Fellow forum members:
The AOU North American Checklist Committee is seeking opinions and options for the English names for the resulting units of the impending Clapper/King Rail split. If passed, the proposal will result in five taxa, with the following English names options (* = preferred):
Rallus elegans Audubon. (eastern North America)
English name options: maintain King Rail
Rallus tenuirostris Ridgway. (highland central Mexico)
English name options: *Aztec Rail. Mexican Rail.
Rallus crepitans Gmelin. (eastern North America and Caribbean)
English name options: maintain *Clapper Rail. Saltmarsh Rail
Rallus obsoletus Ridgway. (northwest Mexico, SW US)
English name options: *Ridgway’s Rail. Light-footed Rail (the old English name for one of the subspecies)
Rallus longirostris Boddaert. (South America)
English name options: *Mangrove Rail. maintain Clapper Rail.
The name that members currently like least is Ridgway's Rail. Ridgway named two of the subspecies of obsoletus, but patronyms should be used to honor taxa named for someone, not the person who described them. We are open to new suggestions and opinions on these names.
Andy Kratter
AOU North American Checklist Committee
The AOU North American Checklist Committee is seeking opinions and options for the English names for the resulting units of the impending Clapper/King Rail split. If passed, the proposal will result in five taxa, with the following English names options (* = preferred):
Rallus elegans Audubon. (eastern North America)
English name options: maintain King Rail
Rallus tenuirostris Ridgway. (highland central Mexico)
English name options: *Aztec Rail. Mexican Rail.
Rallus crepitans Gmelin. (eastern North America and Caribbean)
English name options: maintain *Clapper Rail. Saltmarsh Rail
Rallus obsoletus Ridgway. (northwest Mexico, SW US)
English name options: *Ridgway’s Rail. Light-footed Rail (the old English name for one of the subspecies)
Rallus longirostris Boddaert. (South America)
English name options: *Mangrove Rail. maintain Clapper Rail.
The name that members currently like least is Ridgway's Rail. Ridgway named two of the subspecies of obsoletus, but patronyms should be used to honor taxa named for someone, not the person who described them. We are open to new suggestions and opinions on these names.
Andy Kratter
AOU North American Checklist Committee