On December 23 2023, the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) released the latest version of its world bird list (v14.1). This was earlier than usual, as vX.1 versions of the bird list are normally released during January. Work is still continuing on updating the ‘Birds of the World’ section of the IOC website and won’t be completed until March:

Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen  (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v14.1). doi :  10.14344/IOC.ML.14.1.

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.

The details of the changes in the v14.1 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

None

Splits

Ardea Egrets  +2 species

Trogon Trogons  +3

Horizocerus Hornbills  +2

Ceyx Dwarf Kingfishers  +1

Psilopogon African Barbets  +1

Pitta Pittas  +4

Rhipidura Fantails  +10

Riparia Martins  +1

Suthora Parrotbills  +1

Pellorneum Babblers  +3

Dicaeum Flowerpeckers  +4

Cinnyris Sunbirds  +7

Lumps

Erythropitta Pittas  -2  [Siau Pitta, Sangihe Pitta]

Onychorhynchus Royal Flycatchers  -2  [Northern Royal Flycatcher, Pacific Royal Flycatcher]

Aethopyga Sunbirds  -2  [Luzon Sunbird, Bohol Sunbird]

Two species, both formerly resident in ec Brazil, have been declared to be extinct

Cryptic Treehunter, Alagoas Foliage-gleaner

Revision and resequencing of families

Family: Pluvianellidae – Magellanic Plover has been repositioned to immediately precede Family: Chionidae – Sheathbills.

The following families have been fully or partially resequenced:

Family: Turnicidae – Buttonquail

Family: Burhinidae – Stone-curlews, Thick-knees

Family: Charadriidae – Plovers

Family: Jacanidae – Jacanas

Family: Scolopacidae – Sandpipers, Snipes

Family: Glareolidae – Coursers, Pratincoles

Family: Laridae – Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Family: Stercorariidae – Skuas

Family: Alcidae – Auks

Family: Diomedeidae – Albatrosses

Family: Fregatidae – Frigatebirds

Family: Sulidae – Gannets, Boobies

Family: Anhingidae – Anhingas, Darters

Family: Ardeidae – Herons, Bitterns

Family: Trogonidae – Trogons

Family: Cacatuidae – Cockatoos

Family: Acanthizidae – Australasian Warblers

Family: Petroicidae – Australasian Robins *

Family: Hirundinidae – Swallows, Martins

[* Note: the resequencing of Family: Petroicidae – Australasian Robins is ongoing; more changes to the ordering of species in this family are expected in v14.2.]

Additionally, there have been some minor re-orderings of species, including:

Genus Rallicula of Forest Rails within Family: Sarothruridae – Flufftails & Forest Rails has been partially resequenced.

Genus Mustelirallus within Family: Rallidae – Rails, Crakes & Coots has been resequenced.

Genus Asthenes of Canasteros within Family: Furnariidae – Ovenbirds has been partially resequenced.

Genus Rhipidura within Family: Rhipiduridae – Fantails has been resequenced.

Monotypic genus Megalurus within Family: Locustellidae – Grassbirds & Allies has been resequenced.

And finally:

Family: Phaenicophilidae – Hispaniolan Palm-tanagers has a modified English name.

In the IOC bird list there are now 11032 extant species (net +31) ascribed to 252 families.

All the v14.1 changes will be reflected in the 2025 editions of ATWB Companion Guides. These editions will be released commencing August 2024, after publication of the next version (v14.2) of the IOC bird list.

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Some details …

Each of the ATWB 2024 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 2024’ series of Companion Guides is Version 13.2, published July 16 2023.

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