Comments on the 2026 Checklist of Alaska birds

The Alaska Checklist now stands at 551 species. Of these 55 are rare, 166 are casual, and 82 are accidental (see Withrow et al. 2026). The following changes are implemented:

Species new to Alaska:

► Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), status accidental, based on a bird photographed 12 July 2025 in the Bering Sea, ~130 km nnw of Dutch Harbor (54.921oN 167.511oW) by L. Weiskittel (photos ML).

► Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus), status accidental, based on a bird photographed 15-17 Nov 2025 at Valdez by C. Andersen and J. Guthrie+ (photos ML).

English name changes:

► The English name Eurasian Hoopoe is changed to Common Hoopoe to conform to global usage.

Linear sequence changes:

► The linear sequences of Columbidae, Gruiformes, Pelecaniformes, Charadriiformes, and Accipitridae are rearranged following new understandings of relationships and for conformity with the convention of listing more diverse clades or assemblages after less diverse ones.

► Columbidae is reordered as follows:

Zenaida asiatica White-winged Dove

Zenaida macroura Mourning Dove

Patagioenas fasciata Band-tailed Pigeon

Streptopelia orientalis Oriental Turtle-Dove

Streptopelia decaocto Eurasian Collared-Dove

Columba livia Rock Pigeon

► Gruidae precedes Rallidae in Gruiformes.

► Anarhynchus nivosus Snowy Plover precedes Anarhynchus alexandrinus Kentish Plover.

► Numenius hudsonicus Hudsonian Whimbrel precedes Numenius phaeopus Eurasian Whimbrel.

► Sterninae precedes Larinae in Laridae.

► Threskiornithidae comes first within Pelecaniformes.

► Accipitridae is partially reorder as follows:

Accipiter striatus Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter nisus Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Astur gentilis Eurasian Goshawk

Astur atricapillus American Goshawk

Circus cyaneus Hen Harrier

Circus hudsonius Northern Harrier

Genus changes:

► Bluethroat is removed from a monotypic Cyanecula and returned to Luscinia.

► Lesser Whitethroat is removed from Sylvia and placed in Curruca.

Status changes:

► Status of American White Pelican, Nazca Booby, Asian Rosy-Finch, Lesser Whitethroat, and Dickcissel are changed from accidental to casual based on a third record for each. Hermit Warbler is listed as a hybrid on the Unsubstantiated List.

Corrections:

► The genus of Eurasian and American Goshawks is corrected to Astur from Accipiter. Similarly, on the unsubstantiated list, Cooper’s Hawk is placed in Astur and Chinese Sparrowhawk in Tachyspiza.

► The status of Ash-throated Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, and Song Thrush should have been casual not accidental in the 31st Checklist.

Withrow, J., D. D. Gibson, and K. Winker. 2026. Checklist of the avian diversity of Alaska: Subspecies, breeding status, and taxonomy. Bulletin of the American Ornithologists Union 1.1:1-62.

Supplement to the ‘Checklist of the avian diversity of Alaska: subspecies, etc.’

Supplement to the Checklist of the avian diversity of Alaska: subspecies, breeding status, and taxonomy (Withrow et al. 2025), and by extension the 2026 (32nd) Alaska Checklist (https://www.universityofalaskamuseumbirds.org/products/checklist.pdf). (These changes have been incorporated into Withrow et al. 2026, Bull. Amer. Ornithol. Union 1.1.)

The Alaska checklist now stands at 551 species and an additional 120 subspecies. Of these 551 species, 55 are rare, 166 are casual, and 82 are accidental. The following changes are implemented:

Species new to Alaska:

Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), status accidental, based on a bird photographed 12 July 2025 in the Bering Sea, ~130 km nnw of Dutch Harbor (54.921oN 167.511oW) by L. Weiskittel (photos ML).

Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus), status accidental, based on a bird photographed 15-17 Nov 2025 at Valdez, C. Andersen and J. Guthrie+ (photos ML).

 Subspecies new to Alaska:

Branta canadensis moffitti Aldrich, 1946, status casual, based on several birds matching this description photographed with wild flocks of Canada Geese, predominantly in southeast.

Large, pale Canada Geese associated with wild, migrant flocks have been observed in spring in southeast (e.g., at Juneau, 30 Apr 2007 (G. Van Vliet), 18 May 2008 (P. Suchanek), 2-3 June 2022 (K. Kirkpatrick, G. Van Vliet), and 31 May 2023 (M. Schwan); and Ketchikan, 15-20 Apr 2023 (S. C. Heinl); photos ML for all) where they are unlikely to have been escapes (at least within the state of Alaska). We include here B. c. maxima Delacour, 1951 following Palmer (1976) and Pyle (2008), and further note the long history of introductions and intergradation between maxima and moffitti (Mowbray et al. 2002). An introduced population of moffitti and moffitti/maxima intergrades is thriving on Vancouver Island and the Fraser River delta in sw British Columbia (Dawe and Stewart 2010, Janus et al. 2022), and moffitti phenotypes have become more common in Washington west of the Cascades (Wahl et al. 2005). At least historically, large, pale geese ascribed to B. c. moffitti nested in most of central and southern British Columbia east of the Coast Mountains, but northern limits are unclear (see Munro and Cowan 1947, Campbell et al. 1990).

English name changes:

Common Hoopoe.

The English name Eurasian Hoopoe is changed to Common Hoopoe to conform to global usage (e.g., Dickinson and Remsen 2013, AviList 2025, Chesser et al. 2025).

Linear sequence approach:

We add the following to the Introduction:

Creation of a checklist’s linear sequence from complex phylogenies is as much art as science, governed by a set of conventions that have yet to be agreed upon by major world checklists. To have our list to depart minimally and only in substantive ways from others we will generally follow the linear sequence of the AOS’s North American Classification Committee.

Linear sequence changes:

The linear sequences of Columbidae, Gruiformes, Pelecaniformes, Charadriiformes, and Accipitridae are rearranged following new understandings of relationships (Chesser et al. 2025) and for conformity with the convention of listing more diverse clades or assemblages after less diverse ones.

Columbidae is reordered as follows:

Zenaida asiatica White-winged Dove

Zenaida macroura Mourning Dove

Patagioenas fasciata Band-tailed Pigeon

Streptopelia orientalis Oriental Turtle-Dove

Streptopelia decaocto Eurasian Collared-Dove

Columba livia Rock Pigeon

Gruidae precedes Rallidae in Gruiformes.

Anarhynchus nivosus Snowy Plover precedes Anarhynchus alexandrinus Kentish Plover.

Numenius hudsonicus Hudsonian Whimbrel precedes Numenius phaeopus Eurasian Whimbrel.

Sterninae precedes Larinae in Laridae.

Threskiornithidae comes first within Pelecaniformes.

Accipitridae is partially reordered as follows:

Accipiter striatus Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter nisus Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Astur gentilis Eurasian Goshawk

Astur atricapillus American Goshawk

Circus cyaneus Hen Harrier

Circus hudsonius Northern Harrier

Genus changes:

Bluethroat is removed from a monotypic Cyanecula and returned to Luscinia. Reversion to Luscinia reflects the close relationships within this group (Sangster et al. 2010, Zhao et al. 2023) and avoids multiple monotypic genera within a circumscribed Luscinia.

Lesser Whitethroat is removed from Sylvia and placed in Curruca reflecting a deep divergence within Sylvia senso lato (Voelker and Light 2011, Cia et al. 2019) and to conform to common global usage (e.g., Dickinson and Christidis 2014), although we note that there is wide variation in divergence across avian genera.

New Notes:

Little Ringed Plover.

Genetic work (Dos Remedios et al. 2015, Cerny and Natale 2022) has led some to place C. dubius in an expanded Thinornis, but we retain it in Charadrius given its plumage similarities to members of New World Charadrius, a preference for more inclusive genera, and the recognition that there remains much to learn about the relationships among Charadrius senso lato.

Herring Gull.

Members of the Herring Gull complex (and probably at least some other large white-headed gulls) are better treated as subspecies than species. Genetic diagnosability via clustering algorithms (e.g., Sonsthagen et al. 2016, Linklater et al. 2024), correlated with minor differences in phenotype and long-calls (e.g., Olsen and Larsson 2003), are not indicative of essential reproductive isolation in large white-headed gulls.

Oriental Honey-Buzzard.

The record from Shemya is on the brink of publication as Pohlen et al. (2026; Pohlen, Z. M., J. A. Johnson, R. B. Benter, and J. Helm. 2026. First North American record of the Oriental Honey-Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus). W. Birds 57:in press).

Warbling Vireo.

Treated by some as a species separate from V. g. gilvus (e.g., Phillips 1991, Browning 2019, Chesser et al. 2025). However, genetic work to date (Lovell et al. 2021 and Carpenter et al. 2022) showed rates of intergradation higher than we expect between biological species. Absent convincing evidence of reproductive isolation stronger than that found so far, we consider these to be subspecies of the same biological species.

Status changes:

Status of American White Pelican, Asian Rosy-Finch, Lesser Whitethroat, and Dickcissel are changed from accidental to casual based on a third record for each.

Corrections:

The second subspecies of Ixoreus naevius should be meruloides, not melanuroides; the authority remains correct. The authorship of Cepphuys grylle mandtii is (Lichtenstein, 1822), not (Mandt, 1822). Nazca Booby should have been listed as accidental not casual, it changed status only in the 32nd edition (2026) of the Alaska Checklist.

Literature Cited

AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.

Browning, M. R. 2019. A review of the subspecific and species status of Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus). Oregon Birds 45:89-99.

Campbell, R. W., N. K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. M. Cooper, G. W Kaiser, and M. C. E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, vol. 1. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.

Carpenter, A. M., B. A. Graham, G. M. Spellman, and T. M. Burg. 2022. Do habitat and elevation promote hybridization during secondary contact between three genetically distinct groups of Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)? Heredity 128:352-363.

Cerny, D., and R. Natale. 2022. Comprehensive taxon sampling and vetted fossils help clarify the time tree of shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 177:107620.

Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernandez-Banos, R. A. Jimenez, O. Johnson, N. A. Mason, and P. C. Rasmussen. 2025. Sixty-sixth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithology 142:1-19.

Cai, T., A. Cibois, P. Alström, R. G. Moyle, J. D. Kennedy, S. Shao, R. Zhang, M. Irestedt, P. G. P. Ericson, M. Gelang, Y. Qu, F. Lei, and J. Fjeldsa. 2019. Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world’s babblers (Aves: Passeriformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 130:346-356.

Dawe, N. K., and A. C. Stewart. 2010. The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. British Columbia Birds 20:24-40.

Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Jr. 2013. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 4th edition, vol. 1. Non-Passerines. Aves Press, Eastbourne, United Kingdom.

Dickinson, E. C., and L. Christidis. 2014. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 4th edition, vol. 2. Aves Press, Eastbourne, United Kingdom.

Dos Remedios, N., P. L. M. Lee, T. Burke, T. Szekely, and C. Kupper. 2015. North or south? Phylogenetic and biogeographic origins of a globally distributed avian clade. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 89:151-159.

Janus, D., W.S. Boyd, and T.G. Martin. 2022. Introduced Canada Geese in the Fraser River Estuary: a Conservation Challenge. UBC Sustainability Hub, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Linklater, E. L. 2021. Population genetic differentiation and hybridization in the Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus). Masters Thesis, Queen’s University, Kingston.

Lovell, S. F., M. R. Lein, and S. M. Rogers. 2021. Cryptic speciation in the Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) Ornithology 138:1-16.

Mowbray, T. B., C. R. Ely, J. S. Sedinger, and R. E. Trost. 2002. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 682 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia.

Munro, J. A., and I. M. Cowan. 1947. A Review of the Bird Fauna of British Columbia. B. C. Provincial Museum, Victoria.

Olsen, K. M., and H. Larsson. 2003. Gulls of Europe, Asia, and North America. Christopher Helm, London.

Palmer, R. S. 1976. Handbook of North American Birds, vol. 2. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Phillips, A. R. 1991. The Known Birds of North and Middle America, Part II. Denver.

Pyle, P. 2008. Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part II. Slate Creek Press, Point Reyes.

Sangster, G., P. Alstrom, E. Forsmark, and U. Olsson. 2010. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily, and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57:380-392.

Sonsthagen, S. A., R. E. Wilson, R. T. Chesser, J-M. Pons, P-A. Crochet, A. Driskell, and C. Dove 2016. Recurrent hybridization and recent origin obscure phylogenetic relationships within the ‘white-headed’ gull (Larus sp.) complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 103:41-54.

Voelker, G., and J. E. Light. 2011. Paleoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in Sylvia warblers. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:163.

Wahl, T. R., B. Tweit, and S. G. Mlodinow (eds.). 2005. Birds of Washington: status and distribution. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis.

Withrow, J. J., D. D. Gibson, and K. Winker. 2025. Checklist of the avian diversity of Alaska: subspecies, breeding status, and taxonomy. Bulletin of the American Ornithologists Union, No. 1. https://americanornithologistsunion.org/bulletin/Withrow_et_al_2025_Bull_Amer_Ornithol_Union_Birds_of_Alaska.pdf.

Zhao, M., J. G. Burleigh, U. Olsson, P. Alstrom, and R. T. Kimball. 2023. A near-complete and time-calibrated phylogeny of the Old World flycatchers, robins, and chats (Aves, Muscicapidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 178:107646.

Comments on the 2025 Checklist of Alaska Birds

Comments on 31st Alaska Checklist (see also Withrow et al. 2025)

Changes from the 30th Alaska Checklist (for a copy with status symbols, see the pdf version of this post):

►In Family Anatidae delete Anser serrirostris Tundra Bean-Goose and delete the English name Taiga Bean-Goose. Instead maintain Anser fabalis Bean Goose as a single, polytypic species [in which include subspecies A. f. serrirostris].

 ►In Family Columbidae add one species: Columba livia Rock Pigeon [introduced within Alaska].

►Re-order Family Charadriidae and reclassify and/or re-name four species:

Pluvialis squatarola Black-bellied Plover

Pluvialis apricaria European Golden-Plover

Pluvialis dominica American Golden-Plover

Pluvialis fulva Pacific Golden-Plover

Eudromias morinellus Eurasian Dotterel

Charadrius vociferus Killdeer

Charadrius hiaticula Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius dubius Little Ringed Plover

Vanellus vanellus Northern Lapwing

Anarhynchus mongolus Siberian Sand-Plover

Anarhynchus alexandrinus Kentish Plover

Anarhynchus nivosus Snowy Plover

►In Family Scolopacidae delete one subspecies of Numenius phaeopus and add one species: Numenius hudsonicus Hudsonian Whimbrel. Re-name Numenius phaeopus Eurasian Whimbrel [with subspecies N. p. variegatus known in Alaska].

►In Family Scolopacidae emend the spelling of the specific epithet of Calidris pygmaea. 

►In Family Procellariidae add one species: Pterodroma ultima Murphy’s Petrel.

►In Family Sulidae add one species: Sula brewsteri Brewster’s Booby [not Cocos Booby].

►Re-order Family Ardeidae and reclassify or re-name three species:

Botaurus lentiginosus American Bittern

Botaurus sinensis Yellow Bittern

Egretta tricolor Tricolored Heron

Egretta eulophotes Chinese Egret

Egretta garzetta Little Egret

Nycticorax nycticorax Black-crowned Night Heron [no hyphen]

Butorides virescens Green Heron

Ardeola bacchus Chinese Pond-Heron

Ardea alba Great Egret

Ardea intermedia Intermediate Egret [still a single species]

Ardea ibis Cattle Egret [still a single species]

Ardea cinerea Gray Heron

Ardea herodias Great Blue Heron

►In Family Accipitridae add one species: Pernis ptilorhynchus Oriental Honey-Buzzard. 

►In Family Accipitridae, remove goshawks to their own genus: Astur gentilis Eurasian Goshawk and Astur atricapillus American Goshawk.

►In Family Accipitridae add one species: Accipiter nisus Eurasian Sparrowhawk. 

►In Family Accipitridae add one species: Ictinia mississippiensis Mississippi Kite.

►In Family Turdidae delete one species: Turdus eunomus [and add one subspecies to Turdus naumanni Dusky Thrush: T. n. eunomus].

►In Family Motacillidae delete one subspecies of Anthus rubescens and add one species: Anthus japonicus Siberian Pipit.

►In Family Fringillidae delete one species: Acanthis hornemannni Hoary Redpoll [and maintain three subspecies of Acanthis flammea Redpoll—A. f. flammea, A. f. hornemanni, and A. f. exilipes].

►In Family Calcariidae delete one species: Plectrophenax hyperboreus McKay’s Bunting [and maintain three subspecies of Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunting—P. n. nivalis, P. n. hyperboreus, and P. n. townsendi].

 

Withrow, J., D. D. Gibson, and K. Winker. 2025. Checklist of the avian diversity of Alaska: Subspecies, breeding status, and taxonomy. Bulletin of the American Ornithologists Union 1:1-61.

 

 

Danish bird collection comes to UAF

We are delighted to announce the arrival of an invaluable gift—the Erritzoe collection from the House of Bird Research in Denmark. Dr. Johannes Erritzoe has been a Research Affiliate of the University of Alaska Museum (Ornithology) for over 20 years, and his bird collection is an amazing scientific resource. Developed over decades of careful work, this research collection has already been important for scientific productivity. Its importance and use will grow considerably now that it is in Fairbanks, because it has not historically been online or in a public lending institution. The scientific gains for the Museum, for UAF, for this collection, and for ornithology are considerable.

The Erritzoe collection comprises over 8,800 meticulously prepared bird specimens and is highly complementary to the current UA Museum bird collection. A large proportion of Alaska birds are Holarctic in distribution. Many more are the easternmost representatives of Eurasian populations and their close relatives. As such, the Erritzoe collection, most of which is from the northwestern Palearctic, is an important scientific addition to our current holdings. In short, we cannot understand the similarities and uniquenesses of Alaska birds without using complementary material like this—much of which we’ve had to borrow in the past to work in the appropriate comparative framework. This collection is also a fantastic research resource for the study of northern birds and the ways in which climate change affects them.

The permitting and moving of such a large collection was especially challenging, and we thank the many people both in Denmark and the U.S. who helped us accomplish this task. Our next steps are to get the collection catalogued, integrated, and online so that it is widely available to researchers.

(See longer story below, with images.)

Continue reading →

Comments on the 2024 Checklist of Alaska Birds

ADD Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus, based on one bird observed at Shemya Island, Aleutians, on 29 May 2023 (Z. M. Pohlen, photos AKCLC).

ADD Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, based on a partial specimen salvaged at Attu Island, Aleutians, in Jun 1999 (see Gibson and Byrd 2007). DNA analysis has demonstrated (J. J. Withrow MS in prep.) that this specimen is indeed C. cyaneus and not the Northern Harrier C. hudsonius. These two harriers were split by Chesser et al. (2017).

ADD Eurasian Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, based on two goshawks observed at Shemya Island, Aleutians, one in May and one in Sep 2001, the second of which was entirely off-white, and thus characteristic of Russian Far East subspecies albidus (see Gibson and Byrd 2007). The Eurasian Goshawk and the American Goshawk were split by Chesser et al. (2023).

ADD Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens, based on one bird at Douglas Island, se Alaska, 4-24 Jul 2023 (S. Lewis and many others, incl. T. G. Tobish Jr. and R. L. Scher; photos and audio-recording AKCLC).

Siberian House-Martin Delichon lagopodum—to which species all Alaska records of Delichon are now assigned—was split from Common House-Martin D. urbicum by Chesser et al. (2023).

*Status of Stejneger’s Scoter is changed from casual to rare.

*Status of Red-backed Shrike is changed from accidental to casual (with a third Alaska record at Adak, 2023).

*Status of Song Thrush is changed from accidental to casual (with a third Alaska record at St. Paul, 2023).

*Following Chesser et al. (2023), the English name Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush is to be so spelled because the species (in Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers and Chats) has not ever been maintained in the family Turdidae (Thrushes).

Literature Cited 

Chesser, R. T., Burns, K. J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Kratter, A. W., Lovette, I. J., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., Rising, J. D., Stotz, D. F., and Winker, K. 2017. Fifty-eighth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 134:751-773; doi 10.1642/AUK-17-72.1

Chesser, R. T., Billerman, S. M., Burns, K. J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Hernández-Baños, B. E., Jiménez, R. A., Kratter, A. W., Mason, N. A., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., and Winker, K. 2023. Sixty-fourth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithol. 140:1-11; doi org/10.1093/ornithology/ukad023

Gibson, D. D., and Byrd, G. V. 2007. Birds of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Series in Ornithology No. 1. Nuttall Ornithol. Club and American Ornithologists’ Union.

Winker resigns from the American Ornithological Society

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am resigning from the American Ornithological Society and its committees on which I served. The decision by AOS to change all eponymous English bird names in its jurisdiction is, in my view, a huge mistake for a scientific society. Since its founding in the 1880s this society has had a tremendous positive effect on ornithology in North America and helped expand it enormously. Part of this success has been through its establishment and maintenance of a standardized list of bird names. This list has always included recognition in some English names of people who were deemed to have made important contributions to science or society. Consequently, these names became well established in our shared vocabulary and deeply entrenched in our literature. Today we recognize that some of those names recognize people who might not deserve such recognition. We could have chosen to do a survey to obtain the views of our many stakeholders and the tens of millions of people they represent. We could have chosen to evaluate each of these eponymous names and the people they recognize. Instead AOS leadership has chosen to cancel all of this shared history—because some of it is deemed bad, it all must go.

This politicization of our shared science and shared vocabulary is divisive and polarizing. This we know. What might be gained from it—we do not know. Such dramatic nomenclatural changes are a departure from both societal and scientific norms. I’ve studied these issue more than most and feel strongly that there are better, less divisive, and more inclusive ways forward (see Winker 2022, Winker 2023a, b, referenced below). I am sorry that AOS leadership instead chose this way. In doing so I think they have needlessly politicized our science and that in doing so without adequate data and in opposition to societal norms they have done the opposite of what I think a scientific society should do. We share a strong belief in promoting ornithology and welcoming all to participate. We disagree that this is a good way to achieve those goals.

Sincerely,

Kevin Winker

(Former Life Member, elected Fellow, chair and member of the Committee on Bird Collections, member of the North American Classification Committee, and other committees, and Council, and Associate Editor over the years)

References :

Winker, K. 2022. A brief history of English bird names and the American Ornithologists’ Union (now American Ornithological Society). Ornithology 139: ukac019. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukac019

Winker, K. 2023. Bird names as critical communication infrastructure in the contexts of history, language, and culture. In review. Preprint here: https://osf.io/34bg7/  

Winker, K. 2023. The inordinate unpopularity of changing all eponymous bird and other organismal names. In review. Preprint here: https://osf.io/tnzya/

Presentation given at the Aug 2023 AOS meeting:

Comments on the 2023 Checklist of Alaska birds

ADD Least Tern Sternula antillarum, based on a second-year bird in first alternate plumage observed 21 July-4 August 2022 at Anchorage (B. J. Lagassé, R. L. Scher+; photos AKCLC).

ADD Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica, based on a lone light-morph bird observed 23 July 2022, 4 miles west of Cape Edgecumbe, Kruzof Island, Alexander Archipelago (C. Goff, photos AKCLC).

ADD Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina, based on one bird observed 22 September 2022 at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island (R. Ungwiluk Jr., photos AKCLC).

ADD Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citrina, based on one bird observed 15 September 2022 at Seward (J. Maniscalco, R. B. Benter; photos AKCLC).

ADD Chestnut-collared Longspur Calcarius ornatus, based on an adult male that flew aboard a vessel on 4 July 2022 in Warren Channel, between Warren and Kosciusko islands, Alexander Archipelago (A. Montgomery photos AKCLC, via G. B. vanVliet, W. S. Gibson).

ADD Lucy’s Warbler Leiothlypis luciae, based on one bird observed 27 July 2022 at Chena Hot Springs (M. Sopoliga, photo AKCLC).

ADD Blackburnian Warbler Setophaga fusca, based on an immature female observed 28-29 October 2022 at Ketchikan (S. C. Heinl, R. L. Scher, B. Limle; photos AKCLC).

Asian Stonechat Saxicola maurus was split from Saxicola torquatus (Linnaeus, 1766) {Cape of Good Hope} [African Stonechat] and from S. rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766) {France = Seine Inférieure} [European Stonechat] by Chesser et al. (2022). Thus S. maurus simply replaces S. torquatus on the Alaska list.

Literature Cited

Chesser, R. T., Billerman, S. M., Burns, K. J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Hernández-Baños, B. E., Jiménez, R. A., Kratter, A. W., Mason, N. A., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., Stotz, D. F., and Winker, K. 2022. Sixty-third supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithology 139:1–13; doi.org/10.1093/ ornithology/ukac020.

Comments on the 2022 Checklist of Alaska Birds

ADD Short-billed Gull Larus brachyrhynchus, based on the taxonomic decision to recognize this taxon as a separate, North American species (Chesser et al. 2021) – as originally described – instead of as subspecies of L. canus, the Common Gull (known until now in North America as the Mew Gull). The Common Gull remains on the AKCL in subspecies L. c. kamtschatschensis (see Gibson and Withrow 2015:123). In Laridae, insert L. brachyrhynchus immediately following L. canus.

ADD Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis, based on one bird present 10-11 May 2021 at Gustavus (N. Drumheller; photos AKCLC). In Laridae, insert Thalasseus between Chlidonias and Sterna.

ADD Naumann’s Thrush Turdus naumanni, based on four records — one bird present 22 October 1982 at Adak Island, Aleutians (C. F. and M. Zeillemaker; color sketch); one bird present 20-22 May 2000 at Attu Island, Aleutians (S. C. Heinl and others; photo AKCLC); one bird present 5 June 2015 at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island (J. L. Dunn and others; photos AKCLC, and see Lehman 2019:268); and one bird present 30 May 2021, at Shemya Island, Aleutians (Z. M. Pohlen; photos AKCLC). This species was transferred from the unsubstantiated list by a 2021 vote of the AKCLC. In Turdidae, insert this species immediately following T. eunomus.

ADD Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Monticola saxatilis, based on one bird present 24-25 June 2021 at Utqiaġvik (K. Hansen, W. Klockner, W. S. Gibson, J. Myles, J. Benningfield, R. Van Buskirk, and others; photos AKCLC). In Muscicapidae, insert Monticola between Saxicola and Oenanthe.

*Status of American Black Duck, following a first record in three decades, is changed from Accidental to Casual.

*Removed from Falcipennis, Spruce Grouse is once again Canachites canadensis.

*Status of Little Ringed Plover, with no record in the last 30 years, is changed from Casual to Accidental.

*Status of Common Gull is Casual.

*Cormorant genera have been completely revised: Brandt’s, Red-faced, and Pelagic (in that order) are now, respectively, Urile penicillatus, U. urile, and U. pelagicus; Double-crested is now Nannopterum auritum (the Alaska subspecies is cincinatum).

*Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been removed to the genus Corthylio, which is listed preceding Regulus.

AND Chesser et al. (2021) reorganized the linear sequence of a number of Families:

*The family Vireonidae is now listed following Tyrannidae and preceding Laniidae.

*Paridae is now listed following Corvidae and preceding Alaudidae.

*Acrocephalidae and Locustellidae (in that order) are now listed following Alaudidae and preceding Hirundinidae.

*Regulidae and Bombycillidae (in that order) are now listed following Sylviidae and preceding Sittidae.

*Mimidae, Sturnidae, Cinclidae, and Turdidae (in that order) are now listed following Troglodytidae and preceding Muscicapidae.

Literature Cited

Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, A. W. Kratter, I. J. Lovett, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2021. Sixty-second supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithology 138:1–18; doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab037

Gibson, D. D., and J. J. Withrow. 2015. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds, Second ed. W. Birds 46:94–185.

Lehman, P. E. 2019. The Birds of Gambell and St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Studies of Western Birds 4. Western Field Ornithologists, Camarillo, CA. 360 pp.

Comments on the 2021 Checklist of Alaska Birds

ADD Hooded Crane Grus monacha, based on one collected in Sep 2020 at Delta Junction (UAM specimen). Insert following Common Crane G. grus.

ADD Pallas’s Grasshopper-Warbler Helopsaltes certhiola, based on a bird present 9–12 Sep 2019 at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island (photos AKCLC). Insert preceding Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler (which now is also maintained in Helopsaltes).

ADD Song Thrush Turdus philomelos, based on a bird present 9 Oct 2020 at Utqiaġvik (photos AKCLC). Insert between Redwing T. iliacus and American Robin T. migratorius.

DELETE Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus.

AOU/AOS Supplement 61’s (Chesser et al. 2020a:16) precipitate reclassification of the Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus as “a geographical trend, rather than a species or subspecies”presented a nomenclatural lapsus, one in which the coastal crows from Kodiak Island to Washington State were left without a scientific name. Correcting that error, Chesser et al. (2020b)—in press in the final 2020 number of The Auk [to be renamed, after 137 years, Ornithology]—now state instead that the taxon caurinus is to be maintained as a subspecies of the American Crow, C. brachyrhynchos caurinus.

Following Johnston (1961) and Mattocks et al. (1976), who a half century ago published the same conclusion to be articulated soon by Chesser et al. (2020b), the ongoing “Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds” (see Gibson and Withrow 2015) now recognizes two subspecies of the American Crow instead of two species of crows. (The second subspecies, C. b. hesperis, of interior British Columbia and points south, is known in Alaska only from Hyder.)

*Status of Lesser White-fronted Goose, with a third Alaska record, is changed to Casual.

*In the family Trochilidae, species in the genus Selasphorus are re-ordered so Calliope Hummingbird Selasphorus calliope now precedes Rufous Hummingbird S. rufus.

*The family Scolopacidae is now identified (only) as Sandpipers.

*In the family Phalacrocoracidae, species are re-ordered so Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus now follows Pelagic Cormorant P. pelagicus.

*In the family Locustellidae, Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata is moved to precede River Warbler L. fluviatilis.

*In the family Turdidae, the two subspecies of the former Dusky Thrush Turdus naumanni are elevated to species status: the Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus is casual in Alaska and the Naumann’s Thrush T. naumanni is added to the Alaska unsubstantiated list.

*Status of Lesser White-fronted Goose, with a third Alaska record, is changed to Casual.

*Status of Blue Grosbeak, with a third Alaska record, is changed to Casual.

*The Unsubstantiated List now comprises 19 species (including one species-pair) with the additions of Murphy’s Petrel Pterodroma ultima and Naumann’s Thrush Turdus naumanni.

_____________________________________________

Chesser, R. T., Billerman, S. M., Burns, K. J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Kratter, A. W., Lovette, I. J., Mason, N. A., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., Stotz, D. F., and Winker, K. 2020a. Sixty-first supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk: Ornithological Advances 137:1–24; doi: 10.1093/auk/ukaa030

Chesser, R. T., Billerman, S. M., Burns, K. J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Kratter, A. W., Lovett, I. J., Mason, N. A., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., Stotz, D. F., and Winker, K. 2020b. Addendum to the sixty-first supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithology 137:XX–XX; doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukaa074

Gibson, D. D., and Withrow, J. J. 2015. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds, Second ed. W. Birds 46:94–185.

Johnston, D. W. 1961. The biosystematics of American Crows. Univ. Washington Press, Seattle. 119 pages.

Mattocks, P. W. Jr., Hunn, E. S., and Wahl, T. R. 1976. A Checklist of the Birds of Washington State, with recent changes annotated. W. Birds 7:1–24.

Thoughts on changing the name of the Auk and Condor

(Our discipline’s flagship journals are considering a name change after more than a century of success and global recognition. I am opposed, because the potential gains are illusory. A survey [now closed] on this is available here. This change has now been made; with 2021 the experiment begins.)

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