Australia

The annual eBird taxonomy update IS NOW UNDERWAY. Work is still going in the background to update existing checklists, update maps etc., but the revised taxonomy should already appear as you enter new checklists.  It is worth having a look at which Australian species are being treated differently with the 2016 update.

Every year, the eBird/Clements taxonomy is updated.  This year, for Australian eBirders, there are several changes to be aware of.

SPECIES SPLITS

The below species were all split in eBird for this update:

Grey-faced Petrel by Paul Brooks/Macaulay Library

Grey-faced Petrel has been split from Great-winged Petrel.  Both species occur in Australian waters.  Many organised pelagic trips already routinely reported these as subspecies in the past.

• Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera
• Grey-faced Petrel Pterodroma gouldi

Asian Emerald Dove by Bernie OKeefe/Macaulay Library

Emerald Doves on Christmas Island (natalis) are now part of the Asian Emerald Dove.  Those normally found in the rest of Australia (and Lord Howe) are Pacific Emerald Dove.

• Asian Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica [Christmas Island]
• Pacific Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris [mainland Australia N and E, including Lord Howe]

Spotted Catbird by Chris Barnes/Macaulay Library

Spotted Catbirds have also been split into several species, which mostly affects observations from New Guinea.  In Australia, the former Spotted Catbird is now treated as two species:

• Spotted Catbird Ailuroedus maculosus [Atherton Tablelands and south]
• Black-eared Catbird Ailuroedus melanotis [northern Cape York, e.g. Iron Range NP]

Rusty Grasswren by Peter Valentine/Macaulay Library

Striated Grasswren has been split into multiple species, and so there are now three more reasons to travel to outback Australia (be careful in the desert):

• Pilbara Grasswren Amytornis whitei [Pilbara, WA]
• Sandhill Grasswren Amytornis oweni [southern NT, western SA, eastern WA]
• Rusty Grasswren Amytornis rowleyi [near Opalton, QLD]
• Striated Grasswren Amytornis striatus [eastern SA, VIC, NSW]

Western Grasswren by Mat Gilfedder/Macaulay Library

Thick-billed Grasswren is recognised as a split too:

• Western Grasswren Amytornis textilis [WA, and W SA (Gawler Ranges)]
• Thick-billed Grasswren Amytornis modestus [NE SA and NSW]

The former Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis), has been split into two species. Note that the SA and Victorian mallee birds (formerly treated as part of P. p. fuliginosa) are retained in Golden Whistler, and the split between species is essentialy at the SA/WA state border.

• Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis [eastern Australia (including west SA)]
• Western Whistler Pachycephala occidentalis [southern WA only]

SPECIES LUMPS

This update lumps the Mallee Ringneck and Western Ringneck, which brings eBird/Clements into line with many other taxonomies:

• Australian Ringneck Barnardius zonarius

NEW SUBSPECIES GROUPS

The eBird/Clements taxonomy makes extensive use of subspecies groups to allow observers to explicitly record subspecies, or groups of subspecies, that are identifiable in the field. Subspecies groups have been recognized for several more Australian species. When recording a subspecies group, be sure to include field notes regarding the characters you used to identify the group. New subspecies groups are as follows:

Little Egret subspecies which have been recorded in Australia can now be reported directly as the “yellow-footed” nominate race:

• Little Egret (Western) Egretta garzetta garzetta [distinctive yellow *feet*]
• Little Egret (Australasian) Egretta garzetta nigripes [note that immaculata has been subsumed into nigripes]

With Golden Whistler, note that the eastern parts of the former “western” subspecies are retained as Golden Whistler (i.e. the split to Western Whistler only takes the WA part of the former fuliginosa range):

• Golden Whistler (Golden)  Pachycephala pectoralis [pectoralis group] [eastern Australia]
• Golden Whistler (fuliginosa)  Pachycephala pectoralis fuliginosa [SA, western Vic)]

Western Grasswren:

• Western Grasswren (Western) Amytornis textilis textilis [e.g Monkey Mia WA]
• Western Grasswren (Gawler Ranges) Amytornis textilis myall [e.g. Whyalla SA]

Australian Ringneck: As well as the lump of Mallee Ringneck and Western Ringneck, the 2016 update also subsumes the former occidentalis and whitei into zonarius.  The subspecies recognised in eBird are now:

• Australian Ringneck (Twenty-eight) Barnardius zonarius semitorquatus
• Australian Ringneck (Port Lincoln) Barnardius zonarius zonarius
• Australian Ringneck (Mallee) Barnardius zonarius barnardi
• Australian Ringneck (Cloncurry) Barnardius zonarius macgillivrayi

Slash Taxa

Some species pairs may be difficult to separate in the field, or were previously lumped, and in these cases eBird allows you to record the fact that you saw one or other of the pair but could not decide which. New slash taxa for Australia include:

• Great-winged/Grey-faced Petrel [Pterodroma macroptera/gouldi]
• Bassian/Russet-tailed Thrush [Zoothera lunulata/heinei]
• Brown/Tasmanian Thornbill [Acanthiza pusilla/ewingii]

Species-level (spuhs)

• Petroica sp. (for those brief views of *brown* Australian robins)
• Neophema sp. (sometimes these are just plain hard from a distance)
• miner sp. (Manorina sp.) (useful for rubbish views of mixed Black-eared / Yellow-throated Miner flocks) (note: the long name is to avoid confusion with South American “miners”)

Hybrids

• Lorikeet sp. (hybrid) (a home for any mixed-mixed ancestry lorikeets!)