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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. J

    AOU-NACC Proposals 2024

    I am not thrilled with Cinnamon, or Rufescent. The color terms don't seem to apply as well to martinicensis, and while this group may tend to be brighter than some others in the aedon complex (but not grenadensis?), it does not seem to be that bright compared to some other wrens. I am also...
  2. J

    AOU-NACC Proposals 2024

    Indeed, I think I just have too soft a touch on my keyboard!
  3. J

    AOU-NACC Proposals 2024

    Well the IOC does already have a name for humilis, Scater's Wren, but I guess that is off the table... ;) I would suggest Rufous-necked Wren. It retains a connection to the former name, and also to the Rufous-backed Wren. In comparison to rufinucha, it appears that the rufous area is a bit...
  4. J

    Thraupidae

  5. J

    Thraupidae

    I could send a PDF if I had an address.
  6. J

    Caprimulgiformes

    Actually, as noted in Sangster et al. 2023, Sibley et al. 1986 did treat Eurostopodidae as a family, although I believe that they also included the two species macrotis and temminckii, now placed in Lyncornis, in that family as well. Chen et al. 2019 only examined 3 species of 'nightjars', and...
  7. J

    Caprimulgiformes

    The paper seems to answer the question of the correct authorship for the group name, but does not really address why the "two groups are best recognised as subfamily taxa". The estimate of divergence time from Prum et al. (2015) seems to be about 33 MYA, which seems sufficient to me to justify...
  8. J

    Question: biggest genus?

    It appears that I have all of them on my world list, if you follow this taxonomy. However, Ninox is a 'heard-only' genus, and in the Taxonomy in Flux checklist Asthenes is divided into three genera, with my only canastero (Many-striped) being listed there as Siptornoides.
  9. J

    Gitzo head - pan & tilt knob 'stuck'

    For what it is worth, the company (or its US rep) informs me that there is no 'home remedy' for this issue that they are aware of, and that it needs to be sent in for servicing. Drats.
  10. J

    Gitzo head - pan & tilt knob 'stuck'

    Hello - I have a Gitzo GH2720QR Bird Watching Fluid Head and the 'pan & tilt' knob has become stuck, so that I cannot adjust the tension. Is there a way to fix this, short of sending it in for service?
  11. J

    Latest IOC Diary Updates

    I am having trouble relating this to any taxon in the current IOC classification, where I don't think Alcippornis or Hyloterpe are used. Would it be equivalent to Yellow-throated Fulvetta, Schoeniparus cinereus, or some other form? The IOC list does does seem to have a cinerea or similar...
  12. J

    Sixty-second Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds

    The removal does suggest that they might still want to change something in the supplement? Not sure what that would be...
  13. J

    Sixty-second Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds

    I have it, let's see if I can attach it...
  14. J

    Latest IOC Diary Updates

    According to 'Birds of the World', Apalis flavida golzi (part of the Yellow-breasted 'group') occurs in "interior Tanzania (except extreme southwest and coastal areas)".
  15. J

    Latest IOC Diary Updates

    Can anyone tell me the new scientific names for the cisticolas? I saw the White-tailed way back in 2004, and it has been waiting for a formal name in my list!
  16. J

    New species of Meadowlark Strunella lilianae

    They did sample auropectoralis, and concluded that it fit within Lillian's. I have sent a message about sending a PDF...
  17. J

    Swarovski EL 10X32

    I have not seen much commentary about this version in these pages. I suspect that this is because they are not big sellers, but is this because of an assumption that this is a poor combination of magnification and objective size, or actual issues with this version's performance? The reason...
  18. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    I certainly found it very interesting to read Van Remsen's proposal. He basically used the same 'method' that I did of drawing a line at a somewhat arbitrary line through Prum et al.'s phylogeny to see what lineages were distinct taxa at that point. Van did use a somewhat more conservative...
  19. J

    Cedar Waxwing

    The third photo on this page shows two Bohemian Waxwings (an ASY in foreground, a SY behind), and should not link to the Cedar Waxwing page.
  20. J

    Cedar Waxwing

    Discussion thread for Cedar Waxwing. If you would like to add a comment, click the Post Reply button.
  21. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    I did consider using an Epoch boundary or some other geological marker as my criterion rather than an arbitrary 'just a bit older than the Passeriformes'. A major reason for not doing so is that I don't feel confident enough in the precision of the divergence time estimates to try to tie it to...
  22. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    I would argue that it is better to let evolutionary history tell us how many species are in an order, rather than to have a preconceived idea of how many species should be in an order!|=)| Systematists struggled mightily to try to stick the Hoatzin into some order or another, but ultimately...
  23. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    I don't think that 'amount of evolution that has occurred' is really the criterion we should be using for determining hierarchical ranks, even assuming that we could objectively measure this. Different lineages will evolve at different rates and the rates can change over time, with generation...
  24. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    Are you suggesting that you would accept a split of Apodiformes and Trochiliformes, but you would not recognize the Aegotheliformes? This surprises me a bit, as I feel that there is some consensus now that the owlet-nightjars are close to swifts/hummingbirds, but that they are a more ancient...
  25. J

    How many avian orders are there?

    I have been wondering recently if we can now come up with a better answer to the question of how many orders of birds should be recognized. Of course, an order (or any other higher taxonomic category) is to some degree arbitrary, but I agree with the view that at least within a class it would...
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