Fiftieth Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds

• Published in: The Auk 2009-07, Vol.126 (3), p.705-714
• Main Authors: Terry Chesser, R, Banks, Richard C, Keith Barker, F, Cicero, Carla, Dunn, Jon L, Kratter, Andrew W, Lovette, Irby J, Rasmussen, Pamela C, Remsen, J. V, Rising, James D, Stotz, Douglas F, Winker, Kevin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Birds; Committees; Salt marshes
• ISSN: 0004-8038; 1938-4254; 2732-4613
• DOI: 10.1525/auk.2009.8709

Changes in this Supplement include the following: (1) seven species are added to the main list (including one transferred from the Appendix) on the basis of new distributional information (Anser anser , Patagioenas plumbea , Ninox scutulata , Tolmomyias flaviventris , Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus , Acrocephalus schoenobaenus , and Emberiza chrysophrys ), one of which (Ninox ) also represents a new genus for the main list; (2) the distributional statement of one species (Lepidocolaptes lacrymiger ) is changed by a split of extralimital taxa; (3) one species is changed (to Notharchus hyperrhynchus ) by being split from an extralimital species (N. macrorhynchos ); (4) three generic names (Acanthis , Spinus , and Chloris ) are added as a result of splits from the genus Carduelis ; (5) one genus (Cichlherminia ) is lost by merger (into Turdus ), and the scientific name of one species (Turdus lherminieri ) is thereby changed; (6) the gender of the adjectival names of two species (Poecile hudsonicus and P. cinctus ) is changed, owing to correction of the gender of the generic name; (7) the citation for one genus (Dives ) is changed; (8) three English names are changed (Vireo caribaeus becomes San Andres [rather than Saint Andrew] Vireo, Ammodramus nelsoni becomes Nelson's [rather than Nelson's Sharp-tailed] Sparrow, and A. caudacutus becomes Saltmarsh [rather than Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed] Sparrow); and (9) one species is added to the Appendix (Circus buffoni ). [...] a system of regional consultants for bird distribution in North America and Middle America is established and is being implemented. Proposals considered but not accepted by the committee include: transfer of White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis ) to the main list (Pranty et al. 2008 ); division of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum ) into two species (Proudfoot et al. 2006 ); transfer of Straight-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus picus ) to the genus Dendroplex (Aleixo et al. 2007 ); merger of Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher (Myiobius sulphureipygius ) into M. barbatus ; change of Ptilogonatidae, Dulidae, and Mohoidae to subfamilies within the Bombycillidae (Spellman et al. 2008 ); change of the family-level placement of several genera currently placed in the Emberizidae (e.g., Klicka et al. 2007 ); division of Passerculus sandwichensis into as many as four species (Rising 2007 ); and division of Spinus into three genera (Arnaiz-Villena et al. 2007 , 2008 ).