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AOU 2010 Proposals B (1 Viewer)

Mysticete

Mysticete

Well-known member
United States
...is now uploaded, although not listed on the website yet:

http://www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/2010-B.pdf

Proposals of interest (at least to me) include

Higher level taxonomic changes:
- transferring chats from Turdidae to Muscicapidae (Finally!)
- Recognize the (largely extralimital) order Pteroclidiformes for sandgrouse

Generic changes:
- Recognize the genus Larvivora for Siberian Blue and Rufous-tailed Robin, and Calliope for Siberian Rubythroat.

Some very drastic changes (although not unexpected) to New World Warblers
- Merge Oporornis and Leocopeza into Geothlypis
- Merge Dendroica, Parula, Catharopeza, and Wilsonia citrina into Setophaga
- Recognize Myiothlypis
- Merge Euthlypis into Basileuterus
- Merge remaining Wilsonia and Ergaticus into Cardellina

Splits of the following species:
- Mexican Duck (Anas diazi) from Mallard (already recognized by IOC)
- Bahama Warbler ("Dendroica" flavescens) from Yellow-throated (already recognized by IOC)
- Chiriqui Yellowthroat (Geothlypis chiriquensis) from Olive-crowned Yellowthroat
- Transvolcanic Jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina) from Mexican Jay (now Aphelocoma wollweberi)
- Follow SACC in lumping the toucans Ramphastos swainsoni into Ramphastos ambiguus.
 
In my opinion, some more work could really be put into a lot more of these proposals. The warbler one was particularly short given the overhaul it suggests. A stronger proposal would have talked about these in more depth, and why this arrangement was preferred over others, especially since at least some of the lumped species could technically be maintained as monotypic. It is also not clearly stated where the "fake warblers" go; are they ignored and left as is, placed in incertae sedis, or what? (These include Icteria, Teretistris, Microligea, Xenoligea, and Zeledonia).

I will also note there isn't a single mention of voice in the Transvolcanic Jay or Chirique Yellowthroat proposal, which doesn't bode well for their success
 
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Not sure in this case, but I sometimes wonder if a weak proposal might be written simply to justify maintaining the status quo until there is a more substantial body of new research available.
 
yeah but I really think Mexican Duck should never have been lumped anyway. It's really hard to argue for it's lumping without lumping American Black-Duck and Mottled Duck.

creating a weak proposal to ensure it's defeat did occur to me, but all of the weak proposals also said yes to changing the status quo. Which makes me doubt that. I think in most cases it's just a matter of the author perhaps not foreseeing future arguments or settling into a different proponents mindset.
 
My original comment was written before I had read the proposal and material.

It may also be that the author considers the evidence to be so overwhelming that it is a waste to spend a lot of time on a proposal that will be adopted, immediately and unanimously.
 
oof sorry...I don't think that proposal even listed common names, and my knowledge of AOU/SACC birds at the species level diminishes with distance from the US-Mexican border
 
results are in:

http://www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/2010_B_votes_web.php


Transfer of taxa from Turdidae to Muscicapidae: PASSED

Recognition of Larvivora and Calliope: FAILED (more genetic data requested)

Recognition of Pteroclidiformes: PASSED

Mexican Duck Split: FAILED (Does this taxon really hybridize more freely than American Black Duck does with Mallard?)

Bahama Warbler Split: PASSED

Chirique Yellowthroat Split: FAILEd (more data requested)

Parulidae revamp: PASSED, but the following amendments were also passed that I don't think were in the original proposal: Opornis (including only Connecticut Warbler, Opornis agilis), Leucospeza, and Catharospeza will continue to be recognized as valid genera

Transvolcanic Jay Split: PASSED (I would have thought the Yellow-rumped Warbler split was at least as strongly supported as this?)

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan Lump: PASSED
 
Mysticete said:
Mexican Duck Split: FAILED (Does this taxon really hybridize more freely than American Black Duck does with Mallard?)
Click to expand...

I think a clue maybe in Sibley's recent thoughts on this - I recall a graph which seemed to show that even within the "core" of the range of Mexican Duck, "hybrids" (or inytermediate birds) form a very high proportion of the population. Hybrids also appear throughour the range so there is no "narrow contact zone". This overall picture is very different to the Mallard / Black Duck interface to my knowledge.

cheers, alan
 
Richard Klim said:
Well, if the location is indeed the Forest of Tlalpan (Bosque de Tlalpan, DF) as stated, then it should definitely be a Transvolcanic Jay (ssp ultramarina). An armchair tick for me, having encountered them in the Central Volcanic Belt south of Mexico City in Feb 2004.
Click to expand...

Thanks Richard, I missed out on this species on my only visit to Mexico back in 2000 (we actually flew out on the first flight on the morning of the big 2k scare :-O

Niels
 
if memory serves me correctly, the Mallard and Mexican Duck (as well as American Black Duck, Hawaiian Duck, Mottled Duck, etc) never really overlapped in breeding range. Given the money that has been spent trying to conserve the genetic integrity of American Black Duck and Hawaiian Duck, one wonders if the apparent high hybridization rate has less to do with species distinction and more to do with lack of interest in trying to keep Mallards and Mexican Ducks apart.
 
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