I am surprised that no one has mentioned the latest revisions of the
Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, which were posted on the
website on Monday. There are some scattered splits and lumps of interest
to world-listers (the Winter Wren split is in there, too), but I was
most interested in changes at the order and family level. These changes
may not affect your life list much, but they may change how you think
about the birds.

There are big changes in the orders Pelecaniformes (pelicans and related
families) and Ciconiiformes (storks and related families). The families
Fregatidae (frigatebirds), Sulidae (boobies and gannets),
Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants) and Anhingidae (darters) all are moved
out of Pelecaniformes to a newly created order, Suliformes.
Tropicbirds, previously in Pelecaniformes, now have their own order,
Phaethontiformes. Meanwhile, Balaenicipitidae (Shoebill), Scopidae
(Hamerkop), Ardeidae (herons), and Threskiornithidae (ibises) have all
been moved out of Ciconiiformes into Pelecaniformes. Interesting, no?

There is a big change in the Falconiformes, also. All non-falcon
vultures and raptors have been moved into a new order, Accipitriformes.

A couple of other families (mesites, bustards, and Sunbittern) now have
their own orders (Mesitornithiformes, Otidiformes, and Eurypygiformes).

Wrentits are now back in Sylviidae (Old Warblers)...I wonder how long
that will last. No one seems to know where this bird really belongs.
Longspurs and the snow buntings now have their own family, the
Calcariidae.

There were lots of changes at the genus level. For example, most of the
New World warblers (Parulidae) in the genus Vermivora have been put into
a new genus, and waterthrushes also now have a new genus. A bunch of
desert towhees and Aimophila sparrows also got their own new genera.

All of these changes are based on decisions of checklist committees
around the world, as well as newly-published research, including DNA
sequencing studies. I expect some of them will cause controversy. The
revised Clements checklist is now on the website in spreadsheet form,
but will be posted in a more readable text form, with relevant
citations, in January.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist

Rachel Lawson
Seattle
RachelWL at msn.com