On July 16 2023 the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) released the latest version of its world bird list (v13.2):

Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen  (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v13.2). doi :  10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2.

After rising steadily year-on-year, the number of extant species in the IOC bird list now exceeds 11,000!

The IOC bird list is hosted on a dedicated World Bird Names website, which provides access to the list in various different formats. The list is updated twice a year, usually in January and July.

The details of the changes in the v13.2 release can be found by clicking on the Updates tab on the IOC website. Here is a summary of the major amendments:

New to science

Sporophila ‘Thraupidae’ Seedeaters  +1 species
Ibera Seedeater

Splits

Caprimulgus Nightjars  +1 species

Charadrius Plovers  +1 species

Accipiter Goshawks  +1

Lophoceros Hornbills  +1

Dryobates, Campephilus, Meiglyptes Woodpeckers  +3

Cacatua Cockatoos  +1

Serilophus Typical Broadbills  +1

Deconychura Ovenbirds (Woodcreepers)  +2

Campylorhamphus Ovenbirds (Scythebills)  +2

Xenops Ovenbirds (Xenopses)  +1

Automolus Ovenbirds (Foliage-gleaners)  +1

Cranioleuca, Synallaxis Ovenbirds (Spinetails)  +2

Grallaria Antpittas  +2

Rhynchocyclus Tyrant Flycatchers (Flatbills)  +1

Pachyramphus Becards  +1

Oriolus Old World Orioles  +2

Dicrurus Drongos  +1

Hypsipetes Bulbuls  +5   Pycnonotus Bulbuls  +1

Fringilla Chaffinches  +4   Chlorophonia Euphonias  +2

Lonchura Mannikins  +1

Melopyrrha ‘Thraupidae’ Bullfinches  +1

Xenodacnis Dacnises  +1   Dubusia Mountain Tanagers +2

Lumps

Megascops Owls -1  [Vermiculated Screech Owl]

Pogoniulus African Barbets  -1  [White-chested Tinkerbird]

Picumnus Woodpeckers  -1  [Black-dotted Piculet]

Celeus Woodpeckers  -1  [Scaly-breasted Woodpecker]

Amazona New World Parrots (Amazons)  -2  [Tres Marias, Northern Mealy]

Pezoporus Old World Parrots  -1  [Western Ground Parrot]

Hylexetastes Ovenbirds  -1  [Brigida’s Woodcreeper]

Xiphorhynchus Ovenbirds  -1  [Tschudi’s Woodcreeper]

Asthenes Ovenbirds  -1  [Puna Canastero]

Empidonax Tyrant Flycatchers  -1  [Cordilleran Flycatcher]

Dicrurus Drongos  -3  [Fanti, Glossy-backed, Western Square-tailed]

Curruca Sylviid Babblers (Whitethroats)  -2  [Hume’s, Desert]

Fraseria Old World Flycatchers  -1  [Itombwe Flycatcher]

Chloropsis Leafbirds  -1  [Greyish-crowned Leafbird]

Emberiza Buntings  -1  [Vincent’s Bunting]

Cacicus Oropendolas  -1  [Northern Mountain Cacique]

Icterus New World Orioles  -1  [Ochre Oriole]

Revision and resequencing of families

Family: Sarothruridae – Flufftails & Forest Rails has a new English name.

Family: Ciconiidae – Storks has been resequenced.

Six genera within Family: Accipitridae – Kites, Hawks, Eagles have been resequenced.

Monotypic genus Reinwardtipicus within Family: Picidae – Woodpeckers has been resequenced.

Genera Coracopsis and Cyanoramphus within Family: Psittaculidae – Old World Parrots have been resequenced.

Monotypic genus Cryptopezus within Family: Grallariidae – Antpittas has been resequenced.

Genus Rhynchocyclus within Family: Tyrannidae – Tyrant Flycatchers, Calyptura has been resequenced.

Family: Laniidae – Shrikes has been resequenced and repositioned to immediately precede Family: Corvidae – Crows, Jays.

Family: Muscicapidae – Chats, Old World Flycatchers has been resequenced.

In the IOC bird list there are now 11001 extant species (net +21) ascribed to 252 families.

The two releases of the IOC bird list this year (v13.1 and v13.2) are summarised in detail here.

The changes also include giving new English names to two widespread Old World species:

– Common House Martin is renamed as Western House Martin

– Common Chaffinch is renamed as Eurasian Chaffinch

All the v13.2 changes will be reflected in the 2024 editions of the ATWB Companion Guides. These editions will be released commencing August 2023.

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Some details …

Each of the ATWB Companion Guides has a number of important features, including:

– A complete taxonomic listing of bird species

– An indication of where each bird family and species can be found in its native state

– Spotlighted species that have a restricted regional or worldwide range

However, perhaps the key feature of all eBooks in the Companion Guide series is the way you can quickly and simply access relevant, up to date online information about every featured bird species. If your reading device is connected to the internet, a single click will take you to a search results page for a species, from where you can continue to search for additional information to whatever level of detail you desire.

The ‘All the World’s Birds’ series of Companion Guides derives its taxonomy, English names and scientific names from The IOC World Bird List, an open access resource maintained by the International Ornithological Congress (IOC). The IOC bird list is hosted on a dedicated World Bird Names website, which provides access to the list in various different formats.

The version of the IOC bird list used in the ‘All the World’s Birds 2023’ series of Companion Guides is Version 12.2, published August 7 2022.

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