Use the comment box here to make suggestions for future revisions to the Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Digital Checklist of the Birds of the World, supported by appropriate evidence and/or documentation.
Use the comment box here to make suggestions for future revisions to the Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Digital Checklist of the Birds of the World, supported by appropriate evidence and/or documentation.
I would like to propose the subspecies Thalasseus maximus albididorsalis be considered for full species status. The current checklist (version 6, 2021), does not consider the genetics study by Collinson et al. 2017 which definitively shows that T. maximus albididorsalis is more closely related to T. bergii and T. bengalensis than to T. maximus. Splitting T. maximus albididorsalis into it’s own species would solve the paraphyletic nature of T. maximus. This change has already been recognized by the IOC (v12.1) and AOS checklists.
Thanks
Collinson et al. 2018 – https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blw049
I propose the adoption of two newly-described species and other taxonomic changes, from two recent articles, cited below.
This change is of conservation importance because according to the species descriptions, both of the new species mentioned below should be immediately classified as Critically Endangered on the Global Red List. Prompt evaluation, and if appropriate, recognition of these species would be helpful for gaining conservation support to help them.
The two newly-described species are:
Alagoas Black-throated Trogon (Trogon muriciensis)
Alagoas Screech-Owl (Megascops alagoensis)
References:
Dantas, S.M., Weckstein, J.D., Bates, J., Oliveira, J.N., Catanach, T.A., Aleixo, A., 2021. Multi-character taxonomic review, systematics, and biogeography of the Black-capped/Tawny-bellied Screech Owl (Megascops atricapilla-M. watsonii) complex (Aves: Strigidae). Zootaxa 4949, 401–444. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4949.3.1
Dickens, J.K., Bitton, P.-P., Bravo, G.A., Silveira, L.F., 2021. Species limits, patterns of secondary contact and a new species in the Trogon rufus complex (Aves: Trogonidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 42.
Suggest re-splitting Neomorphus squamiger which is highly distinctive https://boc-online.org/bulletins/downloads/BBOC1343-Firme.pdf and highly threatened.
I suggest the recognition of the newly described Rhynchocyclus cryptus and other splits proposed in the same paper where this new taxon is described, given that the ranges of the newly proposed species are significantly smaller when compared to that of the polytypic R. olivaceus, as currently delimited in the HBW checklist.
I suggest the recognition of the newly split Willisornis spp. given that their ranges are significantly smaller when compared to that of the polytypic W. poecilinotus and W. vidua, as currently delimited in the HBW checklist.
Here is the associated paper to this proposal: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/196/4/1408/6571472
I suggest recognition of Ortalis remota as a full species, based on the following paper. This Brazilian endemic is recognised as a full species by the CBRO in Brazil, and is listed as Critically Endangered on the national red list, as it has a small population (<250 mature individuals) and a tiny range. Silveira et al. make a strong case for recognition as a species:
Silveira, L.F., Tomotani, B.M., Cestari, C., Straube, F.C., Piacentini, V.D.Q., 2017. Ortalis remota: a forgotten and critically endangered species of chachalaca (Galliformes: Cracidae) from Eastern Brazil. Zootaxa 4306, 524. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4306.4.4