Black-faced Bunting (1 Viewer)

Roselaar, Visser & Wijker 2010. Black-faced Bunting at Castricum in November 2007 and identification of subspecies. Dutch Birding 32(1): 1-9.

Of interest, the Castricum individual is identified as Emberiza spodocephala oligoxantha (Meise, 1932, breeding in Central Siberia) – synonymised with nominate spodocephala by Byers, Curson & Olsson 1995 (Sparrows & Buntings), H&M3 and Cornell/Clements.

• "This subspecies is characterized by the predominantly grey forehead to mantle, side of head and (in male) throat, without green or olive suffusion, and pure white belly to undertail-coverts, virtually without any yellow. All other subspecies differ in being distinctly washed olive-green above and on the side of head and by extensive pale yellow on the underparts..."

Richard

The Emberiza spodocephala subspecies complex: new insights into taxonomy and phylogeography

M.H. Weissensteiner, S. Koblmüller & K.M. Sefc

The phylogenetic relationships in the family Emberizidae are generally well resolved, but below the species level, there are few studies addressing the genetic structure and phylogenetic history of populations. For the eastern Palearctic Black‐faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala three subspecies have been described: E. s. spodocephala (the nominate form), E. s. personata and E. s. sordida. Male breeding plumage differs between subspecies, females however are mostly indistinguishable. In this study, we use an integrative approach incorporating morphometric and genetic analysis to determine the degree of differentiation between the subspecies and investigate the phylogeographic history of these taxa. 138 individuals of E. spodocephala were captured with mist-nets during ringing projects in Lazovski Zapovednik and Muraviovka Park in eastern Russia. All birds were measured (longest primary, bill, tarsus) and a DNA-sample was taken. Additional data was gained at the Bird Collection of the Natural History Museum in Tring. Differences in DNA were examined by sequencing the subunit I of the mitochondrial cytochrome-oxidase gene and the nuclear sex-linked CHD1Z gene. We found significant differences between the subspecies for all measurements, but due to the great extent of overlapping, their value for subspecies discrimination is very limited. Data from mitochondrial DNA showed a deep divergence between E. s. spodocephala and E. s. personata and suggests a separation between 1.5 to 3 million years ago. The one case of a mismatch in morphologic and genetic subspecies assignment might be a cue for introgressive hybridization. The third subspecies E. s. sordida did not form a separate clade but exhibited unique haplotypes. In nuclear DNA, population divergence was significant but shallow and the monophyly of clades seen in mitochondrial DNA was not supported. In conclusion, our data suggest that E. s. spodocephala and E. s. personata represent two evolutionary distinct units and justify their classification as two separate taxa.

26th International Ornithological Congress 2014, Tokyo