You will want to familiarize yourself with the taxonomic changes for this year. Some, but not all, of the possible changes may be flagged as exceptions during the AviSys update. For some changes you will need to figure out what the corresponding new name is, and manually update your AviSys data accordingly before the update will run to completion. Exceptions are reported in a file named UPDEXCEP.TXT, and suggestions for how to deal with exceptions are provided in that file. Read these suggestions carefully. Exceptions will only be reported for species that you have seen; all changes for species that you have not seen are done entirely automatically.
Below I provide a summary of species-level changes affecting common names that you might encounter in the 2018 update. You're likely to need to research some of these changes further. There is a very readable account of the changes provided by eBird. More technical, and complete, information about the changes can be found at the Clements checklist site. These Cornell web pages also describe many other changes (e.g., in scientific names) that may be of interest to you but that don't have a direct bearing on the AviSys update. If you are starting from an older AviSys update (you don't have the 2017 update), you may need to research older Clements pages.
AviSys provides a message that says information is provided in PDF files. It's referring to the information that is now on this web page.
These are listed separately under simple name changes.
In this table, "old name" is a name that was in the 2017 taxonomy but has disappeared from the 2018 taxonomy due to a lump, and "new name" is the species that it was lumped with. If the old form is retained as a subspecies, the subspecies name is shown. For help with this, see How to do a lump.
| Old name | New name |
|---|---|
| Colombian Screech-Owl Megascops colombianus | Rufescent Screech-Owl (Colombian) Megascops ingens colombianus |
| White-chested Tinkerbird Pogoniulus makawai | Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus |
| Baron's Spinetail Cranioleuca baroni | Line-cheeked Spinetail (Baron's) Cranioleuca antisiensis [baroni Group] |
| Liberian Greenbul Phyllastrephus leucolepis | Icterine Greenbul Phyllastrephus icterinus |
| Timor Bush Warbler Locustella timorensis | Javan Bush Warbler (Timor) Locustella montis timorensis |
| Canary Islands Kinglet Regulus teneriffae | Goldcrest (Tenerife) Regulus regulus teneriffae |
| Passerini's Tanager Ramphocelus passerinii | Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Passerini's) Ramphocelus passerinii passerinii |
| Cherrie's Tanager Ramphocelus costaricensis | Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Cherrie's) Ramphocelus passerinii costaricensis |
For help, see How to do a split.
There are two tables of splits. The first table lists splits where one of the split species retains the original common name. Thus, because the name still exists, AviSys will not flag your sightings of that species as an exception; however you will want to review your records to see if you need to transfer some sightings to one of the new species.
| Old name | New name | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos | Knob-billed Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos | Tropical Africa and Madagascar; India to s China |
| Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos | Comb Duck Sarkidiornis sylvicola | Tropical South America (east of the Andes) to n Argentina |
| Mallard (Mexican) Anas platyrhynchos diazi | Mexican Duck Anas diazi | southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas (Trans-Pecos region) south to central Mexico |
| Mallard (Northern) | Mallard Anas platyrhynchos | |
| White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca | Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca | N Eurasia; winters Norway to Spain and Caspian Sea |
| White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca | White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi deglandi | Northern North America; winters to coastal s US |
| White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca | White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri | Breeds ne Asia; winters coastal e Asia to Japan and China |
| Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis | Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis | Interior nw N America (sw Canada to Mexico); West Indies |
| Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis | Andean Duck Oxyura ferruginea andina | Central and Eastern Andes of Colombia |
| Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis | Andean Duck Oxyura ferruginea ferruginea | Locally from Andes of s Colombia to s Argentina and s Chile |
| White-tailed Hillstar (Rufous-gaped) Urochroa leucura bougueri | Rufous-gaped Hillstar Urochroa bougueri | Andes of sw Colombia and nw Ecuador |
| White-tailed Hillstar (White-tailed) Urochroa leucura leucura | White-tailed Hillstar Urochroa leucura | east slope of Andes from southern Colombia (Nariño) to eastern Ecuador (south at least to Morona-Santiago) and northern Peru (Amazonas, San Martín) |
| Gray-breasted Sabrewing (Dry Forest) Campylopterus largipennis calcirupicola | Dry-forest Sabrewing Campylopterus calcirupicola | eastern Brazil (southeastern Goiás, southwestern Bahia, and northern Minas Gerais) |
| Gray-breasted Sabrewing other subspecies | Gray-breasted Sabrewing | E Venezuela, E Colombia to N Bolivia and east to eastern Amazonian Brazil, SE Brazil (Serra Espinhaço in Minas Gerais) |
| Blond-crested Woodpecker (Ochre-backed) Celeus flavescens ochraceus | Ochre-backed Woodpecker Celeus ochraceus | lower Amazonian Brazil (south of the Amazon in Pará); northeastern Brazil, from Maranhão south to northern Goías and east to Ceará, Pernambuco, and western Bahia |
| Blond-crested Woodpecker Celeus flavescens other subspecies | Blond-crested Woodpecker Celeus flavescens | E Brazil (w Bahia to Goiás and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro) to e Paraguay and ne Argentina |
| Russet Antshrike Thamnistes anabatinus rufescens | Rufescent Antshrike Thamnistes rufescens | E Peru south of the Río Marañón (Amazonas) to w Bolivia |
| Russet Antshrike Thamnistes anabatinus other subspecies | Russet Antshrike Thamnistes anabatinus | Atlantic slope of se Mexico to Venezuela, Ecuador and extreme n Peru |
| Thrush-like Antpitta (Tapajos) Myrmothera campanisona subcanescens | Tapajos Antpitta Myrmothera subcanescens | Amazonian Brazil, south of Amazon, from the right (east) bank of the Rio Madeira to the upper Rio Xingu |
| Thrush-like Antpitta Myrmothera campanisona | Thrush-like Antpitta Myrmothera campanisona subspecies modesta, dissors, campanisona, signata, and minor | Colombia, Venezuela, to the Guianas and adjacent n Brazil, nw Amazonian Brazil, Ecuador, Peru to extreme nw Bolivia and w Amazonian Brazil |
| Rusty-breasted Antpitta Grallaricula ferrugineipectus | Rusty-breasted Antpitta Grallaricula ferrugineipectus subspecies rara and ferrugineipectus | eastern Andes of Colombia, and the Sierra de Perijá (Colombia/ Venezuela border), Santa Marta Mts. (ne Colombia) and mountains of n Venezuela |
| Rusty-breasted Antpitta (Leimebamba) Grallaricula ferrugineipectus leymebambae | Leymebamba Antpitta Grallaricula leymebambae | local on west slope of the Andes of western Ecuador and northwestern Peru (Piura). East slope of the Andes from northern Peru (Amazonas south of the Marañón River) to northern Bolivia (La Paz) |
| Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner (exsertus) Automolus ochrolaemus exsertus | Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner Automolus exsertus | Pacific slope of sw Costa Rica to w Panama (Chiriquí) |
| Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner Automolus ochrolaemus other subspecies | Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner Automolus ochrolaemus | Mexico to w Brazil |
| Variegated Fairywren Malurus lamberti subspecies rogersi, dulcis, assimilis, and bernieri | Purple-backed Fairywren Malurus assimilis | northern, western, and interior Australia |
| Variegated Fairywren Malurus lamberti lamberti | Variegated Fairywren Malurus lamberti | coastal southeastern Australia (eastern New South Wales, and southeastern Queensland north to Gladstone) |
| Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus | Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus | Canada, w-central and e US; winters to Cuba and c S America |
| Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus subspecies caucae, griseobarbatus, pectoralis, solimoensis, vividior, tobagensis, agilis, diversus, and chivi | Chivi Vireo Vireo chivi | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guianas, Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina |
| Eurasian Magpie (North African) Pica pica mauritanica | Maghreb Magpie Pica mauritanica | NE Mauritania to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia |
| Eurasian Magpie (Arabian) Pica pica asirensis | Asir Magpie Pica asirensis | Asir Mountains (sw Arabia) |
| Eurasian Magpie (Black-rumped) Pica pica bottanensis | Black-rumped Magpie Pica bottanensis | E Himalayas to se Tibet and w China (Qinghai and Xinjiang) |
| Eurasian Magpie Pica pica serica | Oriental Magpie Pica serica | southeastern Russia, northeastern China, and Korea south through eastern China, Taiwan, and Hainan to northern Myanmar, northern Laos, and northern Vietnam |
| Eurasian Magpie Pica pica subspecies melanotos, pica, fennorum, bactriana, leucoptera, and camtschatica | Eurasian Magpie Pica pica | Europe, w Russia, western and southern Siberia (east to Lake Baikal) and central Asia, south to the Caucasus region east to Pakistan and northwestern India, s Transbaikalia to e Mongolia and Altai Mountains, N shores of Sea of Okhotsk to Kamchatka Peninsula |
| Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli idonea | Dalat Bush Warbler Locustella idonea | highlands of central and southern Vietnam (Kon Tum and Da Lat plateaus) |
| Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli subspecies mandelli and melanorhyncha | Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli | ne India, Bhutan, n and w Myanmar, China, n Thailand, n Laos, and n Vietnam |
| Island Thrush (Taiwan) Turdus poliocephalus niveiceps | Taiwan Thrush Turdus niveiceps | Mountains of Taiwan and Lan-yü I. |
| Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus | Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus | |
| Yellowish Pipit (Peruvian) Anthus lutescens peruvianus | Peruvian Pipit Anthus peruvianus | Coastal n Peru (Lambayeque) to extreme n Chile (Tacna) |
| Yellowish Pipit Anthus lutescens subspecies parvus and lutescens | Yellowish Pipit Anthus lutescens | Savanna of w Panama, e Colombia to Venezuela, Guianas, Brazil, Argentina |
| Blue-black Grosbeak Cyanoloxia cyanoides subspecies concreta, caerulescens, and cyanoides | Blue-black Grosbeak Cyanoloxia cyanoides | Lowlands of se Mexico (Veracruz) to central Panama south, west of the Andes, to extreme northwestern Peru (Tumbes, Piura), and east across northern Colombia (south to Norte de Santander) and northwestern and northern Venezuela (to Miranda) |
| Blue-black Grosbeak (Amazonian) Cyanoloxia cyanoides rothschildii | Amazonian Grosbeak Cyanoloxia rothschildii | eastern Colombia (north at least to western Meta) to southern and northeastern Venezuela (north to Sucre) east to the Guianas, south through Amazonia to Bolivia |
| Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch (Black-and-chestnut) Poospiza nigrorufa whitii/wagneri | Black-and-chestnut Warbling-Finch Poospiza whitii | Andes of Bolivia (north to La Paz) and northwestern Argentina (south to San Luis and western Córdoba) |
| Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch (Black-and-rufous) Poospiza nigrorufa nigrorufa | Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch Poospiza nigrorufa | northeastern Argentina (eastern Formosa south to Buenos Aires), southeastern Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil (Paraná to Rio Grande do Sul) |
The second table lists splits where the common name of the species that was split no longer exists, and thus any sightings of it will be reported by AviSys as an exception.
| Old name | New name | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Crowned-Pigeon (Sclater's) Goura scheepmakeri sclaterii | Sclater's Crowned-Pigeon Goura sclaterii | S New Guinea (Mimika River to Fly River) |
| Southern Crowned-Pigeon (Scheepmaker's) Goura scheepmakeri scheepmakeri | Scheepmaker's Crowned-Pigeon Goura scheepmakeri | Coastal se New Guinea (Hall Sound to Orangerie Bay) |
| Wedge-billed Hummingbird (Western) Schistes geoffroyi albogularis | White-throated Wedgebill Schistes albogularis | both slopes of Western Andes and west slope of Central Andes of Colombia and west slope of Andes of western Ecuador |
| Wedge-billed Hummingbird (Eastern) Schistes geoffroyi geoffroyi | Geoffroy's Wedgebill Schistes geoffroyi geoffroyi | Andes of e Colombia to n Venezuela and e Peru |
| Wedge-billed Hummingbird (Eastern) Schistes geoffroyi chapmani | Geoffroy's Wedgebill Schistes geoffroyi chapmani | Andes of central Bolivia (Cochabamba) |
| Vermiculated Screech-Owl (Guatemalan) and (Vermiculated) Megascops guatelamalae | Middle American Screech-Owl Megascops guatemalae including subspecies hastatus, cassini, fuscus, thompsoni, guatemalae, dacrysistactus, and vermiculatus | Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (and western Panama?) |
| Vermiculated Screech-Owl (Choco) Megascops guatelamalae centralis | Choco Screech-Owl Megascops centralis | central Panama to northern Colombia and western Ecuador |
| Vermiculated Screech-Owl (Roraima) and (Foothill) Megascops guatelamalae | Foothill Screech-Owl Megascops roraimae subspecies roraimae, pallidus, napensis, helleri, and bolivianus | Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, eastern Colombia and eastern Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia |
| Paltry Tyrannulet (Paltry) Zimmerius vilissimus vilissimus | Guatemalan Tyrannulet Zimmerius vilissimus | highlands of southern Mexico (Chiapas), Guatemala, and western El Salvador |
| Paltry Tyrannulet (Mistletoe) Zimmerius vilissimus parvus | Mistletoe Tyrannulet Zimmerius parvus | lowlands from eastern Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras south to Panama and extreme northwestern Colombia (Chocó) |
| Paltry Tyrannulet (Mountain) Zimmerius vilissimus improbus/tamae | Spectacled Tyrannulet Zimmerius improbus | Santa Marta Mountains (northern Colombia) and the Sierra de Perijá (on the Colombia/Venezuela border); Andes of northern Colombia (Norte de Santander) and of Venezuela |
| Paltry Tyrannulet (Venezuelan) Zimmerius vilissimus petersi | Venezuelan Tyrannulet Zimmerius petersi | Coastal cordillera of n Venezuela (s Lara east to Miranda) |
| Striped Manakin (Eastern) Machaeropterus regulus regulus | Kinglet Manakin Machaeropterus regulus | Coastal se Brazil (Bahia to Rio de Janeiro) |
| Striped Manakin Machaeropterus regulus subspecies antioquiae, striolatus, obscurostriatus, zulianus, and aureopectus | Striolated Manakin Machaeropterus striolatus | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, w Amaz. Brazil, Venezuela |
| Mountain Sooty Boubou (Ruwenzori) Laniarius poensis holomelas | Albertine Boubou Laniarius holomelas | E Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi |
| Mountain Sooty Boubou Laniarius poensis | Western Boubou Laniarius poensis | Cameroon and Nigeria, Bioko I. (Gulf of Guinea) |
| Rusty-bellied Fantail (Sulawesi) Rhipidura teysmanni subspecies toradja and teysmanni | Sulawesi Fantail Rhipidura teysmanni | Sulawesi |
| Rusty-bellied Fantail (Taliabu) Rhipidura teysmanni sulaensis | Taliabu Fantail Rhipidura sulaensis | Taliabu I. (Sula Islands) |
| Firecrest (Madeira) Regulus ignicapilla madeirensis | Madeira Firecrest Regulus madeirensis | Madeira (e Atlantic Ocean) |
| Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla subspecies ignicapilla and balearicus | Common Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla | England and w Europe to Mediterranean and Asia Minor, Balearic Islands and North Africa (Morocco to n Tunisia) |
| Henna-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher Cyornis colonus pelingensis | Banggai Jungle-Flycatcher Cyornis pelingensis | Peleng I. (Banggai Islands off Sulawesi) |
| Henna-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher Cyornis colonus colonus | Sula Jungle-Flycatcher Cyornis colonus | Sula Islands (Taliabu, Seho, Mangole and Sanana) |
| Slaty Thrush (Eastern) Turdus nigriceps subalaris | Eastern Slaty Thrush Turdus subalaris | breeds southernmost Brazil (north to Paraná), northeastern Argentina, and southeastern Paraguay; winters north to south central Brazil (north to Mato Grosso and Goiás) |
| Slaty Thrush (Andean) Turdus nigriceps nigriceps | Andean Slaty Thrush Turdus nigriceps | breeds in the Andes of southern Bolivia (north to Santa Cruz) and northwestern Argentina (south to Córdoba), also locally in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru; nonbreeding migrant to the east slope of the Andes from southeastern Ecuador to Bolivia |
| Nightingale Finch (Nightingale I.) Nesospiza acunhae questi | Nightingale Island Finch Nesospiza questi | Nightingale Island (south Atlantic Ocean) |
| Nightingale Finch Nesospiza acunhae | Inaccessible Island Finch Nesospiza acunhae | Inaccessible Island |
| White-collared Seedeater (White-collared) Sporophila torqueola sharpei/morelleti | Morelet's Seedeater Sporophila morelleti | |
| White-collared Seedeater (Cinnamon-rumped) Sporophila torqueola torqueola/atriceps | Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater Sporophila torqueola | |
| Name | Range |
|---|---|
| Santa Marta Screech-Owl Megascops gilesi | Santa Marta Mountains (ne Colombia) |
| Cordillera Azul Antbird Myrmoderus eowilsoni | northern Peru: local on ridge crests of Cordillera Azul (eastern San Martín) |
| Painted Manakin Machaeropterus eckelberryi | northern Peru: very local on ridgecrests of Andean foothills in eastern San Martín and southwestern Loreto |
| Rote Myzomela Myzomela irianawidodoae | Rote, Lesser Sundas |
Cases where a subspecies is moved to a different species.