Gene and all:

The "weird DNA thing" that led to the AOU's resequencing of the gulls
is laid out in J.-M. Pons, A. Hassanin, and P.-A. Crochet. 2005.
Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves)
inferred from mitochondrial markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and
Evolution 37:686-699. The revised sequence, and brief commentary, are
in the 49th Supplement to the AOU Check-List in the July 2008 issue of
Auk, p. 761sqq.

Hey, not too long ago consensus was that Baltimore Oriole and
Bullock's Oriole were really one species ("Northern Oriole") because
they interbreed so freely where their ranges meet. And then genetic
research showed that they are not even one another's closest
relatives, just as it now has for the Western and Glaucous-winged
gulls. The nice thing about science is that it constantly revises its
"certainties."

The AOU's resequencing of the "shanks" (Tringines) that resulted in
the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs being separated from one another
occurred in the 47th Supplement, in the July 2006 issue of Auk. Again,
it results from genetic research published in a paper they cite.

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
hal at catharus.net



On Feb 20, 2009, at 11:05 PM, Eugene and Nancy Hunn wrote:

> On another issue, I?ve been meaning to post a question about the
> recent rearrangements of the sequence of shorebirds and gulls in the
> latest Washington State checklist. At first I thought it was an
> editorial oversight but apparently not:
>
> 1) The Willet is now sandwiched between Greater and Lesser
> Yellowlegs, and
> 2) The Western Gull is torn from his familiar moorings beside
> the Glaucous-winged and stuck between Ring-billed and California.
>
> I?ve tried to imagine an evolutionary scenario that would make sense
> of this but find it a stretch. Does anyone know the rationale behind
> these moves? No doubt some weird DNA thing, but how could Western
> Gulls not be closest kin to Glaucous-winged, given that they so
> freely hybridize?

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