OSME Region List ORL

OSME Region List of birds

The OSME Region List of Bird Taxa – Version 9.1 July 2023

The aim of the OSME Region List (ORL) is to provide a definitive list of bird taxa¹ that have been recorded in the OSME Region. This Formal Edition is issued with a version number so that we* can implement amendments from the results of new research and from comments, corrections and suggestions we may receive. The ORL provides a basis of any country-by-country checklist for the OSME Region, should countries wish to liaise with OSME Council to that effect. A longer-term aim is to produce the ORL and country checklists in the languages of each country. However, before you examine the ORL for the first time, we suggest that you read its Ornithological basis, and the Explanation of the ORL. The Ornithological basis provides the rationale for the Order, Sequence and Nomenclature adopted in the ORL. For ease of reference, the ORL comprises five sections: Part A is the list of Non-passerines, Part B contains the Non-Passerine References, Part C is the list of Passerines, Part D contains the Passerine References and Part E comprises the Hypothetical list (species that are of unproven occurrence, those that are unlikely to occur and some perhaps that are both). We acknowledge here the help freely given and the interest expressed by so many people from throughout the Region and from the ornithological world – we believe that we have included their names in the Acknowledgements section below, but if you have been omitted, we apologise, and do let us know so that we can update it! A Simplified ORL (SORL – see Simplified ORL) intended for use in routine correspondence and as a reference source of taxa names in non-taxonomic papers is derived from the published version of the ORL: the SORL usually is revised annually. The SORL is available in Excel format from the Listmaster.

MIKE BLAIR*, STEVE PREDDY, ADULRAHMAN AL-SIRHAN ALENEZI
*ORL correspondence coordinator; Listmaster, c ⁄ o The Lodge, Sandy, SG 19 2DL UK or via orl

(ORL Team Founder Members and Co-authors: RICHARD PORTER AND †SIMON ASPINALL) †Simon Aspinall died in October 2012, after a long illness. We’ll retain his name as an author of the ORL because his contributions form its core. A great naturalist, he was also a good and generous friend.

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ORL 9.1 Summary of Changes

General

The rationalisation of the taxonomy of the various World Lists has affected the ORL in relatively minor fashion: a few splits have been re-lumped, and some taxa have been re-sequenced within their genera; a few taxa have moved between genera. It is likely that some re-lumps will eventually be re-split once the distribution of taxa in remote areas has been established. The continuously developing molecular techniques most probably will require further changes.

Only one species is new to the ORL – an Atlas Wheatear Oenanthe seebohmi, an inhabitant of NW Africa’s hills and mountains, obligingly and unexpectedly turned up in Cyprus.

Ardea is a Dutch ornithological journal that published scientific research. The latest issue, 111(1) (Bijlsma et al 2023), comprises a 438-page Sahel Special, a tome containing papers on the birds of the Sahel, both resident and migrant, that were surveyed over almost 2 decades, ending in 2019. The Sahel lies south of the Sahara Desert across Africa from Senegal to Somalia and it is the region where enormous numbers of Palearctic migrants have their non-breeding grounds; other Palearctic migrants transit the Sahel to append the northern winter in the southern summer. Those migrants that use the East Mediterranean Flyway and those that cross Arabia to reach the Sahel are of particular relevance to the OSME Region, and so ORL version 9.1 contains numerous citations from several of these papers. This Ardea issue effectively contains the results from the work described in the 2009 award-winning book by Zwarts et al 2009.

References:

Zwarts, L, RG Bijlsma, J van der Kamp and E Wymenga. 2009. Living on the edge: wetlands and birds in a changing Sahel. KNNV. Zeist, The Netherlands.
Bijlsma, RG, B Kampenaers and T Piersma. (Eds). 2023a. Netherlands Ornithologists Union Sahel-Special. Ardea. 111(1): pp438.

Selected References

The only broadly-based taxonomy paper of note to the ORL was:
Alström, P, Z Mohammadi, ED Enbody, M Irestedt, D Engelbrecht, Pierre-André Crochet, A Guillaumet, L Rancilhac, BI Tieleman, U Olsson, PF Donald and M Stervander. 2023. Systematics of the avian family Alaudidae using multilocus and genomic data. Avian Res. 14: 100095

Its scope concerned many lark taxa extralimital to the OSME Region, though some putative taxonomic changes were supported. Of particular interest, though, was that they found no support for the recent re-lump of Singing Bushlark Mirafra cantillans into Horsfield’s Lark M. javanica that had been agreed by the rationalisation of World Lists! They also suggested that the genus of Singing Bush lark should be Calendulauda.

Zhao et al 2023 produced a comprehensive species-level phylogeny for 92% of Muscicapidae. They recommended many taxonomic changes for taxa outside the OSME Region and so the ORL required but a few sequence changes.

Zhao M, JG Burleigh, U Olsson, P Alström, RT Kimball. 2023. A near-complete and time-calibrated phylogeny of the Old World flycatchers, robins and chats (Aves, Muscicapidae). Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 178 (2023) 107646.

ORL 8.2 Summary of Changes

General

Many small changes derive from the increasing alignment of World Lists; in a few cases, this has resulted in relumping of split taxa; this cites the need for more robust evidence that includes analysis of remote populations.

Four species have been added to ORL 8.2:

Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes, Oman. Kirwan et al 2022. 

Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla, Georgia imaged by Sander Bruylants. (Accepted record)

Oriental Scops Owl, Otus sunia, Iran imaged by Mehdi Pourabedi. (Accepted by the Iran Bird Records Committee)

Somali Fiscal Lanius somalicus, 2 records Abd al-Kuri, Socotra, November 2021 Mike Jennings & Oct 2022 Mike Beaman. (Accepted by Porter & Suleiman 2022)

ORL 8.2 resequences several taxa (Orange fill in Column A), mostly to align with IOC 13.1, which itself has undergone some resequencing in alignment with other World Lists.

Sandgrouse 44(2) was a particularly fruitful source of data for ORL 8.2, a truly excellent issue. Thanks go to its editor, Paul Donald! Jens Hering, who one way or another had 5 articles in it, is another prolific source from his fieldwork in Egypt and in Socotra.

General

Sandgrouse 44(1) 2022 in a Special Issue is primarily devoted to the rapid decline of most of the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda populations, many of which breed in or migrate through the OSME Region. Kessler & Collar 2022 provide the Editors’ Preface of the Proceedings of the International Conference “Advancing the Conservation of the Great Bustard in Asia”; Kessler 2022 addresses the species’ status and global population sizes. National and Regional assessments are given (in sequence of papers in Sandgrouse) thus:

Nationally or Regionally Critically Endangered in:

Iran: Abdulkarimi 2022.

Turkmenistan: Rustamov 2022.

Uzbekistan: Kashkarov, Mitropolskaya & Ten 2022.

Kazakhstan: Kessler & Bidashko 2022; Koshkin, Timoshenko & Salamgareev 2022; Shakula et al 2022a; Shakula et al 2022b; Prokopov 2022; Nefedov 2022.

Tajikistan: Muratov & Talbonov 2022.

Kyrgyzstan: Kulagin 2022.

Azerbaijan: Farajli 2022.

Russian Caucasus: Fedosov & Dzhamirzoyev 2022.

Turkey: Özgensil et al 2022.

NW China: Wang & Yang 2022.

In the ORL 7.2 Summary of changes, the on-line paper Wei et al 2021 was republished in 2022 and so the full reference is now Wei, C, M Schweizer, P Tomkovitch, VYu. Arkhipov, M Romanov, J Martinez, X Lin, N Halimubieke, P Que, T Mu, Q Huang, Z Zhang, T Székely and Y Liu. 2022. Genome-wide data reveals paraphyly in the sand plover complex (Charadrius mongolus/leschenaultii). Originally Authorea doi: 10.22541/au.162671169.97759015/v1, now published in Ornithology (Americanornithology.org) 139(2022): 1–10. doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab085

There were no major taxonomic rearrangements or resequencing applicable to the ORL since version 7.2. However, there have been increases in the number of migration tracking studies published that involve transit through the OSME Region. Furthermore, national rarity records (here considered as 10 records or fewer) have also increased, many concerning northward expansion of breeding distributions plausibly linked to climate change, but other linked to improved observer coverage. Much of the red font text in ORL8.1 derives from these changes

In Taxonomic Sequence

Non-Passerines

A Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes located and imaged at Filim, Wustá, Oman in Feb-Mar 2022 was the first for Oman, the Middle East and the OSME Region. Dutch Birding. 44(2): 151.

Mullarney & Campbell 2022 provide an excellent ID comparison between Little Tern Sternula albifrons and Saunders’ Tern S. saundersi.

The first Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla for for Georgia and the OSME Region at Lake Paliastomi in August 2022 was imaged by Sander Bruylants (Phil Andrews pers comm). A long-expected event, especially since the Bulgarian records.

Harrison et al 2021 tracked from Nearctic & WP breeding grounds Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus across the Arctic Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean; Arctic (Parasitic) Skua S. parasiticus to the western Atlantic Ocean, and Long-Tailed Skua S. longicaudus to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and western Indian Ocean.

Kersten et al 2021 identify genetically 4 distinct Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica breeding clusters that do not coincide with the 3 subspecies or their current distribution, philopatry alone being insufficient to explain this result. Although taxonomic reassessment is clearly called for, a number of mostly smaller populations have yet not been sampled & may also show further taxonomic diversity.

Efrat & Hatzofe 2021 geotracked a juvenile Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus that had been trapped in Israel in autumn, & found it wintered near al Dabbah, Sudan, beside the Nile. On return migration, it spent most of the breeding season (probably not breeding) in N Turkey. This is the first evidence of the route taken from Turkey 3500km to its previously unknown wintering area.

A possible first record for the OSME Region (subject to acceptance) was of an Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia at Chabahar southeast Iran in Dec 2021. Images by Mehdi Pourabehdi in Birding Iran.

Schweizer et al 2022, using genome-wide data, corroborate the existence of 2 independent evolutionary lineages in Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocoptes medius. The unexpected marked genomic differentiation, consistent with the mtDNA variaton of Kamp et al 2019, reinforces the discordance of the absence of phenotyopic divergence, because the narrow separation across the Sea of Marmara & Bosphorous is not an effective barrier. That an undetected broad secondary contact zone might exist requires investigation, as do potential vocalisation differences. Furthermore, the population on Lesbos appears to have some genetic differences from Mainland Turkey populations, and the monotypicity of medius merits further research. The ORL treats the lineages as probably separate within a superspecies.

Passerines

Lees and Gilroy 2021 revealed that the population of Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor breeding in NW China migrates via the OSME Region 12,000km to ‘winter’ in Namibia

Kryukov et al 2022 propose split of Eurasian Magpie Pica pica via integrative taxonomy into a western group that loses 3 taxa to the extralimital P. serica (Chinese Magpie is its informal English name @OSME): serica, alashanica & jankowskii.

The ORL treatment of Eurasian Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes sensu lato as comprising a superspecies is supported by de Raad et al 2022, in which genetic, phylogenomic and morphometric comparison between the Eurasian nutcracker taxa established significant taxonomic differences between Northern Nutcracker N.[c.] caryocatactes (4 sspp), Southern Nutcracker N.[c.] hemispila (4sspp, all extralimital to the OSME Region) and Kashmir Nutcracker N.[c.] multipunctata. The ORL English names are informal@OSME.

References

Efrat, R and O Hatzofe. 2021. First evidence of a migration route from Eurasia to East Africa of the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus). J. Raptor Res. 55(3): 451-454.

Harrison, A-L, PF Woodard, ML Mallory and J Rausch. 2021. Sympatrically breeding congeneric seabirds (Stercorarius spp) from Arctic Canada migrate to four oceans. Ecol & Evol. Nature Notes. 00:1–12. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8451

Kamp, L, G Pasinelli, P Milanesi, SV Drovetski, Z Kosiński, S Kosenko, H Robles and M Schweizer. 2019. Significant Asia‐Europe divergence in the middle spotted woodpecker (Aves, Picidae). Zool. Scripta. 48: 17-32. (Online 2018: 16pp. doi: 10.1111/zsc.12320

Kersten, O, B Star, DM Leigh, T Anker-Nilssen, H Strøm, J Danielsen, S Descamps, KE Erikstad, MG Fitzsimmons, J Fort, ES Hansen, MP Harris, M Irestedt, O Kleven, ML Mallory, KS Jakobsen and S Boessenkool. 2021. Complex population structure of the Atlantic puffin revealed by whole genome analyses. Communications Biol. 4: 922. doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02415-4 | www.nature.com/commsbio

Kryukov, AP, OA Goroshko, VY Arkhipov, YA Red’kin, S-i Lee, BA Dorda, KA Kryukov, M Kapun and E Haring. 2022. Introgression at the emerging secondary contact zone of magpie Pica pica subspecies (Aves: Corvidae): integrating data on nuclear and mitochondrial markers, vocalizations, and field observations. Organisms, Divers. & Evol. 29pp. doi.org/10.1007/s13127-022-00568-6

Lees, AC and JJ Gilroy. 2021. Bird migration: When vagrants become pioneers. Current Biology. 31: R1568–R1593. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.058

Mullarney, K and Campbell, O. 2022. Identification of Saunders’s Tern and Little Tern, with special emphasis on juvenile and winter plumages. Dutch Birding. 44(3): 165-198.

de Raad, J, M Päckert, M Irestedt, A Janke, AP Kryukov, J Martens, YA Red’kin, Y Sun, T Töpfer, M Schleuning, EL Neuschulz and MA Nilsson. 2022. Speciation and population divergence in a mutualistic seed dispersing bird. Comms. Biol. 5: 429 (10pp) doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03364-2Schweizer, M, Q Tang, R Burri, SV Drovetski, H Robles, K Zyskowski, S Aghayan, M Rakovic and G Pasinelli. 2022. Deep, genome-wide phylogeographic structure indicates cryptic diversity in the Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius). Ibis. 2022: doi: 10.1111/ibi.13054. See also: https://bou.org.uk/blog-schweizer-diversity-european/?fbclid=IwAR3AdY6sJXaffaDk5FCKnwo8X4_KxFIDEuHXZHpNNz9XQfuv_vRP6aQ_xGA

ORL 7.2: Summary of changes

General

The Coronavirus epidemic constrained fieldwork severely, at least until researchers were fully vaccinated, but even then, shifting perceived national levels of risk curtailed many projects. One benefit from this hiatus meant that researchers were able to catch on their backlogs of unwritten scientific, with the result that the annual total of ornithological papers went up in 2021.

As ORL7.2 was being finalised, worrying death tolls of many species were being reported in many countries via a lethal strain of bird flu; for example, 5000 Common Cranes Grus grus in Israel.

Part E of the ORL, Hypothetical Species, has been extensively revisited and updated.

In Taxonomic Sequence

Non-Passerines

Harrison et al 2021, Seabirds – The New Identification Guide (including sea ducks), also included updated taxonomic and distribution information, aligning largely with recent conclusions and proposals in Howell & Zufelt 2019.

Prakas et al 2021 found deep divergence between the genetic makeup of eastern and western populations of European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur, but to quantify the extent, more widespread sampling is essential before any taxonomic recommendations can be made.

Černý & Natale 2021 propose radical re-evaluation of relationships within many wader genera, which we have noted, but we expect some weighty countervailing argument.

Wei et al 2021 confirm the atrifrons group of (formerly considered part of Mongolian Sand Plover Anarhynchus mongolus) is not the closest relative to the mongolus group, the latter actually being sister to Greater Sand Plover A. leschenaultii: this supports the ORL treatment of Lesser Sand Plover as A. atrifrons.

Following the work of Shirihai et al 2014, Saunier et al 2021 followed data-logged Mascarene Petrels Pseudobulweria aterrima from their small colonies on Réunion Island across the OSME Region deep-ocean area; these colonies are high in steep forested canyons and cliffs, perhaps allowing an increase of the world population from its present 10-50 nesting pairs.

Starikov & Wink 2020 proposed that the sspp vociferus and caeruleus of Black-winged Kite should be separated as monotypic and polytypic species respectively. Their caveat is the need for more representative sampling throughput the breeding distribution, including the extralimital eastern subspecies, hypoleucos. Within the OSME Region, caeruleus occurs from Egypt along the Nile Valley and down the Red Sea in western Arabia: extralimitally, it occurs in N Africa and in SA Iberia: vociferus occurs from Afghanistan & SE Iran, but is expanding its breeding distribution W and NW to the rest of Iran, Israel, Iraq Jordan Oman W Saudi Arabia. Steadily increasing vagrancy to Cyprus, Asian Turkey and the Caucasus continues.

Cumer et al 2021 deduce from a study of landscape & climatic variations of the Quaternary that all phenotypic variations in mainland Europe are Tyto. a. alba; no other sspp in mainland Europe are valid.

Passerines

From the preprint of Nasuelli et al 2021, on Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator, their findings of conflict between accepted subspecies distribution, current ID and mtDNA/nuclear DNA may force taxonomic and distribution adjustment, including a likely hybrid zone.

Two developments in ground jay taxonomy: first, Opaev et al 2019 argue for 2 of the 4 species to occupy a separate genus, Eupodoces, and second, alignment of the major world lists brings English name changes while replacing eponyms. Pander’s and Iranian Ground Jays become Turkestan and Iranian Ground Jays respectively while remaining in Podoces. Pleske’s and the extralimital Henderson’s Ground Jays become Mongolian and Xinjiang Ground Jays respectively, moving to Eupodoces. We defer the genus change until IOC and the other world lists have considered Opaev et al 2019. 

Pourebrahimi et al 2021 examine the relationships of the Parid genus Poecile. Within Sombre Tit P. lugubris they found deep genetic differences in SE European, Turkish + Middle East & Iranian populations, but their geographic sampling was insufficient to reach definitive taxonomic conclusions. However, 2-3 species may be involved.

Stervander et al 2020 have, based on earlier work by largely the same team, reached some taxonomic implications, which if adopted, will affect several lark genera. Briefly, Greater Hoopoe-Lark Alaemon alaudipes may be re-split into a polytypic desertorum group (The English name Bifasciated Lark might be restored) and a polytypic alaudipesgroup, for which the English name Greater Hoopoe-Lark might be retained. Both groups occur in the OSME Region. Pro tem, the ORL has adopted this arrangement until further research confirms or rejects it. 

Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cinctura under Stervander et al 2020 seems eminently splittable into a polytypic cinctura group & a polytypic arenicolor group. However, the earlier distribution of the taxon arenicolor is also split, meaning that the populations currently assigned to arenicolor in NW Africa and areas further east require a new scientific name; furthermore, the boundary between this as yet un-named population and those that are retained in a diminished arenicolor taxon is not yet confirmed, but is thought to lie in central Libya. Pro tem, we assume that the cinctura group (Under the English name Bar-tailed Lark & including the un-named taxon) occupies Libya sufficiently closely to allow the possibility that vagrancy to the OSME Region is likely, as has happened to species with similar distributions. In the interim, we have adopted the informal English name of ‘Arenaceous Bar-tailed Lark’ for the polytypic arenicolor group whose wide distribution stretches from Egypt through south Israel to Iraq, southwards to Arabia and eastwards to Afghanistan.

Stervander et al 2020 also found deep genetic divergences within Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti, suggestive of 3 species. However, the large number of subspecies that not only have not been sampled (only 5 of the 22 in the IOC List of 22), but whose distribution limits are uncertain, means that firm taxonomic conclusions cannot yet be made (Per Alström pers comm).

Stervander et al 2020 also found no genetic evidence to reverse the lumping of Singing Bush Lark Mirafra cantillansinto Horsfield’s Lark M. javanica, but since no widespread voice analysis data is available, the asserted voice and behavioural differences mentioned by Shirihai & Svensson 2018 have not been evaluated in the context of integrative taxonomy. In consequence pro tem, we retain the English name Singing Bush Lark while presenting the taxonomy as ‘don’t know for certain’ thus: M. (javanica) cantillans.  

Stervander et al 2021 confirmed the Wink 2011 split of Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula from Eurasian Skylark A. arvensis, at the same time recommending the split of 3 extralimital subspecies of the latter as Japanese Skylark A. japonensis.

Stervander et al 2020 found significant genetic divergence between populations north and south of the Saharan latitudes of Thekla’s Lark Galerida theklae, the northern grouped under a diminished G. theklae and the southern, all extralimital, under G. praetermissa, for which no English name has yet been proposed.

Scherbakova & Korobitsyn 2021 found Sand Martin Riparia riparia shared sympatrically near Tomsk, Russia, a large colony with Pale Martin R. diluta with no sign of hybridisation; R. diluta mostly occupied higher nest-holes, but both formed single-species groups, thus strongly reinforcing the case for separate species. Meanwhile, Tang et al 2021 showed that R. diluta contains multiple deep evolutionary lineages despite extremely subtle & gradual morphological variation among them, & little genetic differences within lineages over large geographic areas: no taxonomic conclusions were reached, although R. diluta may comprise at least 2 species. Furthermore, Tang et al2021 considered central Mongolian breeding birds are subspecies tibetana, not diluta.

A new species for the OSME Region, White-throated Swallow Hirundo albogularis, was photgraphed at Sakaka, al-Jouf, northern Saudi Arabia by Nader Alshammari in June 2021, some 4450km from its northernmost African non-breeding area near the southern Tanzanian border with Zambia.

Elverice et al 2021 examined via multiple genetic techniques the biogeographic history of both Western and Eastern Rock Nuthatches, Sitta neumayer and S. tephronota: the results suggest that their respective subspecies,  tschittscherini and dresseri, that share a distribution in the Zagros Mountains (Eastern Turkey & Iraq to Iran) though separated by altitude, are probably full cryptic species, for neither shares any haplotypes with any related taxon.

IOC 11.2 revised the sequence of Passeridae to better reflect the relationships of the species therein.

Kirwan et al 2021 found the dating of the separation by Liu et al 2017 of Arabian Accentor from Radde’s Accentor to be flawed in overestimating it at 1.5-2Mya, and as a consequence, Arabian Accentor should be considered an isolated sedentary subspecies Prunella ocularis fagani of the migratory Radde’s Accentor. Similarly, Ural Black-throated Accentor P.a atrogularis is the nominate and Asian Black-throated Accentor is the subspecies P.a. huttoni. That said, wider sampling is called for all four taxa. For the latter pair, it has been suggested that considerable song differences do exist, but these have not been greatly researched.

The humble Dunnock Prunella modularis has been split by Pavia et al 2021 into 3 species, one of which, Iberian Dunnock P. mabbotti is extralimital; despite that English name, its distribution may well include Italy and Greece. The diminished Dunnock. P. modularis occurs in the OSME Region in NW Asia Minor, whereas Caucasian Dunnock P. obscura occurs NE Turkey & along the Caucasus.

Recuerda et al 2021 recommend splitting Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs into 4 spp, all extralimital except perhaps for ‘North African Chaffinch’ F. spodiogenys ssp harterti which may occur, from Cyrenaica, NE Libya into NW Egypt. Incidentally, other sources disagree or are unclear on which subspecies occur in Egypt.

The process of rationalising the various world lists of bird species, should it include the recommendations and findings of Päckert et al 2020, would revise and deconstruct the Old World Emberizidae into 8 or more genera. 

References

Černý, D and R Natale. 2021. Comprehensive taxon sampling and vetted fossils help clarify the time tree of shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes). bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.15.452585

Cumer, T, AP Machado, G Dumont, V Bontzorlos, R Ceccherelli, M Charter, K Dichmann, H-D Martens, N Kassinis, Rui Lourenco, F Manzia, L Prévost, M Rakovic, F Siverio, A Roulin and J Goudet. 2021. Landscape and climatic variations of the Quaternary shaped multiple secondary contacts among barn owls (Tyto alba) of the Western Palearctic. bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.09.447652

Elverici, C, BŞ Önder, and U Perktaş. 2021. Mitochondrial Differentiation and Biogeography of Rock Nuthatches. Ardea. 109(2): 1-13. doi.org/10.5253/arde.v109i3.a5

Harrison, P, MR Perrow and H Larsson. 2021. Seabirds. The New Identification Guide. Lynx Edicions. Barcelona, Spain.

Kirwan, GM, NJ Collar and P Boesman. 2021. Morphology and song suggest Arabian Prunella fagani and Radde’s Accentors P. ocularis are conspecific. Sandgrouse 43(2): 253-262.

Liu, B, P Alström, U Olsson, J Fjeldså, Q Quan, KCS Roselaar, T Saitoh, C-te Yao, Y Hao W Wang, Y Qu and F Lei. 2017. Explosive radiation and spatial expansion across the cold environments of the Old World in an avian family. Ecol. & Evol. 2017: 1-12. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3136

Nasuelli, M, L. Ilahiane, G Boano, M Cucco, A Galimberti, M Pavia, E Pioltelli, A Shafaeipour, G Voelker and I Pellegrino. 2021. Phylogeography of Lanius senator reveals conflicts between alpha taxonomy, subspecies ranges and genetics. bioRxiv preprint. doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.27.466041

Opaev, AV Ilyashenko, A Gungaa, E Ilyashenko and G Purev-Ochir. 2019. Vocalization of the Ground Jays Supports their Subdivision into two Genera: Podoces and Eupodoces. Podoces. 14(2): 18–27.

Päckert, M, A Favre, J Schnitzler, J Martens, Y-H Sun, DT Tietze, F Hailer, I Michalak and P Strutzenberger. 2020. ”Into and Out of” the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas: Centers of origin and diversification across five clades of Eurasian montane and alpine passerine birds. Ecol. & Evol. 10: 9283-9300.

Pavia, M, SV Drovetski, G Boano, KW Conway, I Pellegrino and G Voelker. 2021. Elevation of two subspecies of Dunnock Prunella modularis to species rank. Bull. BOC. 141(2): 199-210.

Pourebrahimi, S, O Mirshamsi, SM Ghasempouri, FY Moghaddam and M Aliabadian. 2021. Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the Sombre Tit, Poecile lugubris in the western Palearctic (Aves, Paridae). Mol. Phyl. & Evol. doi: org/10.1016/j.ympev.107343

Prakas, P, D Butkauskas, S Švažas, A Bea, V Yanenko, A Ragauskas and D Vaitkuviė. 2021. The Genetic Diversity and Structure of the European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur. Animals 11: 1283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051283

Recuerda, M, JC Illera, G Blanco, R Zardoya and B Milá. 2021. Sequential colonization of oceanic archipelagos led to a species-level radiation in the common chaffinch complex (Aves: Fringilla coelebs). Mol. Phyl. Evol. In Press. doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107291

Saunier, M, J Dubos, P Pinet, L Humeau, C Caumes, P Souharce, YS Mattoir, M Riethmuller, M Le Corre and A Jaeger. 2021. Phenology, at sea distribution and activity of a critically endangered seabird, the Mascarene petrel. LIFE+ Pétrels project (LIFE13BIO/FR/) Poster presentation.

Scherbakova, MM and IG Korobitsyn. 2021. Differences in nest hole position in a mixed colony of Sand Martin Riparia riparia and Pale Sand Martin R. diluta. Bird Study 67(4): 531-535.

Shirihai, H, T Pym, M San Román and V Bretagnolle. 2014. The Critically Endangered Mascarene Petrel Pseudobulweria aterrima: identification and behaviour at sea, historical discovery of breeding sites, and breeding ecology on Réunion, Indian Ocean. Bull. BOC. 134(3):194-223.

Shirihai, H and L Svensson. 2018. Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds: Passerines: 2 vols. Helm. London, UK.

Starikov, IJ and M Wink. 2020. Old and Cosmopolite: Molecular Phylogeny of Tropical–Subtropical Kites (Aves: Elaninae) with Taxonomic Implications. Diversity 12: 327.  doi:10.3390/d12090327

Stervander, M, B Hansson, U Olsson, MF Hulme, U Ottosson and P Alström. 2020. Molecular Species Delimitation of Larks (Aves: Alaudidae), and Integrative Taxonomy of the Genus Calandrella, with the Description of a Range-Restricted African Relic Taxon. Diversity. 12: 428. doi:10.3390/d12110428

Tang, Q, R Burri, Y Liu, A Suh, G Sundev, G Heckel and M Schweizer. 2021. Seasonal migration patterns and the maintenance of evolutionary diversity in a cryptic bird radiation. Mol. Ecol. doi: 10.1111/mec.16241

Wei, C, M Schweizer, P Tomkovitch, VYu. Arkhipov, M Romanov, J Martinez, X Lin, N Halimubieke, P Que, T Mu , Q Huang, Z Zhang, T Székely and Y Liu. 2021. Genome-wide data reveals paraphyly in the sand plover complex (Charadrius mongolus/leschenaultii). Authorea doi: 10.22541/au.162671169.97759015/v1

Wink, M. 2011. Evolution und Phylogenie der Vögel – Taxonomisch Konsequenzen. Vogelwarte 49: 17-24.

ORL 7.1: Summary of changes

General

Lehikoinen et al 2021 proves the increasing tendency of long-distance migrants spending their non-breeding season in the northern hemisphere is related to Climate Change.

A considerable number of splits and proposed splits already recognised in the ORL have, over the last 18 months, now been accepted independently in the IOC List. On some of these splits, we have been in prior discussion with David Donsker and Pamela Rasmussen, who compile the IOC List (https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/). Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented or delayed much fieldwork and museum research. Still, it has allowed many authors to catch up on their backlog of papers for publication, leading to a host of amendments to the ORL.

In Taxonomic Sequence

Non-passerines

Damba et al. 2020 found that wetland disappearance and degradation have made Korea and Japan devoid of the globally threatened Swan Goose Anser cygnoides in the non-breeding season and have shifted the population in China away from traditional wintering grounds. As a result, total numbers appear down by c15%.

The globally threatened Eastern Palearctic populations of Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus were geotracked by Ao et al 2020 between their non-breeding areas In China and their breeding areas between the Anabar River & the Kolyma River in eastern Siberia. They also incorporated data from Korea and Japan. All eastern populations are in steady and fairly steep decline, but they conclude that this species was tied to grazing single-species swards of spikerush Eleocharis sp and foxtail Alopecurus sp which has disappeared almost completely from the Yangtze valley. The loss of shallow water & mud habitat has been replaced by permanent pools to grow commercially Lotus Nelumbo nucifera & where large-scale Chinese Mitten Crab Eriocheir sinensis aquaculture has expanded since 2003.

Lavretsky et al 2021 established that ancestral gene flow occurred between Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis & true Eiders Somateria spp, which occurrence may have produced, by hybrid speciation, Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri.

On Réunion, the main 2 colonies of Barau’s Petrel Pterodroma baraui on very steep mountain slopes lie within 5km of each other, but the respective populations are genetically distinct, though phenotypically & morphologically indistinguishable: Danckwerts et al 2021. No assessment of relative taxonomic differentiation has yet been made.

Grémillet et al 2020 document a Northern Gannet Morus bassanus population crash of the southernmost breeding location on Rouzic Island in Brittany, France, attributed mostly to poor feeding conditions in non-breeding areas, due to a shifting prey base driven by global warming. Colonies further north show no similar declines, but many Rouzic birds winter in the Mediterranean, one tracked in successive years to the Lebanon coast; this group suffers high accidental bycatch mortality.

Muzaffar et al 2017 identify short-range migrations of UAE populations of Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis, finding no mixing with populations in the southern Oman-Socotra arc, noting that populations west of Qatar in the Gulf of Salwa likely are also distinct and these should be considered as evolutionary separate units.

Some clarity on Buzzard taxa from easternmost Kazakhstan south and east to the western Himalayas at long last has been teased out from interpreting James 1988, Dickinson & Svensson 2012, Dickinson & Remsen 2013 & Lindholm & Forsten 2013. The migrant taxon burmanicus, formerly considered a synonym of refectus, is now a migratory ssp of Japanese Buzzard Buteo japonicus, whose other sspp are resident on Japanese islands. Previous synonymisation of burmanicus with taxon refectus was in error. B. refectus is now the largely resident Himalayan Buzzard of the western Himalayas. The status of the extralimital taxon hodgsoni of the eastern Himalayas is as yet uncertain: if it is a ssp of refectus, then the latter is polytypic, but hodgsoni may yet be a full sp

Salter et al 2019 make the case for Collared Owlet to be placed in the resurrected genus Taenioptynx.

Passerines

The Large-billed Crow complex within Corvus macrorhynchos sensu lato (Distributed from eastern Afghanistan east along the Himalayas across China & up to Sakhalin & Japan, & south to Sri Lanka, & southeast to the Sundas & the Philippines) has long been recognised as comprising possibly 7 spp, but data were lacking on distributional boundaries and genetic relationships. Gradually, this is beginning to change, IOC11.2 interpreting data on westernmost forms (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005, 2012) to detach Himalayan Crow C.[m.] intermedius (the taxon in the OSME Region, extralimital to C Himalayas), Indian Jungle Crow C.[m.] culminatus (Peninsular India & Sri Lanka) & Eastern Jungle Crow C.[m.] levaillantii (N India to Malay peninsula). Perhaps 4 more spp are yet to be determined.

IOC11.2 revises the linear sequence of Hirundinidae, also resurrecting the genus Neophedina for Banded Martin N. cincta. Leader et al 2021 proposed full species status for Western House Martin Delichon urbicum, Eastern House Martin D. lagopodum & Asian House Martin D. dasypus on detailed ID differences and lack of hybridisation in sympatric colonies, which arrangement the ORL has held for some time. IOC11.2 accepts the split although preferring the epithets Common & Siberian for the first two English names.

Alström et al 2021 suggest in passing that Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus sspp stentoreus, levantinus & brunnescens might best be treated as species. The current ORL tentatively suggests that brunnescens may be a species, Indian Reed Warbler, but we will await IOC specialist reviewers.

Alström et al 2021 using a detailed integrative taxonomic approach split Graceful Prinia into P. gracilis sensu stricto occupying the N & E distribution of P. gracilis sensu lato, with Delicate Prinia P. lepida occupying the southern and eastern distribution.

IOC11.2 revises the linear sequence of Turdidae, a long-awaited action.

Päckert et al 2021 examine relationships in Passeridae between Old World sparrows to establish a revised phylogeny; they include many more species than previous phylogenies, strongly establishing Petronia and Gymnoris as separate genera and retain the golden sparrows in Passer. Although they declined to propose a detailed revised taxonomy because may species could not be included in their study, their general conclusions alter our understanding of the relationships of many species in the ORL. For example, Socotra Sparrow P. insularis does shares a common ancestry with House P. domesticus, Spanish P. hispaniolensis and Italian P. italiae Sparrows and has no recent link with Great Sparrow P. motitensis are previously suggested.

Deleted from the ORL

Vaurie’s Nightjar Caprimulgus centralasicus has been removed from the ORL Hypothetical List and transferred to the list of removed species that is appended to the Hypothetical List; its DNA indicates it belongs to the plumipes subspecies of European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus.

Taxa added to the ORL

On the Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoiana breeding grounds on Round Island, Seychelles, Howell & Zufelt 2019 noted that small numbers of Kermadec Petrel P. neglecta & Herald Petrel P. heraldica breed & also hybridise with Trindade Petrel. Given that non-breeding Trindade Petrel loaf in the deep-sea OSME Region in BirdLife IBA Indian Ocean Western Marine 31, it is highly likely that non-breeding individuals of the other 2 spp join them or wander to the southern limits of the OSME deep-sea area. Kermadec and Herald Petrels have been added to the ORL.

Delicate Prinia Prinia lepida has been added to the ORL as a split from Graceful Prinia P. gracilis: qv Alström et al 2021 above.

African Desert Warbler Curruca deserti has been photographed in Cyprus by Thomas Hadjikyriacou and has been accepted by the Cyprus Rarities Committee, resulting in the transfer of the taxon from the ORL Hypothetical List to the Passerine List.

There is a very reasonable probability that Black-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla adamsi occurs in the OSME Region where the detailed Gilgit-Baltistan 2021 Checklist (Maintained on Facebook) maps it on the southern side of the Wakhan Pass, Afghanistan. Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan is an Environmental Conservation Organization with excellent and detailed data. Further evidence comes from Cobos et al 2021, who by using eBird plots, indicate the species’ presence in eastern Nuristan, Afghanistan, only 250km SW of the Gilgit records: both are about 275km beyond the BirdLife DataZone map.

References

Alström, P, PC Rasmussen, C Xia, L Zhang, C Liu, J Magnusson, A Shafaeipour and U Olsson. 2021. Morphology, vocalizations, and mitochondrial DNA suggest that the Graceful Prinia is two species. Orn. 138: 1-23. doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukab014
Ao, P, X Wang, D Solovyeva, F Meng, T Ikeuchi, T Shimada, J Park, D Gao, G Liu, B Hu, T Natsagdorj, B Zheng, S Vartanyan, B Davaasuren, J Zhang, L Cao1 and AD Fox. 2020. Rapid decline of the geographically restricted and globally threatened Eastern Palearctic Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus. Wildfowl Special Issue 6: 206–243.
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan https://www.facebook.com/birdsgb/ & https://www.facebook.com/groups/birdsgb/
Cobos, ME, Y Cheng, G Song, F Lei and AT Peterson. 2021. New distributional opportunities with niche innovation in Eurasian snowfinches. bioRxiv preprint. doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.06.438738
Damba, I, L Fang, K Yi, J Zhang, N Batbayar, J You, O-K Moon, S-D Jin, BF Liu, G Liu, W Xu, B Hu, S Liu, J Park, H Kim, K Koyama, T Natsagdorj, B Davaasuren, H Lee, O Goroshko, Q Zhu, L Ge, L Cao1 and AD.Fox. 2020. Flyway structure, breeding, migration and wintering distributions of the globally threatened Swan Goose Anser cygnoides in East Asia. Wildfowl Special Issue 6: 97–123.
Danckwerts, DK, L Humeau, P Pinet, CD McQuaid and M Le Corre. 2021. Extreme philopatry and genetic diversification at unprecedented scales in a seabird. Scient. Reps. 11: 6834. www.nature.com/scientificreports doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86406-9
Dickinson, EC and JV Remsen Jr. (Eds) 2013. The Howard and Moore checklist of Birds of the World. 4th edn. Vol 1. Non-Passerines. Aves Press. Eastbourne, UK.
Dickinson, EC and L Svensson. 2012. A new name for a buzzard from the Himalayas. Bull. BOC 132(3): 221.
Grémillet, D, C Péron, A Lescroël, J Fort, SC Patrick, A Besnard and P Provost. 2020. No way home: collapse in northern gannet survival rates point to critical marine ecosystem perturbation. Marine Biol. 167: Paper 189 (10pp). doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03801-y
Howell, SNG and K Zufelt. 2019. Oceanic Birds of the World: a Photo Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.
James, AH. 1988. Geographic variation in the Buzzard Buteo buteo (L.): japonicus-group (Aves: Accipitridae). Beaufortia. 38(4): 57-74.
Lavretsky, P, RE Wilson, SL Talbot and SA Sonsthagen. 2021. Phylogenomics reveals ancient and contemporary gene flow contributing to the evolutionary history of sea ducks (Tribe Mergini). Mol. Phyl. & Evol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107164
Leader, P, G Carey and M Schweizer. 2021. The identification, taxonomy and distribution of Western, Siberian and Asian House Martins. Brit. Birds. 114(2): 72-96.
Lehikoinen, A, Å Lindström, A Santangeli, PM Sirkiä, L Brotons, V Devictor, J Elts, RPB Foppen, H Heldbjerg, S Herrando, M Herremans, M-AR Hudson, F Jiguet, A Johnston, R Lorrilliere, E-L Marjakangas, NL Michel, CM Moshøj, R Nellis, J-Y Paquet, AC Smith, T Szép and Chris van Turnhout. 2021. Wintering bird communities are tracking climate change faster than breeding communities. J. Anim. Ecol. 31pp. In Press.
Lindholm, A and A Forsten. 2013. “Common” Buzzards of South China and South-East Asia. Caluta 4: 3-11.
Muzaffar, SB, C Clarke, R Whelan, R Gubiani and TR Cook. 2017. Short distance directional migration in the threatened Socotra cormorant: link to primary productivity and implications for conservation. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 575: 181–194.
Päckert, M, J Hering, AA Belkacem, Y-H Sun, S Hille, D Lkhagvasuren, S Islam and J Martens. 2021. A revised multilocus phylogeny of Old World sparrows (Aves: Passeridae). Vert. Zool. 71: 353–366. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.71.e65952
Rasmussen, P and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. 2 vols. Lynx Edicions, Smithsonian Institution. Barcelona, Washington. Spain, USA.
Rasmussen, P and JC Anderton. 2012. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide, 2nd edn. 2 vols. Lynx Edicions, Smithsonian Institution. Barcelona, Washington. Spain, USA.
Salter, JF, CH Oliveros, PA Hosner, JD Manthey MB Robbins, RG Moyle, RT Brumfield, and BC Faircloth. 2019. Extensive paraphyly in the typical owl family (Strigidae). The Auk. 137: 1–15. doi: 10.1093/auk/ukz070

ORL 6.2 Summary of Changes

General

IOC 11.1 resequences Anseriformes to precede Galliformes. IOC11.1 also has a major revision of Alaudala lark relationships, some of which involve immediate taxonomic changes; others require more work as summarised in Stervander et al 2020 and other papers. IOC11.1 also accepts Arabian Eagle Owl as a full species Bubo milesi.

A trawl of older documents and some unpublished notes of the late Arthur Stagg has added a few interesting snippets to the ORL.

Non-Passerines

The almost-mythical Vaurie’s Nightjar Caprimulgus centralasicus (sole specimen is sole record) appears well on its way to being wholly mythical. Schweizer et al 2020 indicate that almost certainly its DNA is that of the Common Nightjar C. europaeus subspecies plumipes (of NW China & points N). However, the specimen, being a small individual, and considering the limits of the research findings, we retain this taxon somewhat tenuously on the ORL Hypothetical List.

Note that IOC11.1 now sequences Porzana distantly from Zapornia, intervening genera including Paragallinula, Gallinula, Fulica and Porphyrio. The first record and breeding record for Socotra of Western Baillon’s Crake Zapornia intermedia occurred in April 2020.

Shannon et al 2020 (in press) separated Lesser, Mongolian and Greater Sandplover genetically (Anarhynchus atrifrons, mongolus & leschenaultii respectively).

Humeau et al 2020 have determined the genetic structure of all taxa under White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus sensu lato; their conclusions largely reinforce the assumptions of Howell & Zufelt 2019.

Hering et al 2020a found 3 subspecies of European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur breeding around Lake Nasser in 2019; rufescens (abundant), turtur & arenicola.

Numerous colonies of Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and of 8 Ardeids have established themselves around Lake Nasser in southern Egypt; Hering et al 2020b in a limited survey programme (The lake surface area is 5250 km²) in 3 years in the 2015-2019 period could visit only a small number of sites by boat. That suggests that many discoveries are yet to be made.

Hering et al 2020c document the substantial presence of Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis at Lake Nasser; unfortunately, they also document illegal killing by local and Maltese shooters.

Passerines

Hering et al 2020d in Djibouti in February 2019 obtained blood samples & measurements of Mangrove Reed Warbler Acrocephalus (scirpaceus) avicenniae, (but breeding had not begun) and of ‘Mangrove White-eye’ Zosterops abyssinicus(?) for subsequent analysis to help establish the taxonomic position of these populations. They noted that in Djibouti City House Sparrow Passer domesticus was hybridising extensively with Somali Sparrow P. castanopterus to the extent that the latter were scarcely to be found.

Stervander et al 2020 examine many lark taxa in genetic detail, but refrain from taxonomic recommendation, mostly because their analyses have revealed aspects that require clarification, in particular distribution boundaries between related taxa in areas where distribution limits are poorly known. However, they found deep divergences between western and eastern populations of Greater Hoopoe-Lark Alaemon alaudipes (OSME Region populations might have the English name Bifasciated Lark restored, the taxa possibly coming under A. desertorum), and between western and eastern populations of Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cinctura. The problem here is that the subspecies arenicolor over its North African distribution has been found to comprise 2 genetically different taxa whose distributions and boundaries are unknown. Should a split be recommended, it is likely that OSME Region populations will require a new English name. Whether arenicolor is retained for western or eastern taxa will determine the applicable scientific name for the Region.

Stervander et al 2020 found divergences suggestive of 3 species within the Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti complex; should this split be forthcoming, two of the current subspecies pose a nomenclatural priority problem – they both were formally described in the same year, 1823. Until all subspecies have been evaluated as to validity, the reallocation of subspecies to the 3 possible species, any new scientific and English names would be uncertain, at the very least.

Stervander et al 2020 found divergences between (mostly) western and eastern populations of Black-crowned Sparrowlark Eremeopterix nigriceps, raising the possibility that OSME Region taxa might revive the English name Black-crowned Finch Lark. However, boundaries between current subspecies are imprecisely known and so it is just possible that the easternmost subspecies of the ‘western’ group meets the eastern group subspecies melanauchen just into southernmost Egypt.

Stervander et al 2020 found that mtDNA evidence supported the decision of del Hoyo et al 2016 to lump Singing Bush Lark Mirafra cantillans into Horsfield’s Bush lark M. javanica, but advise that other integrative techniques are required to confirm their conclusions.

Stervander et al 2020 confirmed deep split of Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis from Oriental Skylark A. gulgula and implied a further split of extralimital ssp japonica.

Stervander et al 2020 found that Thekla’s Lark Galerida theklae populations of Morocca and Tunisia diverged from those in eastern Africa, which if split would come under G. praetermissa; likely the latter would include the small Egyptian isolate of carolinae.

Stervander et al 2020 found an un-named Clade mainly in Afghanistan that is currently assumed as part of the western distribution of Hume’s Short-toed Lark Calandrella acutirostris subspecies tibetana but noted that despite deep mtDNA divergence, integrative application of other DNA & non-molecular techniques essential before species status confirmation. We have tentatively allotted a row to this taxon; we have used the informal English name ‘Afghan Short-toed Lark’ under the designation of C.(a.) indet (indeterminate).

Stervander et al 2020 largely supported the rearrangement of the Alaudala lark complex proposed by Alström et al 2020.

Following the work of Fishpool and Tobias 2017, Common Bulbul was split into 3 species, those populations in the OSME Region remaining as Pycnonotus barbatus, the other two being extralimital in Djibouti to E-C Kenya.

A number of Curruca warbler species have been resequenced in the ORL, as have OSME Region Zosterops species, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler Erythrogenys erythrogenys, Trochalopteron Laughingthrushes and Argya Babblers. The Nuthatch Sitta genus has also been resequenced, as has the Ficedula Flycatcher genus.

The ORL is hugely dependent not only on researchers publishing their papers in accessible journals, but also on the willingness of those whose work is behind paywalls to let us have a copy privately. I suggest it’s worth casting your eye over the ORL’s List of Acknowledgements at https://osme.org/orl/acknowledgements/ to see the new names and because you might think of people whom we have inadvertently omitted!

An Antidote to the Taxonomic Avalanche in Ornithology

Finally, as reported in Dutch Birding 42(4), page 82, two Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe radiotagged in Fairbanks, Alaska, migrated via Kazakhstan and the Arabian desert, Sudan, Uganda to Kenya, a round-trip of 30,000 kilometres in 2019-20. I hope that brings a sense of wonder back into our consciousness after a pretty sombre year!

References

Alström, P, J van Linschooten, PF Donald, G Sundev, Z Mohammadi, F Ghorbani,A Shafaeipour, A van den Berg, M Robb, M Aliabadian, C Wei, F Lei, B Oxelman, and U Olsson, 2020. Multiple species delimitation approaches applied to the avian lark genus Alaudala, Mol. Phyl. & Evol. Pre-print. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106994

Fishpool, LDC and JA Tobias. 2017. Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus). In: del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, J Sargatal, DA Christie and E de Juana. (Eds). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Hering, J, V Mader, T Krause, O Geiter and H-J Fünfstück. 2020a. Extreme auf dem Nassersee: Turteltauben in Ägypten [Unexpected at Lake Nasser: European Turtle Dove (subspecies) in Egypt]. Der Falke: J. für Vogelbeobachter. 67(7): 14-17.

Hering, J, S Fischer, O Geiter, J Wobker, S Siegel, H-J Eilts, E Fuchs., D Hoek and M Habib. 2020b. Large Breeding Colonies of Herons, Egrets and Glossy Ibis at Lake Nasser (Egypt). Alauda 88(4): 241-256.

Hering, J, S Fischer, E Fuchs, MI Habib and J Wobker. 2020c. Yellow-billed Storks at Lake Nasser and status in Egypt. Dutch Birding 42(5): 415-423.

Hering, J, W Mädlow, O Geiter, A Siegmund, HJ Eilts, E Fuchs, K Müller, R Müller, H Rayaleh and R Vohwinkel. 2020d. Untersuchungen zur Avifauna der Mangrovenwälder Dschibutis sowie zur Klärung taxonomischer Fragestellungen bei Buntastrild Pytilia melba sowie Haussperling Passer domesticus und Somalisperling Passer castanopterus – erste Ergebnisse. Vogelwarte 58: 349 – 362.

Howell, SNG and K Zufelt. 2019. Oceanic Birds of the World: a Photo Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.

del Hoyo, J, NJ Collar, DA Christie, A Elliott, LDC Fishpool, P Boesman, and GM Kirwan. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Humeau, L, M Le Corre, SJ Reynolds, C Wearn, JC Hennicke, JC Russell, Y Gomard, H Magalon, P Pinet, P Gélin, F-X Couzi, E Bemanaja, V Tatayah, B Ousseni, G Rocamora, P Talbot, N Shah, L Bugoni, D Da Silva and Audrey Jaeger. 2020. Genetic structuring among colonies of a pantropical seabird: Implication for subspecies validation and conservation. Ecol. & Evol. 2020:00: 1–20. doi:10.1002/ece3.6635

Schweizer, M, C Etzbauer, H Shirihai. T Töpfer and GM Kirwan. 2020. A molecular analysis of the mysterious Vaurie’s Nightjar Caprimulgus centralasicus yields fresh insight into its taxonomic status. J. Orn. doi.org/10.1007/s10336-020-01767-8

Shannon et al 2020. (in prep). The Lesser Sandplover complex. (Details unavailable at time of writing)Stervander, M, B Hansson, U Olsson, MF Hulme, U Ottosson and P Alström. 2020. Molecular Species Delimitation of Larks (Aves: Alaudidae), and Integrative Taxonomy of the Genus Calandrella, with the Description of a Range-Restricted African Relic Taxon. Diversity. 12: 428. doi:10.3390/d12110428

¹ We use the word ‘taxon’ (plural ‘taxa’) rather than ‘species’ or ‘subspecies’ here because there are a number of cases where any definition of a species or subspecies is inadequate to describe the status of populations where a majority of, but not all, individuals can be identified through visual identification, morphology or DNA studies. The subtleties revealed through much modern genetic research indicate that many more taxa than previously thought are in dynamic states of evolutionary stability that defy simple definitions of ‘species’ and ‘subspecies’ (the Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava complex (qv) is a good example). Overlying this problem is that precise knowledge of taxa distribution limits and population numbers and densities is lacking over vast areas of the Region, which leads us to be cautious about even well-argued cases for ‘splitting’ and ‘lumping’. We, therefore, retain some taxa that we have not elevated to a higher rank and others that we have not ‘lumped’, but we note the cases for doing so.

ORL 6.1 summary of changes

General

First, I would recommend highly the inspired photography and the context in this online book: de Fouw, J, R Bom, W Hagemeier, A Thorpe, R Klaasen and Jvd Kam. 2018. Barr al Hikman, Shorebird paradise in Oman. Wetlands International, The Netherlands. Downloadable from: https://issuu.com/tvgdesign/docs/bah_binnenwerk_issuu_pages

IOC version 10.2 contains a large number of Species, English names and Taxonomic updates; fortunately for us, the vast majority apply to taxa that are extralimital to the OSME Region.

Elsewhere, the demise of Lynx Edicions Handbook of Birds of the World (Alive) is a consequence of  its on-line archive being merged with Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World (birdsoftheworld.org): it appears that nearly all of the free access HBW(Alive) component linked to its subscription service is now embedded in the Cornell subscription service. Many HBW(Alive) species accounts are being updated prior to transfer. There is also much work behind the scenes in merging the Cornell and HBW(Alive) taxonomies, the latter also being very close to BirdLife International taxonomy. On top of that, there is much activity in current ornithological molecular research worldwide, much of which adds new taxonomic conclusions or puts a new interpretation on some aspects of current taxonomy of species and genera. The ORL6.1 amendments (see below) mostly reflect the actual and potential changes from the latest research.

Non-Passerines

In January 2020, a new species for the OSME Region was the unexpected finding of an African Crake Crex egregia in Israel, 2000km away from the nearest known population in Sudan. The species has since been placed (IOC10.2) in the new genus Crecropsis, for its relationship to Crex is distant (Garcia-Ramirez et al 2020). Another new species for the OSME Region was the arrival in February 2020 of 12 White-faced Whistling Duck Dendrocygna viduata on Socotra, after a cyclone and a super-cyclone had hit the Somalian and north Kenya coasts. Almost simultaneously, birds of this species found in the wild and in markets in Iraq were assessed as of uncertain origin (Salim et al 2020).

A more detailed reading of Howell & Zufelt 2019 has resulted in two more changes of English name, firstly Indian Black Noddy Anous [minutus] tenuirostris, which supersedes IOC’s Lesser Noddy and the earlier Sooty Noddy, and secondly, having elevated the orange-billed Phaethon lepturus catesbyi to a full species, the remaining taxa are named Yellow-billed Tropicbird instead of White-tailed Tropicbird.

Some good news about Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus; a survey of the Muscat-Quriyah-Al-Harar region revealed a much larger population than previously had been estimated (Angelov et al 2020) & conservative extrapolation suggests Oman’s resident population may be 4 times larger.

In a study of 282 Little Owl skins from across the Extended Western Palearctic, Pellegrino et al 2020 found an absence of clear-cut differences between subspecies and a huge variation of morphological and colour patterns between individuals collected within any geographical area; no subspecies could safely be identified on morphological and plumage data. The implications are considerable: save for island taxa, not only are current subspecies geographical boundaries suspect, but also subspecies identities themselves. Without comprehensive analyses of a suite of molecular techniques applied to establish the criteria for subspecific identity and for geographic allocation across the vast Little Owl distribution, the currently documented conclusions published anywhere are of limited and probably variable accuracy. Large-scale vocalisation recording is likely to help discriminate between taxa. Meanwhile, we remain with our tentative arrangement in the ORL in the full expectation that eventually it will change.

Passerines

The Lesser Short-toed Lark complex, Alaudala spp including Sand Lark A. raytal, has been extensively revised by Ghorbani et al 2020 into 5 Clades. We have adopted these Clades as the starting point in defining likely species status, but we acknowledge that a further paper from largely the same team examining songs and calls might change the provisional arrangement which we consider is helpful at this stage. Ghorbani et al 2020 identify the clades by the senior taxon name in each (heiniei, rufescens, raytal, cheelensis, leucophaea), but for simplicity, we list them from A to E. Should the forthcoming paper choose English names that differ from our provisional informal English names of Heine’s Short-toed Lark (Clade A) and Severtsov’s Short-toed Lark (Clade E), we most probably would defer to their choice, although the Russians have used the latter name for decades. The other English names (Lesser Short-toed Lark, Sand Lark and Asian Short-toed Lark) are unchanged.

An extensive study of all taxa that formed Subalpine Warbler Curruca cantillans, Zuccon et al 2020, has synonymised inornata & iberiae under the latter, and results in 3 species, two of which occupy two separate distributions each: Moltoni’s Warbler C. subalpina of the Balearics and central Italy has never been recorded in the OSME Region: Western Subalpine Warbler C. iberiae has straggled to the Region from its North African population, and eastern Subalpine Warbler C. cantillans ssp albistriata occurs in Western Turkey.

There are two new papers on Zosterops white-eyes that deal with taxa in our Region, one almost peripherally. Martins et al 2020 covered the 3 sspp of Z. abyssinicus Abyssinian Whiteye, two of which are wholly extralimital African taxa; ssp arabs occurs in SW Saudi Arabia, Yemen and S Oman. The paper recommended that all three allopatric taxa should be examined by other molecular techniques to establish their taxonomic status; unfortunately, only two samples of montane-living arabs were available for the study. Given that four recent papers on Zosterops taxa over their extensive distribution have all concluded that rapid niche speciation is characteristic of the genus, it is likely that the three abyssinicus sspp will exhibit niche speciation to some extent. Pro tem, we have adopted the informal English name ‘Arabian White-eye’ for arabs. The second paper, Babbington et al 2020, concentrates on the mangrove-living Zosterops that is very thinly widespread on the Arabian side of the southern Red Sea, perhaps centred on Jazan. That the population is almost certainly tiny indicates its vulnerability to extinction, given that mangrove clearance continues. The genetic marker used shows no clear difference from montane arabs, but it is very much smaller, phenotypically different and consistently much more brightly-coloured. There is no type specimen and the collecting of one, given that the distribution is unknown but likely tiny and not continuous, presents a moral dilemma; however, there may be a precedent for designation a type specimen of sorts from blood and feather samples, measurements and copious digital images. However, at present, there is no method of proposing formal scientific or English names and so we list it as ‘Mangrove White-eye taxon indeterminate’.

Päckert et al 2020 compile a revised phylogeny of the world’s Nuthatches Sitta spp. They form 9 Clades, of which 6 occur to varying extents in the OSME Region, but our arrangement is little affected and so we have not resequenced the genus into Clade order. Almost inevitably, they have defined several aspects that likely could be resolved by the application of other molecular techniques and by improved understanding of distributions.

There is likely to be some turbulence concerning the Stonechat Saxicola spp of the Caucasus general region, whereby the arrangement of Shirihai & Svensson 2018 (based on Svensson et al 2012) has been vigorously challenged by Loskot & Bakhtadze 2020, whose paper concentrates on earlier Russian documentation, implied mistranslations, conversion errors between measurement systems of samples, and wrongly attributed sample collection locations. We note the conclusions of Loskot & Bakhtadze 2020, but defer deeper analysis until such time as Shirihai and Svensson respond.

The analysis of the Prunellidae (Accentors) by Drovetski et al 2013 contained three radical conclusions: the large accentors, Altai Prunella himalayana and Alpine P. collaris might warrant moving to a separate genus or subgenus, Laiscopus; Alpine Accentor itself warranted splitting, the taxon erythropygia being elevated to species rank as Mongolian Alpine Accentor, and Black-throated Accentor being split into Ural Black-throated Accentor P. atrogularis sensu stricto & Asian Black-throated Accentor P. huttoni. At the time, we felt fairly bold in treating each split as being examples of superspecies, but declined to mention the issue of Laiscopus. In the 7 years since the paper was published, there have been no challenges to these radical splits, nor to the evidence on which they were based. For two reasons, we sought advice on where the boundaries were between each pair of taxa: we had no knowledge of any subsequent data that might revise the extent of their distributions (much of which would have been published in Cyrillic languages), and the maps in Drovetski et al 2013 do not show political borders and so we needed clarification before marking the separations.

Yaroslav Red’kin, one of the co-authors confirmed that he knew of no further published data, and the lead author, Sergei Drovetski, confirmed that their various mapped distributions were valid. Unlike the BirdLife Datazone maps, many accentor species distributions are far from continuous. Accordingly, we revisited Drovetski et al 2013 and have amended many of the ORL accentor species account with greater detail. We now treat these splits as being of independent species. We have not adopted Laiscopus as a separate genus, but merely noted this may occur in future. Lastly, although Brown Accentor P. fulvescens diverged from Arabian Accentor P. fagani only 0.19Mya, this just preceded the rapid disappearance of benign conditions from the interior of Arabia, thus ensuring an uninterrupted isolation of the two populations as they shrank towards their cores.

Species occurring just outside the OSME Region

Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus has been added to the ORL Hypothetical section on the grounds that it occurs on the Dahlak Archipelago, close to the Region boundary in the southern Red Sea. Similarly, we added Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temmincki, which has also been reported in the same archipelago. Because a summer-breeding population of Ruddy-breasted Crake Zapornia fusca has been mapped as an isolate in a small area of Pakistan around Bannu, west of Rawalpindi by BirdLife Datazone to within 20km of the Afghan border, it has been added to the Hypothetical List.

One of the most intriguing ornithological puzzles may have been solved. Vaurie’s Nightjar Caprimulgus centralasicus, known from a single female specimen in Xinjiang, only 300km from the OSME Region (hence listed in the ORL Hypothetical section), has undergone molecular analysis. Schweizer et al 2020 place the specimen as a subspecies of European Nightjar, C. europaeus plumipes, but there is a catch. The specimen is very much smaller than any known plumipes measured.

References

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