SAFE BIRDING DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
If you’re lucky enough to live in a part of the world where you are still being encouraged to go outside to take exercise, here are some tips for birding safely. Please note that I am not a doctor, nor do I have any medical qualifications. I have simply taken the advice given out by the UK government and applied it to birding. Many of the points below may seem obvious, but one or two might help you to keep even safer and, just as importantly, keep those around you safe.
- Before you leave your house to go birding WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY. Make sure your hands start off clean and then keep them clean. Why? Because when we use binoculars, we are constantly raising our hands to our face. My view is that it is better to know that your hands are clean, rather than wear gloves, which might become contaminated.
- Obviously, it goes without saying really .. don’t share binoculars or telescopes!
- If possible, go birding alone, and engage in social distancing while you are out. If birding with someone who is not a member of your household, travel separately to the birding site and bird ‘side-by-side’ at least a metre, preferably two metres apart. The same applies if you meet another birder while out. When discussing a sighting, talk to the bird, not to each other. Avoid large groups and sitting in hides.
- Use a spare hat or scarf to open and close gates, then keep those items away from your face and hands. If possible, carry some sanitising liquid with you. Being antibacterial, the liquid won’t kill a virus, but it will help you to cleanse your hands if you inadvertently touch something that might be contaminated. Use the liquid to cleanse your hands before making the return journey home.
- If you find an unusual bird, think twice before reporting it in the usual way. Am I likely to be the cause of a major twitch? Is there enough open space and a wide enough viewpoint for local birders to share this bird in a safe way?
- Finally, think twice before travelling to see a reported unusual bird. If there are mass gatherings of birders, governments will move to suppress them. These are difficult and unusual times. Your annual or lifetime birdlist is not the most important thing to be worried about right now.
Keep safe!
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IOC BIRD LIST V10.1 RELEASED
On January 25 2020 the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) released the latest version of its world bird list (V10.1):
Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v 10.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1.
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, in January and June.
The details of the changes in the v10.1 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
Myzomela Honeyeaters +1 species Alor Myzomela
Dicaeum Flowerpeckers +1 species Spectacled Flowerpecker
Splits
Lophornis Hummingbirds (Coquettes) +1 species
Numenius Whimbrels +1 species
Thalasseus Terns +1 species
Glaucidium and Strix Owls +2 species
Microptilotis Honeyeaters +1 species
Prinia Prinias +3
Phylloscopus Leaf Warblers +2
Oenanthe Wheatears +1
Lumps
Lophura Pheasants -1 [Hoogerwerf’s Pheasant]
Deletions
Stachyridopsis Babblers -1 [Deignan’s Babbler]
Revision and resequencing of families
The Pternistis genus in Family: Phasianidae – Pheasants & Allies has been revised and resequenced.
Within Order Charadriiformes, single species Family: Dromadidae – Crab-plover has been resequenced to precede Family: Glareolidae – Coursers, Pratincoles.
The Honeyeaters family Meliphagidae has been revised and resequenced.
The Oriolus genus in Family: Oriolidae – Figbirds, Orioles, Turnagra has been revised and resequenced.
The Poecile genus in Family: Paridae – Tits, Chickadees has been revised and resequenced.
In the IOC bird list there are now 10770 extant species (net +12) ascribed to 249 families.
The changes include:
a) the splitting of Whimbrel into:
274/1530 Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
274/153E Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus
(Americas)
b) the splitting of:
286/164T West African Crested Tern
Thalasseus albididorsalis (w coast of Africa)
from:
286/1648 Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus (coasts of Americas)
c) the splitting of:
323/229T Maghreb Owl Strix mauritanica (nw Africa)
from:
323/229Y Tawny Owl Strix aluco
d) the splitting of Black-eared Wheatear into:
907/835F Western Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica
(breeds nw Africa, sw, western sc Europe)
907/835T Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe melanoleuca
(breeds eastern sc, se Europe, se WP)
All the v10.1 changes will be reflected in the 2021 editions of the ATWB Companion Guides. These editions will be released commencing August 2020, after publication of the next version (v10.2) of the IOC bird list.
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Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2020 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 2020’ series of Companion Guides is Version 9.2, published June 22 2019.
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NAME THAT BIRD! (Part 3)
The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) established its world bird list to resolve a widespread problem amongst ornithologists worldwide: there were many examples of different bird species having the same English name. Now in its tenth year, the birdlist, which is hosted on the IOC’s World Bird Names website, is currently at Version 9.2 and is shortly to be up-issued to Version 10.1.
Since its inception, the birdlist has gradually expanded its role to become a database of consensus about bird species taxonomy. However, I thought it would be appropriate to write a series of blog posts about the English names in the database, to recognise the IOC’s contribution to this particular aspect of ornithology.
The posts will be light-hearted and casual, appearing from time-to-time amid my more regular news items. This is the third such post (the first two were published in May and October last year).
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In v9.2 of the IOC birdlist there are 10758 extant bird species. 150 of those have a single-word English name.
1940 other species have an English name that has a unique primary epithet. This is the first part of the English name that describes the species in a way that distinguishes it from other, similar species.
Many of these unique primary epithets are derived from the names of people, such as Dunn’s Lark, Ansorge’s Greenbul and Goldman’s Warbler. There are no other species in the IOC birdlist that have an English name derived from Messrs Dunn, Ansorge and Goldman.
Other unique primary epithets are geographical in nature. For example, Assam Laughingthrush is the only bird species named after the state of Assam in north-east India. Guadeloupe Woodpecker is endemic to the French overseas region of Guadeloupe in the eastern Caribbean and is the only species to have this primary epithet as part of its English name. Just one species, Java Sparrow, has the primary epithet ‘Java’, named after the island in south-west Indonesia (although there are 23 other species with English names beginning with ‘Javan’, such as Javan Cuckooshrike and Javan Sunbird).
The most fascinating unique primary epithets are those that refer to a physical characteristic of the bird species.
Surprisingly, only one bird species is thought to be notable because of its grey legs – the Grey-legged Tinamou of north-western South America. And only one species is described as being both red and yellow – the Red-and-yellow Barbet of eastern Africa. Here are a few more colour-based uniques:
Blood-colored, Red-stained and Red-cockaded – all Woodpeckers; Vinaceous-breasted and Red-spectacled Amazon parrots; Red-vested Myzomela – a species of Honeyeater; Cream-eyed, Cream-striped and Cream-vented Bulbul; Cream-browed, Cream-throated, Ashy-bellied, Pearl-bellied, Black-ringed and Yellow-ringed – all White-eyes.
Unique primary epithets that refer to a bird’s appearance include Small-headed Elaenia, Crow-billed and Hair-crested Drongo, Spike-heeled and Short-clawed Lark, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Hairy-crested (not Hair-crested) Antbird and Hairy-backed Bulbul.
Some unique primary epithets refer to a bird’s behaviour, as in Terrestrial Bulbul, Ant-eating Chat and Rock-loving Cisticola, while others describe their song – Chirruping and Chiming Wedgebills, for example, and Monotonous Lark (not very complimentary!).
But species don’t need to be exotic or restricted to a small range to have a unique primary epithet. There is just one Long-eared bird species and one Short-eared species – yes, those Owls that are familiar to many of us!
So how many bird species in your lifetime list, I wonder, have a unique primary epithet?
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Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2020 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 2020’ series of Companion Guides is Version 9.2, published June 22 2019.
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10 NEW INTERACTIVE CHECKLISTS
This month (November 2019) ten new Interactive Checklists have been published in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ series of Companion Guides, bringing the total number of ATWB titles that are complete and available for download to 42. (This number has doubled since October 2018.)
One of the major challenges facing birders when visiting an unfamiliar part of the world is working out which species they have a chance of connecting with during their visit. Traditional regional field guides, of course, are indispensable, but they have a number of shortcomings:
- they are published and updated infrequently, meaning they cannot provide the latest information about species, regional distribution etc
- they are generally inclusive, meaning they describe every bird species that has been recorded in the region, leaving the reader to sift through the vagrants, casuals and irruptive species that visiting birders are a lot less likely to encounter
To save birdwatchers the trouble of trawling through online information to supplement the details in their regional field guides, the All the World’s Birds (ATWB) Companion Guides series of Interactive Checklists is here to help. Over time, this series of eBooks will provide a library of up to date listings for areas of the world that are popular with birders. Already there are 17 Interactive Checklists to choose from covering areas of Indian Subcontinent and Wallacea, and now South-east Asia and North-west South America.
All of the ATWB 2020 series of Interactive Checklists embrace the latest taxonomy, including the recent major re-sequencing of Non-Passerine families.
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ Interactive Checklist series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWBIC. Or, click here to see all ATWBIC titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWBIC titles on Amazon UK.
The ten new eBooks in the ATWB INTERACTIVE CHECKLIST series are:
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
NON-PENINSULAR MYANMAR
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA
Click here to see the above three titles on Amazon US; or here to see them on Amazon UK. [You may need to click again if Amazon interprets your search incorrectly.]
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
WESTERN LOWLAND ECUADOR
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
ANDEAN ECUADOR
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
AMAZONIAN ECUADOR
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
WESTERN LOWLAND PERU
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
ANDEAN PERU
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
AMAZONIAN PERU
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist
GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS
Click here to see the above seven titles on Amazon US; or here to see them on Amazon UK. [You may need to click again if Amazon interprets your search incorrectly.]
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Some details …
Each ATWB Companion Guide deals with the birds to be found in a particular PART of the IOC bird list; a WORLD REGION or sub-region; or an area of the world popular with birders (e.g. North-east India). All have a number of important features, including:
– A complete taxonomic listing of bird species
– An indication of where in each region 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 2020’ series of Companion Guides is Version 9.2, published June 22 2019.
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWB. Or, click here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon UK.
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NAME THAT BIRD! (Part 2)
The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) established its world bird list to resolve a widespread problem amongst ornithologists worldwide: there were many examples of different bird species having the same English name. Now in its ninth year, the birdlist, which is hosted on the IOC’s World Bird Names website, is currently at Version 9.2.
Since its inception, the birdlist has gradually expanded its role to become a database of consensus about bird species taxonomy. However, I thought it would be appropriate to write a series of blog posts about the English names in the database, to recognise the IOC’s contribution to this particular aspect of ornithology.
The posts will be light-hearted and casual, appearing from time-to-time amid my more regular news items. This is the second such post (the first was published on 31st May this year).
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In v9.2 of the IOC bird list there are 10758 extant bird species.
150 species have an English name that consists of just one word. The shortest names are just 3 letters in length:
005/0076 Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae of Australia
454/3691 Kea Nestor notabilis, a New Zealand Parrot of southern New Zealand
and two Honeyeaters:
548/5327 Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae of New Zealand mainland, Kermadec, Chatham, Auckland islands
548/543Y Mao Gymnomyza aubryana of the Samoan islands
There are eight species with a single word name of 4 letters:
042/0119 Nene Branta sandvicensis (Hawaii)
042/0224 Smew Mergellus albellus (Western Palearctic, Asia)
201/127F Sora Porzana carolina (Americas)
274/1571 Ruff Calidris pugnax (worldwide)
185/1180 Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus (New Caledonia)
684/6262 Rook Corvus frugilegus (Western Palearctic, Asia)
900/8012 Omao Myadestes obscurus (Hawaii)
900/903F Iiwi Drepanis coccinea (Hawaii)
The bird species with the longest single-word English name is:
339/2466 Chuck-will’s-widow Antrostomus carolinensis, a Nightjar of the Americas.
8822 species have an English name consisting of two words, and there are 1729 species with three words in their English name.
This leaves just 57 species having a four-word English name (none has more than four words).
The bird species with the longest English name (35 characters, including spaces) is:
925/8520 Prigogine’s Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris prigoginei,
a local endemic found only in south-east Democratic Republic of the Congo. Note that this name has three words (one of which is hyphenated).
The longest two-word English name comes in at 33 characters (including the blank space):
616/5571 Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher Bias musicus,
which is a member of the Vangas & Allies family resident in western, central and eastern Africa.
There are 7 species with three-word English names of 33 characters (none has 34 characters).
27 species have English names of 32 characters.
32 species have English names of 31 characters. The longest four-word names appear in this list:
379/3078 North Solomons Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx meeki
700/631F King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise Pteridophora alberti
804/6979 Northern Marquesan Reed Warbler Acrocephalus percernis
804/697Y Southern Marquesan Reed Warbler Acrocephalus mendanae
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Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2020 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 2020’ series of Companion Guides is Version 9.2, published June 22 2019.
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ALL THE WORLD’S BIRDS 2020 TITLES
I am pleased to announce that all 30 titles in the 2019 editions of the ‘All the World’s Birds’ series of Companion Guides have been updated to 2020 editions and are available to be downloaded to Kindle reading devices.
In addition, two new titles have been introduced – PART ELEVEN of the PART-BY-PART Series and the third volume of the Focus On … NORTH-WEST SOUTH AMERICA titles.
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 2020’ series of Companion Guides is Version 9.2, published June 22 2019. This includes a major revision to the sequencing of Non-Passerine Orders, which is reflected in the contents of the ATWB 2020 titles.
To view the new sequence of Non-Passerine families click here: http://bit.ly/NonPns.
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWB. Or, click here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon UK.
[Note: There is currently a technical problem with the search engine on Amazon.co.uk. One title – see below – does not appear in search results on this UK platform.]
The following eBooks are now available:
PART-BY-PART companion guides (search Books for ATWBPP):
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART ONE
OSTRICHES to HUMMINGBIRDS
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART TWO
TURACOS to FLAMINGOS
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART THREE
BUTTONQUAIL to HOATZIN
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART FOUR
NEW WORLD VULTURES to BEE-EATERS
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART FIVE
JACAMARS to OLD WORLD PARROTS
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART SIX
NEW ZEALAND WRENS to TYRANT FLYCATCHERS, CALYPTURA
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART SEVEN
COTINGAS to WHISTLERS & ALLIES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART ELEVEN
DIPPERS to FINCHES, EUPHONIAS NEW!
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – PART TWELVE
LONGSPURS, SNOW BUNTINGS to TANAGERS & ALLIES
WORLD REGION guides (search Books for ATWBWR):
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – OCEANS
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – WESTERN PALEARCTIC
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
[Technical problem: to find the above title on Amazon.co.uk click on this link: http://bit.ly/ATWB20wr3uk]
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA
VOLUME 2: SUBOSCINE PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA
VOLUME 3: OSCINE PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – AUSTRALASIA
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide – AUSTRALASIA
VOLUME 2: PASSERINES
FOCUS ON guides (search Books for ATWBFO):
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
VOLUME 2: PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on SOUTH-EAST ASIA
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on SOUTH-EAST ASIA
VOLUME 2: PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on NORTH-WEST SOUTH AMERICA
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on NORTH-WEST SOUTH AMERICA
VOLUME 2: SUBOSCINE PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on NORTH-WEST SOUTH AMERICA
VOLUME 3: OSCINE PASSERINES NEW!
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on WALLACEA
VOLUME 1: NON-PASSERINES
All the World’s Birds 2020: A Companion Guide Focus on WALLACEA
VOLUME 2: PASSERINES
INTERACTIVE CHECKLISTS (search Books for ATWBIC):
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist SRI LANKA
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist SOUTH-WEST INDIA
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist NORTH CENTRAL INDIA
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist NORTH-EAST INDIA
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist SULAWESI
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist MOLUCCAS
All the World’s Birds 2020: Interactive Checklist NUSA TENGGARA
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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.
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THINK YOU KNOW YOUR BIRDS?
Try the ATWB BIRDQUIZ at http://bit.ly/ATWBbq.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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MAJOR SHAKE-UP OF NON-PASSERINES
On June 22 2019 the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) released the latest version of its world bird list (v 9.2):
Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2019. IOC World Bird List (v 9.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.9.2.
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, in January and June.
The Non-Passerine Orders of bird families have been resequenced in release v 9.2 of the IOC birdlist. Here is an overview:
At the top of the list, the Paleognathae taxon of orders (Ostriches to Tinamous) remains unchanged.
At the foot of the Non-Passerines list, PICIFORMES to PSITTACIFORMES (Jacamars to Old World Parrots) remains unchanged, except for the inclusion of CARIAMIFORMES (Seriemas).
Between these two markers there has been a major upheaval, with APODIFORMES (for example), which includes Swifts and Hummingbirds, now considered to be evolved from a much older lineage, while ACCIPTRIFORMES (Vultures, Eagles, Buzzards etc.) and STRIGIFORMES (Owls) have been moved down the list as being more recently evolved Non-Passerine bird families.
One way to see the effect of these changes is to download one of the v 9.2 spreadsheets from the IOC website and set up a filter on the Rank column. Then remove the subspecies, species and genus rows from this filter to leave just taxons, orders and families.
OR … you can view a summary of the new sequence of Non-Passerine orders on the ATWB website by clicking here.
The details of other changes in the v 9.2 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
Oreotrochilus Hummingbirds +1 species Blue-throated Hillstar
Pycnonotus Bulbuls +1 species Cream-eyed Bulbul
Splits
Melanitta Ducks (Scoters) +1 species
Cypsiurus Swifts +1 species
Oreotrochilus Hummingbirds (Hillstars) +1 species
Gelochelidon Terns +1 species
Coracias Rollers +1 species
Xiphorhynchus Ovenbirds (Woodcreepers) +1
Elaenia Tyrant Flycatchers (Elaenias) +1
Pachycephala Whistlers +1 and Colluricincla Shrikethrushes +6
Zosterops White-eyes +2
Polioptila Gnatcatchers +1
Turdus Thrushes +2
Cyornis Blue Flycatchers +2
Anthus Pipits +1
Deletions
Schoutedenapus Swift -1 [Schouteden’s Swift]
Lumps
Falco Falcons -1 [Barbary Falcon]
Epinecrophylla Antwrens -2 [Napo Stipple-throated Antwren, Yasuni Antwren]
Revision and resequencing of families
The Eurylaimidae family (Broadbills) has been revised, resequenced and split into three:
Family: Eurylaimidae – Typical Broadbills
Family: Philepittidae – Asities [e Madagascar]
Family: Calyptomenidae – African and Green Broadbills
The Australasian Robins family Petroicidae has been revised and resequenced.
Crested Shriketit, formerly ascribed to family Pachycephalidae (Whistlers & Allies) has been moved to a new monospecific family Falcunculidae.
The Incertae Sedis grouping of three unplaced African species has been resolved. One species [Grauer’s Warbler] has been ascribed to family Acrocephalidae (Reed Warblers & Allies), with the remaining two species forming a new family Hyliidae (Hylias).
In the IOC bird list there are now 10758 extant species (net +20) ascribed to 249 families.
All these changes will be reflected in the 2020 editions of the ATWB Companion Guides. These editions will start to be released during August 2019.
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWB. Or, click here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWB titles on Amazon UK.
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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 2019’ series of Companion Guides is Version 8.2, published June 27 2018.
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KEEP IN TOUCH
Sign up to this blog to be informed about releases of new titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, and of developments in the IOC bird list.
NAME THAT BIRD! (Part 1)
The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) established its world bird list to resolve a widespread problem amongst ornithologists worldwide: there were many examples of different bird species having the same English name. Now in its ninth year, the birdlist, which is hosted on the IOC’s World Bird Names website, is currently at Version 9.1.
Since its inception, the birdlist has gradually expanded its role to become a database of consensus about bird species taxonomy. However, I thought it would be appropriate to write a series of blog posts about the English names in the database, to recognise the IOC’s contribution to this particular aspect of ornithology.
The posts will be light-hearted and casual, appearing from time-to-time amid my more regular news items. I hope you enjoy reading this first one as much as I enjoyed researching and putting it together.
So let’s begin with Primary Epithets. These are words that appear first in the English names of bird species, usually to distinguish them from other, similar species. Many are hyphenated, such as:
Black-throated, Curl-crested, Long-billed, Ochre-breasted …
believe it or not, there are six species in v9.1 of the IOC birdlist with the primary epithet Ochre-breasted!
There are 3,315 different Primary Epithets in v9.1 pf the birdlist. 1,933 of them are used only once.
The most common primary epithet is Black, used as the first word in the English name of 90 species. Including all the occasions where Black- is used as a qualifier (such as in Black-backed, Black-and-white, Black-winged) this number increases to 538 species. There are also nine species that are Blackish, one that is Blackish-blue, one Blackish-grey and one Blackish-headed.
The longest primary epithet in v9.1 of the birdlist has 23 characters. The species which has this distinction is the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill (Bycanistes subcylindricus).
Looking at relative geographical epithets: 70 species are described as Northern but just 55 as Southern, while there are 63 Western species but only 51 Eastern. Why this should be is a mystery!
A similar discrepancy occurs elsewhere. For example, there are 120 bird species which are named as being Great, Greater or Large, but only 68 that are described as being Lesser, 6 that are Small and 11 that are Least. Curiously there are no species considered to be ‘Greatest’ or ‘Largest’.
The names of continents and countries appear frequently. For example, there are 66 African, 28 American, 32 Indian and 20 Japanese species. Countries or islands that have endemic species also feature prominently: 14 birds have English names commencing Jamaican and 18 begin with Andaman. The names of countries that no longer exist also linger in the database – there are still 14 species described as being Abyssinian!
Birds named after people include 4 with the primary epithet Abbot’s, another 4 that are Elliot’s and 8 Finsch’s, while at the other end of the alphabet there are 6 species named as being Swainson’s, 6 Swinhoe’s and 7 Temminck’s. There are many instances of a person’s name appearing only once. Can you complete the English names of the species that start with: D’Arnaud’s, D’Orbigny’s, David’s, Davison’s and Deignan’s? Or how about Güldenstädt’s?
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Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2019 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 2019’ series of Companion Guides is Version 8.2, published June 27 2018.
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KEEP IN TOUCH
Sign up to this blog to be informed about releases of new titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, and of developments in the IOC bird list.
ALL THE BIRDS OF MIDDLE AND SOUTH AMERICA
Some 14 months after the publication of the first volume (Non-Passerines), I am pleased to announce that the third and final volume of All the World’s Birds 2019 : A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA has been published as a Kindle eBook.
This means birders now have one-click access to up to date information for all of the region’s 4018 bird species from their Kindle reading device – whether that be a Kindle, a tablet or a smart phone.
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AND … during the 2019 Easter Holiday (April 19 to 23) you can purchase ALL THREE of these volumes for less than $US 2 (before tax), or less than £UK 2 – click here for more details.
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The SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA World Region covers the landmass between the Mexico/USA border and Tierra del Fuego. It includes the Galápagos Islands and Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and Trinidad, as well as smaller islands within a short distance from the mainland coastline.
The bird species included are landbirds that are resident or otherwise regularly present within the region and in their native state. A separate section within each of the three volumes covers Introductions, plus species that have not been recorded for a while, or for which there is not enough information to be sure of their status within the region. Seabirds that breed within the SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA region are also included within Volume 1.
Use these three eBooks to explore and to improve your knowledge of SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA birds from the comfort of your home. Take your reading device with you when you go away on birding trips, and connect it to the internet for quick access to information about each species whenever you need it.
The three volumes now available from Amazon are as follows:
All the World’s Birds 2019: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA:
Volume 1: NON-PASSERINES
RHEAS to AFRICAN & NEW WORLD PARROTS 1607 species in 68 families
All the World’s Birds 2019: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA:
Volume 2 SUBOSCINE PASSERINES
SAPAYOA to TITYRAS, BECARDS, SHARPBILL 1267 species in 12 families
All the World’s Birds 2019: A Companion Guide – SOUTH AMERICA/MIDDLE AMERICA:
Volume 3 OSCINE PASSERINES
SHRIKES to TANAGERS AND ALLIES 1144 species in 34 families
[For a discussion about Suboscine vs. Oscine Passerines, see my blog post of October 13 2018:
5 NEW ALL THE WORLD’S BIRDS TITLES]
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ WORLD REGION series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWBWR. Or, click here to see all ATWBWR titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWBWR titles on Amazon UK.
For more details about the WORLD REGION … series of ATWB Companion Guides, click here.
To find links to all available ATWB titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, click here.
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Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2019 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 2019’ series of Companion Guides is Version 8.2, published June 27 2018.
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KEEP IN TOUCH
Sign up to this blog to be informed about releases of new titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, and of developments in the IOC bird list.
THE WORLD’S NEWEST BIRD FAMILIES
You probably know that our most ancient extant bird families are the Ratites, which include Ostriches, Rheas, Kiwis, Cassowaries and Emu. But which bird families are the most recently evolved?
In January 2018 the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) released version 8.1 of its world bird list, which is hosted on the IOC’s World Bird Names website. Version 8.1 included the results of a detailed study of all the bird families that are newer than Family: Fringillidae – Finches, Euphonias (Barker et al. 2013, 2015; NACC 2017-B-6). These most recently evolved families cover all the bird species that appear in Part Twelve of the IOC bird list in the All the World’s Birds series of Companion Guides.
Before v8.1 was released, there were 862 recognized extant bird species in Part 12 of the IOC bird list ascribed to 7 families, with a further 6 species temporarily lodged in a ‘Family Uncertain’ group with the Latin name Incertae Sedis 2. The order and species populations of these families were:
Family: Parulidae – New World Warblers 119
Family: Incertae Sedis 2 – Family Uncertain 6
Family: Icteridae – Oropendolas, Orioles and Blackbirds 108
Family: Coerebidae – Bananaquit 1
Family: Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies 181
Family: Thraupidae – Tanagers and allies 394
Family: Calcariidae – Longspurs, Snow Buntings 6
Family: Cardinalidae – Cardinals, Grosbeaks and allies 53
The Barker et al. study, which applied the latest techniques for assessing relationships between bird species based on genetic analysis, discovered that the most recently evolved bird family was not the Cardinalidae but the Thraupidae. The study also revealed the existence of ten new families, while Bananaquit was ascribed to the Thraupidae family. The six species from Incertae Sedis 2 were ascribed to families, and many others were moved to a new or different family. v8.2 of the IOC bird list (published in June 2018) added one extra species when White-collared Seedeater was split into two species: Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater and Morelet’s Seedeater. Two families were also given modified English names.
So at the start of 2019 there were 869 extant bird species in Part 12 of the IOC bird list, grouped into 16 families ordered as follows:
Family: Calcariidae – Longspurs, Snow Buntings 6
Family: Rhodinocichlidae – Thrush-tanager 1
Family: Emberizidae – Buntings 44
Family: Passerellidae – New World Sparrows 135
Family: Calyptophilidae – Chat-tanagers 2
Family: Phaenicophilidae – Hispaniolan Tanagers 4
Family: Nesospingidae – Puerto Rican Tanager 1
Family: Spindalidae – Spindalises 4
Family: Zeledoniidae – Wrenthrush 1
Family: Teretistridae – Cuban Warblers 2
Family: Icteriidae – Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Family: Icteridae – Oropendolas, Orioles and Blackbirds 108
Family: Parulidae – New World Warblers 119
Family: Mitrospingidae – Mitrospingid Tanagers 4
Family: Cardinalidae – Cardinals, Grosbeaks and (Tanager) Allies 53
Family: Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies 384
The full details of these families and species, and how they are distributed throughout the world, are in a newly published ATWB title:
All the World’s Birds 2019 : A Companion Guide – PART TWELVE
To see all the currently available titles in the ‘All the World’s Birds’ PART-BY-PART series, search in the Books section of your local Amazon site for ATWBPP. Or, click here to see all ATWBPP titles on Amazon US; or here to see all ATWBPP titles on Amazon UK.
For more details about the PART-BY-PART … series of ATWB Companion Guides, click here.
To find links to all available ATWB titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, click here.
***************************
Some details …
Each of the ATWB 2019 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 2019’ series of Companion Guides is Version 8.2, published June 27 2018.
***************************
KEEP IN TOUCH
Sign up to this blog to be informed about releases of new titles in the All the World’s Birds Companion Guide series, and of developments in the IOC bird list.
All the World's Birds 