAC, but ebird/clements has not split American Yellow Warbler nor Yellow-rumped Warbler; both species are currently split into two and three species respectively by IOC. It's possible that these are still put on hold pending proposals by AOS. Or it's possible that ebird has been putting off North American focused splits not recognized by AOS until the end of review, over not making waves.

If anyone knows some insight into these, I would be most interested...

I can see Parulidae in the "in process of implementation" pile. So maybe not complete enough yet for the various authorities to implement their suggestions?

 

[Mysticete]

I can see Parulidae in the "in process of implementation" pile. So maybe not complete enough yet for the various authorities to implement their suggestions?

True, but the WGAC page was last updated in June. And they seem to be going at a good enough pace that this would have been completed, especially as it seems they have moved past that group.