The 50th supplement to the American Ornithologist's Union (A.O.U.) official checklist of the birds of North and Central America was published in August, and there are several changes that affect species in our area. Some are name changes to either common or latin names, and others are just a reordering of species in the list. Here is a quick summary of the changes as they affect Timiskaming's birds:
- Move the genus Piranga to the beginning of the family Cardinalidae, eliminating the family Thraupidae
(i.e., move Scarlet Tanager to precede Northern Cardinal)
- Change the common name of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow to Nelson's Sparrow
- Change the genus of Common Redpoll from Carduelis to Acanthis
- Change the genus of Pine Siskin and the goldfinches from Carduelis to Spinus
- Change the specific latin name of Boreal Chickadee from hudsonica to hudsonicus.
I will make the appropriate changes to the checklist and the species pages over the next few days.