I know, I know — you’re still reeling from the news that Pacific Wren is being split from Winter Wren. The last thing you’re willing to deal with right now is another taxonomic split based on vocal differences, right? [Read more]
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The grapevine tells me that the AOU checklist committee has voted to split Pacific Wren from Winter Wren. [Read more] In the first two parts of this series we explored the “quank” calls, which are some of the most common vocalizations of the three populations, and the “fast songs.” Today we’ll investigate two more types of rapid-fire calls, the “rapid quanks” and the “hit-trills,” and then I’ll leave the subject of nuthatches alone for a little while! [Read more] Here in Colorado, we have both the “Rocky Mountain” and “Eastern” forms of the White-breasted Nuthatch, and I’ve heard a couple of people proclaim that any bird giving a rapid-fire series of calls is a Rocky Mountain individual, while any bird giving a single “yank” note is an Eastern. Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than that. [Read more] Birders have known for a number of years now that White-breasted Nuthatches sort out into three distinct vocal groups in North America: Pacific, Rocky Mountain, and Eastern. However, with the exception of field guides, the ornithological literature has been silent on this point. Thus, starting with this post, I’m going to start exploring these vocal differences in some depth. [Read more] It was a wet and foggy day in April. I was standing in a damp little nook in dense woods, long before the first leaves would even think about opening, weeks before most migrating birds would get within a thousand miles of southeast South Dakota, listening to a cascade of musical notes that seemed like it would never end. It was echoing off the trees and the mossy banks, coming from somewhere tantalizingly close — but from exactly where, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out. [Read more] The American Ornithologists’ Union Checklist Committee recently updated its slate of taxonomic proposals. Lots of exciting stuff here, including proposed species status for our old friend, the South Hills Crossbill, and a split of Western Scrub-Jay. The proposed split I want to focus on today, though, is one that’s long in coming, and quite likely to pass, in my opinion: the split of Winter Wren. [Read more] In my last post, I discussed differences in the alarm calls of Gray Hawk (for the purposes of this post, Buteo plagiatus) and Gray-lined Hawk (here, Buteo nitidus). See that post for a discussion of taxonomic issues. In this post, I plan to add some information about alarm calls and also discuss the series calls of these two taxa. [Read more] The Gray Hawk was historically considered two species. In recent years the AOU has recognized only a single species, but evidence is mounting that it should in fact recognize two. In this post I present added evidence for the split: substantial differences in voice between the “Gray” (plagiatus) and “Gray-lined” (nitidus) groups, a fact that seems to have gone unreported in the literature so far. [Read more] |
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