Idaho Birders,

For those of you who use eBird, the once-a-year taxonomic update (which
included some major changes in the sequence of bird families and species) is
now almost complete. A detailed article was posted yesterday on the eBird
website, at the following URL:

https://ebird.org/news/2018-ebird-taxonomy-update

The article is very long, and includes a complete listing of all the splits,
lumps and other taxonomic changes around the world (whew!!). However, I
would recommend that everyone who uses eBird should read at least the first
few paragraphs of this article.

Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC, Canada

contopus@telus.net

Calliope Hummingbirds have joined the other two (Black-chinned & Rufous) this AM. Larry may have the answer, all the flowering plants I find are also dry & brittle. Hummers may be on the move in large numbers, as native nectar sources have dried up.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Missy and I took our annual hike at Bogus this morning, up through mixed conifer, 6600 – 7500 ft, enjoyed temperatures in the 60s, 35 sp of birds and two Snowshoe Hares. =) It was extremely dry!! Flowering plants (lupine, fireweed, paintbrush, larkspur) looked like they had spent the night in our food dryer, and offered virtually no nectar for hummingbirds. Maybe this explains why we presently have more birds at our humfeeders than we’ve ever had?

Notre liste eBird: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47905134

Larry

—

Looks like the fall Rufous Hummingbird Migration is in full force through SE Idaho right now. The past two days, I’ve had numerous male, female & juvenile Rufous hitting the nectar feeders. And some epic mid-air chases & face-to-face battles with my resident Black-chinneds.

There is one male Black-chinned that tries to dominate one feeder starting about 6:30 every AM. He makes a good show of it for about 45 minutes, until he’s simply overwhelmed by numbers. A fun show!

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

eBird taxonomic order follows AOS checklist order (at least for North
America) which includes some of the revisions being seen in eBird (for
example diurnal raptors are now placed shorebirds). There are also some
weird subspecies showing up on the default checklist which as Zeke notes
should be sorted out in the next few days.

Charles.
On Wed, Aug 15, 2018 at 10:27 AM Zeke Watkins scottywarbler@yahoo.com
[ible] wrote:

>
>
> Larry and IBLE,
>
> The annual eBird Taxonomy update is underway and will take a few days for
> the bugs to be worked out. It should normalize in a day or so. For more
> information please see: 2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird
>
>
> 2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird
> By Team eBird
> The annual eBird taxonomy update IS IN PROGRESS (Tuesday, 14 August). Some
> records have been changed already in …
>
>
>
> Not All Who Wander Are Lost.
>
> Zeke Watkins
> Hailey, Idaho
> 208-731-1471 <(208)%20731-1471>
> scottywarbler@yahoo.com
>
>
> ——————————
> *From:* “LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible]” < > ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com>
> *To:* IBLE
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 14, 2018 4:17 PM
> *Subject:* [IBLE] eBird phylo ???
>
>
>
>
> Just since yesterday’s entries, the ordering of bird groups (families,
> etc.) looks wacko!!
> I had to go looking for raptors of all things……
> Does anyone know if this is temporary whilst they juggle for a few days,
> or is this now the order of things avian?
>
> Very strange!
>
> Thanks in advance for any insight,
> Larry
>
> —
>
>
>
>
>
—
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
chaetura@gmail.com

Larry and Idaho Birders,

The changes in the sequence of bird families is not temporary—it is permanent (at least until next year!) because of changes in the North American bird checklist made by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithological Society.

I am attaching my (somewhat critical) commentary on this change below. It was originally made as a comment on a blog entry by Harry Fuller, well-known Oregon bird blogger. Birders, feel free to take potshots either at me or at the AOS Committee if you like!

Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC, Canada

contopus@telus.net

(Occasional visitor to Idaho, but

long-time member of this group)

________________________________________________________________

Actually, Harry, there have been major changes in the sequence of songbirds, which you seem to have overlooked. Finches now come immediately after waxwings, before warblers and sparrows. The warblers now come AFTER sparrows and blackbirds, and the cardinals and grosbeaks (including North American “tanagers”) now come after the warblers and immediately before weaver finches.. Sheesh!!

The change in the checklist sequence of families this year is the biggest one I have ever seen, but there are some changes every year. Sadly, I do not see any likelihood of this sequence stabilizing anytime soon. The sequence in which families and orders of birds are placed is supposed to reflect evolutionary history, but it is far more arbitrary and based on guesswork than the sequence within a family.

Like you, I groaned when I saw the new sequence. Even though I am a professional ornithologist, I get tired of the never-ending changes in sequence. It will take awhile till I get used to the new sequence, and until then, it will take me longer to fill out eBird checklists because I will be looking for some species.

Incorporating the latest research findings into the North American (and other) bird checklists may be important to the few ornithologists who study evolutionary biology, but the annual changes in sequence are a pain in the butt to amateur birders and to everyone who compiles a local bird checklist or fills out checklists in eBird. For my money, the checklist committee ought to revise the checklist only once every 5 years or so, and give us as chance to get used to the checklist changes before they turn everything upside down again.

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible]
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 1:33 PM
To: IBLE
Subject: [IBLE] eBird phylo ???

Just since yesterday’s entries, the ordering of bird groups (families, etc.) looks wacko!!

I had to go looking for raptors of all things……

Does anyone know if this is temporary whilst they juggle for a few days, or is this now the order of things avian?

Very strange!

Thanks in advance for any insight,

Larry

—

Thank you, Zeke!
I know we go through this annually, but I don’t recall so much *chaos* in the ordering of families! Egadz!
Shuffling within a family is one thing, but this is crazy stuff. At one point, House Sparrows were spliced into the middle of the list, and mallards were “rarities” all everywhere! (reference other state listservs)
Hoping that when the dust settles we’ll see something akin to what we’re used to seeing, eh?
Larry

—– Original Message —–

From: “Zeke Watkins”
To: “LARRY ARNOLD” , “IBLE”
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2018 8:14:29 AM
Subject: Re: [IBLE] eBird phylo ???

Larry and IBLE,

The annual eBird Taxonomy update is underway and will take a few days for the bugs to be worked out. It should normalize in a day or so. For more information please see: 2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird

2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird
By Team eBird
The annual eBird taxonomy update IS IN PROGRESS (Tuesday, 14 August). Some records have been changed already in …

Not All Who Wander Are Lost.

Zeke Watkins
Hailey, Idaho
208-731-1471
scottywarbler@yahoo.com

From: “LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible]”
To: IBLE
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 4:17 PM
Subject: [IBLE] eBird phylo ???

Just since yesterday’s entries, the ordering of bird groups (families, etc.) looks wacko!!
I had to go looking for raptors of all things……

Does anyone know if this is temporary whilst they juggle for a few days, or is this now the order of things avian?

Very strange!

Thanks in advance for any insight,
Larry

—

Larry and IBLE,
The annual eBird Taxonomy update is underway and will take a few days for the bugs to be worked out. It should normalize in a day or so. For more information please see: 2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird 

|
| |
2018 eBird taxonomy update—IN PROGRESS! – eBird
By Team eBird The annual eBird taxonomy update IS IN PROGRESS (Tuesday, 14 August). Some records have been changed already in … | |

|

Not All Who Wander Are Lost.

Zeke Watkins
Hailey, Idaho
208-731-1471  
scottywarbler@yahoo.com

From: “LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible]”
To: IBLE
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 4:17 PM
Subject: [IBLE] eBird phylo ???

 
Just since yesterday’s entries, the ordering of bird groups (families, etc.) looks wacko!! I had to go looking for raptors of all things…… Does anyone know if this is temporary whilst they juggle for a few days, or is this now the order of things avian?
Very strange!
Thanks in advance for any insight,Larry  
—

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Just since yesterday’s entries, the ordering of bird groups (families, etc.) looks wacko!!
I had to go looking for raptors of all things……
Does anyone know if this is temporary whilst they juggle for a few days, or is this now the order of things avian?

Very strange!

Thanks in advance for any insight,
Larry

—

A few photos to peek at =)
Larry

From: texbirds-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:texbirds-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Justin Bosler
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 9:49 AM
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist
Subject: [texbirds] Hybrid Lucifer x Black-chinned Hummingbird, Davis Mountains Preserve

Texbirds,

One of the many highlights from the Open Weekend (10-12 August) at the Davis Mountains Preserve, in Jeff Davis County, was the hummingbird spectacle at the McIvor Visitor Center feeders. Among the 6-7 species of hummingbirds present in the hour that Devin Bosler and I spent ogling the feeding frenzy, we located this apparent adult male Lucifer x Black-chinned Hummingbird:

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47794659

Michael Gray has incredible photos of a similar looking bird from Kelly Bryan’s place the day before! He may post them on one of the Facebook birding pages.

For those of you who were lucky enough to see this spectacular bird and use eBird, I have requested that eBird Central add this hybrid option to the official species checklist ahead of the annual Taxonomic update occurring tomorrow. I/ we may be too late to get that added this year, but hopefully it’ll be available in the near future.

Good birding!

Justin Bosler

Austin, TX