Latest IOC Diary Updates (4 Viewers)

[Kirk Roth]

I intentionally made it with lots of crossing arrows to maintain the old and (presumed) new linear sequence.

Both are appreciated - thank you and Mike for the effort.

 

[Jacana]

Are there any records of Eastern Red-rumped Swallow in the Western Palearctic? Looks like a good candidate to turn up as they get into Kazakhstan.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

Are there any records of Eastern Red-rumped Swallow in the Western Palearctic? Looks like a good candidate to turn up as they get into Kazakhstan.

There are 2 records in Sweden.

 

[njlarsen]

It is, so any errors in the new linear sequence is on me.
As pointed out by others I agree that Western Red-rumped Swallow would be a better vernucular name for C. rufula.

Thanks, I copied the image into the opus page for the genus, I think it will show its usefulness in the future!
Niels

 

[Tor Olsen]

Are there any records of Eastern Red-rumped Swallow in the Western Palearctic? Looks like a good candidate to turn up as they get into Kazakhstan.

From the top of my head: 6 accepted records in Norway, 3 in Finland, 1 in Denmark, at least 2 in Britain, and a very good candidate from the Netherlands. I also think there are documented records from Israel and Egypt.

 

[johnallcock]

It's such a weirdly named bird anyway - not one of them has a red rump (variably chestnut, rufous, or buffy) and rufula is probably least so.

Bicolour-rumped Swallow

I agree, and the split seems like a chance to give each taxon a distinct name, rather than geographical qualifiers on the 'Red-rumped'. It would avoid the confusion about whether a species that breeds in north Africa and Pakistan is really European, and could highlight features for distinguishing them.

If adding the qualifiers, why not also have Sri Lanka Red-rumped Swallow and Rufous-bellied Red-rumped Swallow (for badia)?

 

[DMW]

I know this is a very large can of worms, but have we more or less reached the point where the concept of the sub-species is being eroded, or at the least, species-boundary goalposts are being moved? As an admitted layman, it seems a lot of recent splits are based on really rather trivial phenotypic differences.

 

[dnsallen]

Get ready for some lumps! Eager to piece together the final WGAC list, I scanned their decisions on Avibase, species by species for those where IOC, eBird/Clements and BLI differ in recognition. Since base line is the IOC list, I presumed that any changes from the first to the last version had to be genuine. Also, presumably all the IOC updates coming in now follow WGAC decisions. Of course, these stances might not be the final ones, but we’re getting close now!

My quick glance showed that there are 165 lumps not yet announced by IOC, but only 40 splits. Most of the lumps are species only IOC recognize, but I’ve found a few that have had universal recognition up to now. Surprises (at least to me) are lumps of Porphyrio-swamphens, Maghreb Owl, Hooded Crow, Amur Stonechat and the newly split Chinese Long-tailed Rosefinch. Among the splits, a few are novel, like the rearrangement of Edolisoma and some Pachycephala Whistlers, plus the Red-rumped Swallow complex (striolata subsumed in daurica, but European swallow split as rufula and African as melanocrissa, including domicella).

I've probably missed a whole bunch, but holler if you want to see the list anyway!

Lumping the swamphens back to the Peters checklist state would make sense to me, given the very widespread hybridisation in many areas. Philippine P. pulverulentus is worth retaining separate as it seems to maintain some ecological differences and on the evidence so far to have limited if any hybridisation.
Amur and Siberian Stonechats are also not obviously 'good species'.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Lumping the swamphens

Based on ?

 

[dnsallen]

Based on ?

Based on ?

'given the very widespread hybridisation in many areas'
Of course it does depend on what you want a species to be...

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

'given the very widespread hybridisation in many areas'
Of course it does depend on what you want a species to be...

No studies behind?

 

[dnsallen]

No studies behind?

possibly a reassessment of the work by Garcia-Ramirez and Trewick that led to this split

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

possibly a reassessment of the work by Garcia-Ramirez and Trewick that led to this split

So pulverulentus (perhaps melanotus) should be lumped into poliocephalus and indicus into porphyrio ? I will read the discussion

 

[dnsallen]

So pulverulentus (perhaps melanotus) should be lumped into poliocephalus and indicus into porphyrio ? I will read the discussion

based on real world observations, pulverulentus should remain separate, as, Peters had it. But indicus, melanotus, poliocephalus could likely be re-lumped. I don't have personal experience beyond these

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

based on real world observations, pulverulentus should remain separate, as, Peters had it. But indicus, melanotus, poliocephalus could likely be re-lumped. I don't have personal experience beyond these

Curious conception if everything is included in porphyrio 🤔🤔

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I'm going to have to make the most of basking in the joy of having seen half the world's bird species while that situation lasts... which I'm guessing will only be for a couple more days now 😂

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Eek! Today's intrinsically evil splits: Timor, Banggai, Obi, and Geelvink Cicadabirds from Common Cicadabird. What use is that to anyone? Just 5 more splits of that nature and that's me kicked out of the 50% club.... Again! 🥴😂

 

[Jacana]

Jun 29 Post split of Philippine Jungle Crow from Large-billed Crow.

 

[Markus Lagerqvist]

Rock-loving Cisticola	Cisticola emini	DEL	AL		Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola emini (including petrophilus and admiralis), originally recognized by Sibley & Monroe (1970), is lumped with Lazy Cisticola Cisticola aberrans. These allopatric taxa vary only slightly in morphology, but they are similar in vocalizations and ecology (Dowsett & Dowsett-Lemaire F. 1993). The two forms are usually treated as conspecific (Dickinson & Christidis 2014; del Hoyo & Collar 2016; HBW/BirdLife).
Huambo Cisticola	Cisticola bailunduensis	ADD	AD	Lazy Cisticola	Huambo Cisticola Cisticola bailunduensis is split from Lazy Cisticola (formerly Rock-loving Cisticola) based on significantly different vocalizations coupled with morphological and ecological differences (del Hoyo & Collar 2016; HBW/BirdLife).

 

[opisska]

Oh no, they are doing cisticolas! The already most confusing african birds