Most of our members love birds, and some of us might consider ourselves a “bird nerd.” In any event, we hope everyone will be interested to learn that each year, scientists review data to update the taxonomy of bird species. A major update has just completed, resulting in 3 newly-recognized species (one is newly-described), 141 species gained because of splits, and 16 species lost through lumps, resulting in a net gain of 128 species and a new total of 11,145 species worldwide.
In some cases, multiple bird species are “lumped” when there isn’t enough variation among species to justify separate names. For example, this year, those who have birded in the Northern Hemisphere (and New Zealand) will notice that your previous reports of Lesser Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll and Common Redpoll, have changed to Redpoll (each will still carry the subspecies group (formerly species)). I looked in eBird, thinking I had certainly documented at least one redpoll, but it says I have zero Redpolls. So no “losses” to my life list from this change.
On the other hand, “splitting” occurs when differences are found, possibly using genetic studies and/or other methods. One example for this year was the splitting of the Herring Gull to four species: the monotypic American Herring Gull, which is widespread in North America; and monotypic Vega Gull, which breeds in e. Siberia and winters in east Asia; monotypic Mongolian Gull, which breeds in Central Asia (Mongolia and southern Russia to the Yellow Sea coast of South Korea); and polytypic European Herring Gull, which is remarkably well-named and barely occurs outside the continent. Sure enough, besides the many Herring Gulls I have seen in the U.S. (now American Herring Gull), I have seen Herring Gulls (now European Herring Gull) in Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. My eBird life list increased by 1!
For those interested, below is a summary of the “lumping” and “splitting” completed in the fall of 2024.
| Global changes | Eurasia | North America |
| Barn Owl (3-way split) | Red-rumped Swallow (3-way split) | House Wren (7-way split) |
| Herring Gull (4-way split) | European Goldfinch (2-way split) | Rufous-naped Wren (3-way split) |
| Cory’s Shearwater (2-way split) | Eurasian Nutcracker (2-way split) | Northern Flicker (2-way split) |
| Brown Booby (2-way split) | Red-flanked Bluetail (2-way split) | Crested Bobwhite (2-way split) |
| American Pipit (2-way split) | Brush Cuckoo (6-way split) | White-breasted Thrasher (2-way split) |
| Common and Hoary Redpoll lump | Large Cuckooshrike (3-way split) | Virginia Rail (2-way split) |
| Genus Accipiter is broken up into 5 genera! | Japanese and Cinereous Tit lump |
| South America | Africa | Australasia |
| Long-tailed Woodcreeper (3-way split) | Rock Martin (3-way split) | Sandhill Grasswren (2-way split) |
| Plain Xenops (3-way split) | Red-fronted Tinkerbird (2-way split) | Common Cicadabird (13-way split, 1 species in Australia) |
| Slaty Brushfinch (2-way split) | White-browed Coucal (2-way split) | Dusky Myzomela (4-way split, 1 species in Australia) |
| Tricolored Brushfinch (2-way split) | Yellow-billed Barbet (2-way split) Spectacled Monarch (3-way split) | Spectacled Monarch, (3-way split, 1 species in Australia) |
| Black-capped Sparrow (2-way split) | 7-way split among two Corypha larks (formerly Mirafra larks) | Brush Cuckoo (5-way split, 1 species in Australia) |
| Tropical Gnatcatcher (2-way split) | 5 different greenbul splits | |
| 2 different wren splits, and much more! | 3 different sunbird splits splits, and much more |
You can find more details in this article on the Cornell Lab website, eBird. Or, sign up for a free Cornell Lab webinar this Thursday:
Birds of the World ‘Discovery Series’ webinar: What’s new in avian taxonomy – 2024 Edition.
Date: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Length: 1.5 hoursOur understanding of species is constantly changing. Every year, some species are “split” into two or more, while others are “lumped” from multiple species into one as we gain a better understanding of the relationships between birds. The eBird/Clements Checklist, which underpins all projects at the Cornell Lab, is updated annually to reflect the latest developments in avian taxonomy. This taxonomy webinar is an opportunity to celebrate the many scientific advances in ornithology made over the past year.
Join taxonomy experts Pam, Marshall, and Shawn as they discuss these 2024 taxonomy changes in depth.
Dr. Pamela Rasmussen, Senior research associate – avian systematist, Birds of the World
Marshall Iliff, eBird project lead, taxonomy specialist, common names database manager, eBird
Dr. Shawn Billerman, Science editor, Birds of the WorldThe entire Birds of the World site be open access from 14–18 November to encourage exploration of these new taxonomic relationships.
Note: concepts presented in the webinar will be intermediate to advanced. Beginners are encouraged to watch “BOW Discovery Webinar: Avian Taxonomy Update 2022” on YouTube for an overview of basic avian taxonomy concepts. Video will appear on the BOW YouTube playlist after the event.