I just happen to have Dennis Paulson's original posting handy!

At 02:39 PM 3/5/96 -0800, you wrote:
>The July 1995 Auk just came to me in the mail (the last 3 issues came
>within a week, a repeat of last year's weird situation). In it is the 40th
>supplement to the AOU Check-list. Those rumors that have been circulating
>for quite a long time are now cast in concrete (at least until next time).
>
>These changes affect North American birders' lists:
>
>Northern Flicker split into:
> Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
> Gilded Flicker Colaptes chrysoides
>Scrub Jay split into:
> Florida Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma coerulescens
> Island Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma insularis
> Western Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica
>Gray-cheeked Thrush split into:
> Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus
> Bicknell's Thrush Catharus bicknelli
>Rufous-sided Towhee split into:
> Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
> Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus
>Sharp-tailed Sparrow split into:
> Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Ammdramus caudacutus
> Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Ammodramus nelsoni
>Northern Oriole split into:
> Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
> Bullock's Oriole Icterus bullockii
> Abeille's Oriole Icterus abeillei (Mexico)
>
>By these changes you can see that what goes around comes around. You can
>also see that the check-list committee has no qualms about coining
>godawfully long common names (didn't they learn from American Black
>Oystercatcher and other names that they subsequently shortened [see
>below]?). You can also see that rumors outstrip reality by quite a
>distance (no vireo changes, no sparrow changes, no gull changes, etc.).
>Conservatives are on top everywhere.
>
>Also a few common name changes, most of which won't affect our daily field
>trips:
>
>American Swallow-tailed Kite becomes Swallow-tailed Kite (about time!)
>Northern Hobby becomes Eurasian Hobby
>Greater Golden-Plover becomes European Golden-Plover
>Rufous-necked Stint becomes Red-necked Stint
>Common Black-headed Gull becomes Black-headed Gull
>Eurasian Skylark becomes Sky Lark
>Brown Tree-Pipit becomes Tree Pipit
>Olive Tree-Pipit becomes Olive-backed Pipit
>Pallas' Reed-Bunting becomes Pallas' Bunting
>Common Reed-Bunting becomes Reed Bunting
>
>All but the first are changed to agree with the official British
>Ornithologists' Union names. No Great Northern Divers or Sand Martins
>(yet).
>
>For the Neotropically oriented, there are quite a few taxonomic changes in
>West Indian/Middle American birds too, almost all of them splits.
>Miscellaneous scientific name changes (e.g., the Common Egret is now an
>Ardea) and new records of vagrants complete the list.
>
>Nary a word is said about any upcoming new check-list.
>
>Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
>Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
>University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
>Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>

Eric Greenwood
Vancouver, B.C.
egreenw at intranet.bc.ca