Corvidae (3 Viewers)

[Jacana]

I just glanced through the paper and haven’t read in detail. However I do find it a bit disappointing (if typical) to read a paper that sampled 1080 individuals but nothing from Canada or Mexico and no nuclear genetics work? Might as well title it “phylogenetic analysis of all North American Stellar’s Jays” while they are at it…

That's a bit harsh. This is one of the more complete papers I've seen on this sort of topic. They've covered so many angles in one paper, it's incredibly thorough (sampling limits notwithstanding). They do cover the nuclear genetics side of things, for instance in figure 4b.

 

[Kirk Roth]

"Long-crested" Jay seems like a truly poor name for anything containing ssp.s ridgwayi and restricta - e.g, see this picture ML20917451 Steller's Jay Macaulay Library (I had a hard time believing this was really a Steller's Jay when I saw it in Guatemala)

A good and simple summary from the Birds of North America account - "The relative length of the crest is similar for populations across the United States and Canada, but very long-crested birds occur in the sw. United States and nw. and central Mexico, whereas short-crested birds occupy the remainder of Middle America, excepting a long-crested population in Oaxaca."

As far as I can tell, Blue-fronted vs. White-fronted is a near-perfect divider of the taxa, even considering the Central American populations. Those birds lack the white "diadem" streaks as they go south, but also have white eyebrows or broken spectacles - so there is always some sort of white in the "front" of the adult birds. "Long-crested" may (or may not) be a good name if those populations are eventually split - which is where gut feeling would seem to lead - but not before. I think the authors are relying too heavily on the Latin interpretation with their English name suggestions and less on the actual critical differences. It is even possible that the head streak colors contribute an or the isolating mechanism in the Rocky Mountains.

The only quibble in the color-fronted system is that the annectens ("Interior") birds often show both a silvery spot above the eye and the blue streaks. (So "Non-blue-fronted Jay" is the clear and obvious perfect name that surely nobody could argue against. Insert your eye-roll here, if you please.)

I also think the designation of the group names is unfortunate. Annectens ("Interior") jays are decidedly in the Rocky Mountains and the split is more at the northern vs. southern Rockies than at any "Interior" (or "Interior Canada maybe?). Systems elsewhere (e.g. Cornell) designate the "Interior" group as including both annectans and the U.S./north Mexican white-streaked groups, so different definitions of the same category name have already been introduced.

But aside from some confusing name choices and our greed for analysis on the Central American birds, this seems like a very strong and ambitious paper.

 

[Mysticete]

I just glanced through the paper and haven’t read in detail. However I do find it a bit disappointing (if typical) to read a paper that sampled 1080 individuals but nothing from Canada or Mexico and no nuclear genetics work? Might as well title it “phylogenetic analysis of all North American Stellar’s Jays” while they are at it…

I saw an explanation in a Facebook thread that the method of DNA analysis used was unsuccessful for (most?) museum specimens from Mexico and further south. And collecting new specimens from Mexico wasn't possible, as getting the required permits is extraordinarily difficult.

This is a huge body of data and analyses, that likely took many years to complete. As someone who has done taxonomic work you can always delay publishing for additional samples, but you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. At some point you need to get a paper published, and save further work for for follow-up papers.

 

[Mysticete]

A good and simple summary from the Birds of North America account - "The relative length of the crest is similar for populations across the United States and Canada, but very long-crested birds occur in the sw. United States and nw. and central Mexico, whereas short-crested birds occupy the remainder of Middle America, excepting a long-crested population in Oaxaca."

As far as I can tell, Blue-fronted vs. White-fronted is a near-perfect divider of the taxa, even considering the Central American populations. Those birds lack the white "diadem" streaks as they go south, but also have white eyebrows or broken spectacles - so there is always some sort of white in the "front" of the adult birds. "Long-crested" may (or may not) be a good name if those populations are eventually split - which is where gut feeling would seem to lead - but not before. I think the authors are relying too heavily on the Latin interpretation with their English name suggestions and less on the actual critical differences. It is even possible that the head streak colors contribute an or the isolating mechanism in the Rocky Mountains.

The only quibble in the color-fronted system is that the annectens ("Interior") birds often show both a silvery spot above the eye and the blue streaks. (So "Non-blue-fronted Jay" is the clear and obvious perfect name that surely nobody could argue against. Insert your eye-roll here, if you please.)

I also think the designation of the group names is unfortunate. Annectens ("Interior") jays are decidedly in the Rocky Mountains and the split is more at the northern vs. southern Rockies than at any "Interior" (or "Interior Canada maybe?). Systems elsewhere (e.g. Cornell) designate the "Interior" group as including both annectans and the U.S./north Mexican white-streaked groups, so different definitions of the same category name have already been introduced.

But aside from some confusing name choices and our greed for analysis on the Central American birds, this seems like a very strong and ambitious paper.

Their also seems this idea of common name priority being important, in the same way that scientific names use priority. For another recent example, see the NACC proposal on the Whimbrel split from last year, or the whole Mew vs Short-billed Gull debate. Priority, when dealing with names that haven't even been used in the lifespan of most birders alive today, doesn't mean squat. Sure, sometimes an pre-existing name makes sense. But if they don't, folks should feel free to coin new ones that make sense and best fit the appearance, ecology, or range of the given species.

 

[Kirk Roth]

Their also seems this idea of common name priority being important, in the same way that scientific names use priority. For another recent example, see the NACC proposal on the Whimbrel split from last year, or the whole Mew vs Short-billed Gull debate. Priority, when dealing with names that haven't even been used in the lifespan of most birders alive today, doesn't mean squat. Sure, sometimes an pre-existing name makes sense. But if they don't, folks should feel free to coin new ones that make sense and best fit the appearance, ecology, or range of the given species.

Agreed. I consider this another example of the ornithological community pretending that common names need to be treated like scientific names. For one of those, priority is codified, for the other it is decidedly optional (Lillian's Meadowlark, anyone?).

I think you rightly imply that this prioritization may be more of a factor than the Latin translation that I mentioned above. Steller's Jay subspecies names are otherwise ripe with some delightful translations. Carbonaceous or Charred Jay would be a stunning name for coastal/northern birds. (White-) Diademed Jay for the southern Rockies group, and the Central American clade can choose from Crowned, Purple, Lazuli, Aztec, and Sweet Jays.

 

[Jacana]

Pizarro, A. K., DeRaad, D. A., & McCormack, J. E. (2023). Temporal stability of the hybrid zone between Calocitta magpie-jays revealed through comparison of museum specimens and iNaturalist photos. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e9863. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9863

Hybrid zones are natural experiments for the study of avian evolution. Hybrid zones can be dynamic, moving as species adjust to new climates and habitats, with unknown implications for species and speciation. There are relatively few studies that have comparable modern and historic sampling to assess change in hybrid zone location and width over time, and those studies have generally found mixed results, with many hybrid zones showing change over time, but others showing stability. The white-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) and black-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta colliei) occur along the western coast of Mexico and Central America. The two species differ markedly in throat color and tail length, and prior observation suggests a narrow hybrid zone in southern Jalisco where individuals have mixed throat color. This study aims to assess the existence and temporal stability of this putative hybrid zone by comparing throat color between georeferenced historical museum specimens and modern photos from iNaturalist with precise locality information. Our results confirm the existence of a narrow hybrid zone in Jalisco, with modern throat scores gradually increasing from the parental ends of the cline toward the cline center in a sigmoidal curve characteristic of hybrid zones. Our temporal comparison suggests that the hybrid zone has not shifted its position between historical (pre-1973) and modern (post-2005) time periods—a surprising result given the grand scale of habitat change to the western Mexican lowlands during this time. An anomalous pocket of white-throated individuals in the northern range of the black-throated magpie-jay hints at the possibility of prehistorical long-distance introduction. Future genomic data will help disentangle the evolutionary history of these lineages and better characterize how secondary contact is affecting both the DNA and the phenotype of these species.

 

[albertonykus]

McCormack, J.E., M.M. Hill, D.A. DeRaad, E.J. Kirsch, K.R. Reckling, M.J. Mutchler, B.R. Ramirez, R.M.L. Campbell, J.F. Salter, A.K. Pizarro, W.L.E. Tsai, and E. Bonaccorso (2023)
An elevational shift facilitated the Mesoamerican diversification of Azure-hooded Jays (Cyanolyca cucullata) during the Great American Biotic Interchange
Ecology and Evolution 13: e10411
doi: 10.1002/ece3.10411

The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) was a key biogeographic event in the history of the Americas. The rising of the Panamanian land bridge ended the isolation of South America and ushered in a period of dispersal, mass extinction, and new community assemblages, which sparked competition, adaptation, and speciation. Diversification across many bird groups, and the elevational zonation of others, ties back to events triggered by the GABI. But the exact timing of these events is still being revealed, with recent studies suggesting a much earlier time window for faunal exchange, perhaps as early as 20 million years ago (Mya). Using a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree, we show that the jay genus Cyanolyca is emblematic of bird dispersal trends, with an early, pre-land bridge dispersal from Mesoamerica to South America 6.3–7.3 Mya, followed by a back-colonization of C. cucullata to Mesoamerica 2.3–4.8 Mya, likely after the land bridge was complete. As Cyanolyca species came into contact in Mesoamerica, they avoided competition due to a prior shift to lower elevation in the ancestor of C. cucullata. This shift allowed C. cucullata to integrate itself into the Mesoamerican highland avifauna, which our time-calibrated phylogeny suggests was already populated by higher-elevation, congeneric dwarf-jays (C. argentigula, C. pumilo, C. mirabilis, and C. nanus). The outcome of these events and fortuitous elevational zonation was that C. cucullata could continue colonizing new highland areas farther north during the Pleistocene. Resultingly, four C. cucullata lineages became isolated in allopatric, highland regions from Panama to Mexico, diverging in genetics, morphology, plumage, and vocalizations. At least two of these lineages are best described as species (C. mitrata and C. cucullata). Continued study will further document the influence of the GABI and help clarify how dispersal and vicariance shaped modern-day species assemblages in the Americas.

 

[Peter Boesman]

McCormack, J.E., M.M. Hill, D.A. DeRaad, E.J. Kirsch, K.R. Reckling, M.J. Mutchler, B.R. Ramirez, R.M.L. Campbell, J.F. Salter, A.K. Pizarro, W.L.E. Tsai, and E. Bonaccorso (2023)
An elevational shift facilitated the Mesoamerican diversification of Azure-hooded Jays (Cyanolyca cucullata) during the Great American Biotic Interchange
Ecology and Evolution 13: e10411
doi: 10.1002/ece3.10411

The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) was a key biogeographic event in the history of the Americas. The rising of the Panamanian land bridge ended the isolation of South America and ushered in a period of dispersal, mass extinction, and new community assemblages, which sparked competition, adaptation, and speciation. Diversification across many bird groups, and the elevational zonation of others, ties back to events triggered by the GABI. But the exact timing of these events is still being revealed, with recent studies suggesting a much earlier time window for faunal exchange, perhaps as early as 20 million years ago (Mya). Using a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree, we show that the jay genus Cyanolyca is emblematic of bird dispersal trends, with an early, pre-land bridge dispersal from Mesoamerica to South America 6.3–7.3 Mya, followed by a back-colonization of C. cucullata to Mesoamerica 2.3–4.8 Mya, likely after the land bridge was complete. As Cyanolyca species came into contact in Mesoamerica, they avoided competition due to a prior shift to lower elevation in the ancestor of C. cucullata. This shift allowed C. cucullata to integrate itself into the Mesoamerican highland avifauna, which our time-calibrated phylogeny suggests was already populated by higher-elevation, congeneric dwarf-jays (C. argentigula, C. pumilo, C. mirabilis, and C. nanus). The outcome of these events and fortuitous elevational zonation was that C. cucullata could continue colonizing new highland areas farther north during the Pleistocene. Resultingly, four C. cucullata lineages became isolated in allopatric, highland regions from Panama to Mexico, diverging in genetics, morphology, plumage, and vocalizations. At least two of these lineages are best described as species (C. mitrata and C. cucullata). Continued study will further document the influence of the GABI and help clarify how dispersal and vicariance shaped modern-day species assemblages in the Americas.

Vocalizations were already compared in:
Boesman, P. (2016). Notes on the vocalizations of Azure-hooded Jay (Cyanolyca cucullata). HBW Alive Ornithological Note 210. In: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Birds of the World

and cited in the HBW/BLI checklist.

Conclusions were:
It would seem that vocally it is rather race cucullata which is distinct. As a matter of fact, there is a consistent difference in the two main vocalizations:

• The scratchy call is distinctly upslurred at the end and more nasal in the three northern races (measurable difference 'end freq. - start freq.',score 2)
• The fast note series are distinctly higher-pitched in cucullata with different note shape (max. freq. c. 3.5kHz vs max. freq. c. 2kHz, score 2-3).

McCormack et al. 2023 only compare one vocalization of the various taxa, the second one, and reach similar conclusions: Overall, the djhenk calls of C. c. cucullata were higher frequency and more concentrated in specific frequencies, whereas oink calls of northern populations showed harmonics spread over a wider, but lower frequency.

 

[Jacana]

B. A. Graham, I. Szabo, C. Cicero, D. Strickland, J. Woods, H. Coneybeare, K. M. Dohms & T. M. Burg. 2023. Habitat and climate influence hybridization among three genetically distinct Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) morphotypes in an avian hybrid zone complex. Heredity. Habitat and climate influence hybridization among three genetically distinct Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) morphotypes in an avian hybrid zone complex - Heredity

Examining the frequency and distribution of hybrids across contact zones provide insights into the factors mediating hybridization. In this study, we examined the effect of habitat and climate on hybridization patterns for three phenotypically, genetically, and ecologically distinct groups of the Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) in a secondary contact zone in western North America. Additionally, we tested whether the frequency of hybridization involving the three groups (referred to as Boreal, Pacific and Rocky Mountain morphotypes) is similar across the hybrid zones or whether some pairs have hybridized more frequently than others. We reanalyzed microsatellite, mtDNA and plumage data, and new microsatellite and plumage data for 526 individuals to identify putative genetic and phenotypic hybrids. The genetically and phenotypically distinct groups are associated with different habitats and occupy distinct climate niches across the contact zone. Most putative genetic hybrids (86%) had Rocky Mountain ancestry. Hybrids were observed most commonly in intermediate climate niches and in habitats where Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) overlaps broadly with boreal and subalpine tree species. Our finding that hybrids occupy intermediate climate niches relative to parental morphotypes matches patterns for other plant and animal species found in this region. This study demonstrates how habitat and climate influence hybridization patterns in areas of secondary contact and adds to the growing body of research on tri-species hybrid zones.

 

[Mysticete]

Does anyone have a copy they would be willing to share with me?

Edit: Thanks to the folks when sent this to me!

 

[albertonykus]

Kryukov, A.P., K.A. Kryukov, K. Collier, B. Fang, and S. Edwards (2023)
Mitogenomics clarifies the position of the Nearctic magpies (Pica hudsonia and Pica nuttalli) within the Holarctic magpie radiation
Current Zoology (advance online publication)
doi: 10.1093/cz/zoad048

Partial separation of a peripheral population may lead to its divergence and, potentially, speciation due to genetic drift followed by selection and geographic isolation. This process may cause taxonomic uncertainty because reproductive isolation in allopatry cannot be verified directly. The two Nearctic allopatric species of magpies (Aves, Corvidae: Pica) serve as a good example of these problems. The Black-billed magpie Pica hudsonia is widely distributed in North America, whereas the Yellow-billed Magpie Pica nuttalli is endemic to restricted range in California. Their relationships with Palearctic species have been little studied. We obtained complete mitochondrial genomes of both Nearctic magpie species, along with the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) and the Oriental Magpie (Pica serica), 20 mitogenomes in total. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a basal position of P. serica, and P. pica as a sister clade to the two Nearctic species. P. hudsonia and P. nuttalli form reciprocal monophyletic subclades, showing recent divergence between and within them. Our data show that the Nearctic magpie lineage diverged from the common ancestor with P. pica, with a single migration wave via the Beringia. Within the Nearctic, we hypothesize a peripatric mode of speciation among Pica taxa due to divergence and separation of the small marginal population in California below the Sierra-Nevada mountains. Diversifying amino acid substitutions in ND4-ND5-ND6 genes along the branch leading to the New World clade may indicate selection for heat-tolerance. Considering the clear phenotypic differences between P. hudsonia and P. nuttalli, our data, showing their reciprocal monophylies and genetic distinctness, is consistent with the two-species taxonomy.