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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Latest IOC Diary Updates (5 Viewers)

Nov 2 Accept split of Malayan Crested Fireback from Bornean Crested Fireback.

Nov 2 Accept split of Bornean Crestless Fireback from Malayan Crestless Fireback.
 
Nov 2 Accept lump of Thick-billed Honeyguide with Lesser Honeyguide.

Nov 2 Accept split of Sangihe Dwarf Kingfisher from Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher.

Nov 2 Accept split of Malayan Blue-banded Kingfisher from Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher.

Nov 2 Accept split of Copper-tailed Hummingbird from Green-bellied Hummingbird.

Nov 2 Accept splits of Perija Starfrontlet and Golden-tailed Starfrontlet from Golden-bellied Starfrontlet.

Nov 2 Accept splits of Green Inca and Gould's Inca from Collared Inca.

Nov 2 Accept split of Whyte's Francolin from Shelley's Francolin.

Nov 2 Accept split of Sabah Partridge from Chestnut-necklaced Partridge.

Nov 2 Accept lump of Black-shouldered Nightjar with Fiery-necked Nightjar.
 
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Owl. This general term for any species of Owl goes back via Middle English oule to Old English [ex Anglo-Saxon] ūle, etymologically identical with Dutch uil, Middle Low German ūle, also Old Norse ugla (in which language intrusive g is a regular development). These forms presuppose Proto-Germanic *uwwalō; cf. further closely related German Eule presupposing *uwwilō. These words appear to contain the diminutive element l attached to a root uww- echoing the Owl’s hooting.” (W. B. Lockwood, 1984, The Oxford Book of British Bird Names, p. 112).
 
In Germany many owls (without ear tufts) are called "Kauz", perhaps there's something similar in some ancient english dialect?
 
Nov 2 Accept split of Olive-streaked and Olive-striped Flycatchers. See Updates for English names.

Nov 2 Accept split of Black-breasted Gnateater from Chestnut-belted Gnateater.

Nov 2 Accept split of Choco Manakin from Green Manakin.
 
Scythebill already had this split, presumably off the back of HBW list?
No, I never add any splits that aren't in the original taxonomy! The current version only has it split in eBird/Clements, not IOC.

(Though I did accidentally copy "Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher" as an alternate name and critically-endangered status to the species instead of the nominate subspecies.)
 
Nov 2 Accept split of Northern Tropical Pewee from (Southern) Tropical Pewee.

Nov 2 Accept split of Choco and Amazonian Elaenias from Grey-headed (Grey) Elaenia.

Nov 2 Accept split of Maranon Tyrannulet from Tumbesian Tyrannulet.

Nov 2 Accept split of Northern and Southern Mouse-colored Tyrannulets.
 
Does anyone know what's going on in the Guianas with Mouse-colored Tyrannulet?

Subspecies wagae is allocated to Southern and both BirdsOfTheWorld and IOC include the Guianas in its distribution for Southern in their range descriptions. However, the mapping of sightings on eBird only show Northern in the Guiana shield.
 
No, I never add any splits that aren't in the original taxonomy! The current version only has it split in eBird/Clements, not IOC.

(Though I did accidentally copy "Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher" as an al
Somehow, I confused Cerulea but that was down to an errr in my own notes.
 
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Nov 3 Accept splits of Mouse-grey Flycatcher and Rufescent Flycatcher from Bran-colored Flycatcher.

Nov 3 Accept split of Bahia Wagtail-Tyrant from Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant.

Nov 3 Accept lump of White-bellied Tyrannulet with White-crested Tyrannulet.

Nov 3 Accept lump of Landana Firefinch with African Firefinch.

Nov 3 Accept split of Red-cowled Widowbird from Red-collared Widowbird.

Nov 3 Accept split of Olive-naped Weaver from Black-necked Weaver.

Nov 3 Accept split of Red Weaver from Red-headed Weaver.

Nov 3 Restore Amber Mountain Rock Thrush as a split from Forest Rock Thrush.

Nov 3 Accept split of Rufous-breasted Blue Flycatcher from Blue-breasted Blue Flycatcher.

Nov 3 Accept split of Rufous-crowned Prinia from Black-throated Prinia.

Nov 3 Accept three-way split of Crested Shriketit.

Nov 3 Accept split of Rufous-browed Chat-Tyrant from Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant.
 
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Does anyone know what's going on in the Guianas with Mouse-colored Tyrannulet?

Subspecies wagae is allocated to Southern and both BirdsOfTheWorld and IOC include the Guianas in its distribution for Southern in their range descriptions. However, the mapping of sightings on eBird only show Northern in the Guiana shield.
The eBird/Clements 2022 taxonomy amends the range of wagae to "Tropical e Peru to nw Bolivia and w Amazonian Brazil", with incomta (part of Northern) as "Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas and n Brazil; Trinidad". This certainly makes more biogeographic sense to me, and I'm surprised that wasn't copied over to BOTW. My assumed treatment in Scythebill is that the default species in the Guianas is Northern.

That said, I don't know if anyone knows how far north Southern Mouse-colored moves in the austral winter.
 
Thanks Paul,
When I look at the IOC spreadsheet they quote SACC proposal 730 but have not followed the conclusion in SACC. I just wondered if this deviation is deliberate.

Maybe a case for discussion in the working group when they get to these species?
Niels

I find the various deviations here at IOC and in Clements (see separate chain) from SACC and NACC to be very interesting. Probably it is all coming from the new WGAC group:

NACC has always been somewhat conservative, albeit generally pretty consistent over the years; SACC has had a lot of problems in terms of keeping up, and also with being non-progressive, inconsistent and biased towards different groups of researchers. I've written a lot more about the issues with that committee here:

IOC has always gone its own way apart from NACC and SACC, e.g. accepting the "Ridgely splits" of the 1980s to 1990s and also on more recent literature and some BirdLife splits. However, Clements has often even been behind SACC and NACC, waiting for them to act, then taking even longer to follow.

We then had the disruptor of the BirdLife / Collar checklist, most of which I think is right, some of which is clearly not. And then some proponents of "old taxonomies" laying into the BirdLife list on the ones they got wrong. WGAC is now looking at all those proposals it seems and, seemingly, taking many of them.

It is quite clear that whilst WGAC is being overall pretty progressive and drawing a fairly progressive middle line between the various competing lists, some of the naysayers, flat-earthers or proponents of slow change (which the rate of publication of studies they deem to be satisfactory will only ever produce) have been trying to push back.

We had these NACC proposals recently remember, being various one-sided hatchet jobs aimed at trashing some reasonable BirdLife changes that do not benefit from a full molecular, vocal and specimen study in the journal Auk; NACC turned most of these down in the end. These were separately discussed here on Birdforum with a strong rebuttal from Peter Boesman, especially on Spot-crowned Woodcreeper.

We then recently had a series of proposals at SACC, which seems quite openly to be an attempt to try and get ahead of WGAC and influence that process, e.g. one of them even said "this proposal is to provide feedback to IOC’s WGAC, which is working to reconcile all world lists". For "feedback", read "telling them why not to accept any changes from our inviolable and ever-unchanging SACC list". Several of these proposals recommended to reject splits adopted by other lists (although in the case of Piranga, I have to say that not splitting seems not unreasonable, and in the case of the Flame-rumped Tanagers I believe SACC is more correct in lumping; the others, which should be easier, are having a hard time getting over the usual blocking minority at SACC, perpetuated by the usual individual suspects at SACC). E.g.:

And then we now see Clements and IOC adopting a bunch of S American splits which SACC have not addressed or got round to having pre-emptive proposals on. That does seem to be a bit of a departure. Did SACC not know the WGAC were looking at those ones? Maybe they did, since there is a common committee member on both. Were there too many proposals and was there not enough bandwidth for SACC to get its pre-emptive proposals published on time? Maybe.

Fascinating stuff to observe, anyway. And I have to say, the outcomes at WGAC on groups that I know well or have seen it the field or studied, or read the studies on, all seem instinctively reasonable and sensible. Good job.
 
Nov 4 Accept split of Vinous-breasted Myna and Burmese Myna (note revisions of English names).

Nov 4 Accept lump of Sunda Bush Warbler with Aberrant Bush Warbler.

Nov 4 Post proposed split of Malawi Batis from Cape Batis.

Nov 4 Accept the re-lumping of Himalayan and Dalat Shrike-babblers with White-browed (Blyth's) Shrike-babbler.
 
"the outcomes at WGAC on groups that I know well or have seen it the field or studied, or read the studies on, all seem instinctively reasonable and sensible. Good job."
It is a violation of Bird Forum rules to post using someone else's account. But I agree with this assesment.
 
I find the various deviations here at IOC and in Clements (see separate chain) from SACC and NACC to be very interesting. Probably it is all coming from the new WGAC group:

NACC has always been somewhat conservative, albeit generally pretty consistent over the years; SACC has had a lot of problems in terms of keeping up, and also with being non-progressive, inconsistent and biased towards different groups of researchers. I've written a lot more about the issues with that committee here:

IOC has always gone its own way apart from NACC and SACC, e.g. accepting the "Ridgely splits" of the 1980s to 1990s and also on more recent literature and some BirdLife splits. However, Clements has often even been behind SACC and NACC, waiting for them to act, then taking even longer to follow.

We then had the disruptor of the BirdLife / Collar checklist, most of which I think is right, some of which is clearly not. And then some proponents of "old taxonomies" laying into the BirdLife list on the ones they got wrong. WGAC is now looking at all those proposals it seems and, seemingly, taking many of them.

It is quite clear that whilst WGAC is being overall pretty progressive and drawing a fairly progressive middle line between the various competing lists, some of the naysayers, flat-earthers or proponents of slow change (which the rate of publication of studies they deem to be satisfactory will only ever produce) have been trying to push back.

We had these NACC proposals recently remember, being various one-sided hatchet jobs aimed at trashing some reasonable BirdLife changes that do not benefit from a full molecular, vocal and specimen study in the journal Auk; NACC turned most of these down in the end. These were separately discussed here on Birdforum with a strong rebuttal from Peter Boesman, especially on Spot-crowned Woodcreeper.

We then recently had a series of proposals at SACC, which seems quite openly to be an attempt to try and get ahead of WGAC and influence that process, e.g. one of them even said "this proposal is to provide feedback to IOC’s WGAC, which is working to reconcile all world lists". For "feedback", read "telling them why not to accept any changes from our inviolable and ever-unchanging SACC list". Several of these proposals recommended to reject splits adopted by other lists (although in the case of Piranga, I have to say that not splitting seems not unreasonable, and in the case of the Flame-rumped Tanagers I believe SACC is more correct in lumping; the others, which should be easier, are having a hard time getting over the usual blocking minority at SACC, perpetuated by the usual individual suspects at SACC). E.g.:

And then we now see Clements and IOC adopting a bunch of S American splits which SACC have not addressed or got round to having pre-emptive proposals on. That does seem to be a bit of a departure. Did SACC not know the WGAC were looking at those ones? Maybe they did, since there is a common committee member on both. Were there too many proposals and was there not enough bandwidth for SACC to get its pre-emptive proposals published on time? Maybe.

Fascinating stuff to observe, anyway. And I have to say, the outcomes at WGAC on groups that I know well or have seen it the field or studied, or read the studies on, all seem instinctively reasonable and sensible. Good job.
I so far have been impressed by WGAC, but I am a bit worried that nacc will be a drag. We have seen them act without sacc, but so far they haven't really gone against nacc, at least in any important way.

Maybe they just are holding off on those perturbation for fear of ebird chaos. But it's odd that they have completed several groups where differences exist between ioc and AOS, but we haven't seen either list change, outside of I think osprey being lumped by ioc
 
Nov 5 Move Abbott's Starling to the resurrected monotypic genus Arizelopsar.

Nov 5 Restore Sharpe's Starling to the monotypic genus Pholia.

Nov 5 Accept split of Enggano Imperial Pigeon from Green Imperial Pigeon.

Nov 5 Accept splits of Western and Southern Crested Guineafowl from (Eastern) Crested Guineafowl.

Nov 5 Accept split of White-throated Piping Guan from Blue-throated Piping Guan.

Nov 4 Post proposed re-lumping of Ruaha Chat with Arnot's Chat.
 
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