What a fantastic tool! Thank you for compiling this!
On Dec 15, 2017, at 22:42, Ben Yandell
<benyand@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:benyand@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
The Kentucky Bird Records Committee (KBRC) has updated the Kentucky State List
of
Birds<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birdky.org%2Fuploads%2F3%2F4%2F7%2F7%2F34773726%2Fky_state_list_of_birds_kbrc_2017_12.pdf&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=2pOpiydqSI6%2FOx0M%2FTSljtbKdH2yl58Wyv4EFqHZJB0%3D&reserved=0>,
which now has 387 species. (So, if you’ve managed to reach 300 species on your
Kentucky life list, you’re 77.5% of the way to a complete list.)
I have created pdf and spreadsheet versions of the list, and Steve Kistler has
put these documents on the Kentucky Ornithological Society (KOS) website.
(Thank you, Steve.) Start with the PDF version. If you want data for your own
spreadsheets, try the .csv or (soon) .xlsx versions.
http://www.birdky.org/kentucky-checklist-and-rare-bird-information.html<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birdky.org%2Fkentucky-checklist-and-rare-bird-information.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=Jw%2B8MrDCl66QGdby7Tcy%2BQI35FWmn7Op5myx70c1olI%3D&reserved=0>
(If the links don't work for some reason, look on the Kentucky Ornithological
Society
website<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birdky.org&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=ktrjrGeFHT0wsX7MQJr5ABG%2B%2BVe8HPsl3hle8l%2FrB48%3D&reserved=0>
under Birding in Kentucky, and then under Kentucky checklist and rare bird
information or Official KOS Kentucky checklist, depending upon how you
navigated.)
And now for a little biology. Yes, this will be on the exam.
The heavy or dotted lines in the PDF version of the list separate the various
Orders and Families.* The spreadsheet versions include the actual Orders and
Families.
If you know what a
clade<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FClade&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=iF0CsEg%2FLTko2Go1dhyu9nYGApZc6do%2FmS3mLCFW6rg%3D&reserved=0>
is, you may find the recent changes in taxonomy fascinating. DNA and other
analyses continue to change our understanding of the relationships among
species, and most experts predict that the changes will continue for some time
as new research is published.
Some recent highlights include
* Removal of Thayer’s Gull as a species; now considered part of Iceland
Gull.
* Dramatic changes in the sequence and relationship of species. For example,
* Warblers are listed toward the end of the list, and Yellow-breasted
Chat isn’t a warbler. Dickcissel is now the last species on the Kentucky List.
* Falcons aren’t closely related to hawks and eagles. (Now listed
between woodpeckers and Carolina Parakeet on the Kentucky list.)
* Cormorants and pelicans aren’t in the same Order any more, and herons
and egrets are in the same Order as pelicans.
* Frigatebirds, gannets, boobies, cormorants, and anhingas are in the
same Order.
And you no doubt already knew that
* Chimney Swifts and hummingbirds are in the same Order (Apodiformes =
“without feet,” which I always found fitting for birds that spend so much most
of their lives in the air. “Feet? We don’t need no stinking feet.”) By the way,
this Order (or it may be a “Superorder”) is closely related to the nightjars
(Whip-poor-will, for example).
* Rails, coots, and cranes are related.
* Gulls, terns, shorebirds are all in the same Order. (Avocets and stilts
are so closely related that they’ve produced hybrids.)
* Blackbirds, orioles, and meadowlarks are all in the same Family.
*
Birds<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBird&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=rQtwehdM9xIIrm1R4YsV09rW4uRAXi0CP2LBuAfRCuM%3D&reserved=0>
are
dinosaurs<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucmp.berkeley.edu%2Fdiapsids%2Favians.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7C412c5dabd6d1415e050008d5443707da%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636489925510727526&sdata=Qd%2Fw5nNdww%2FZLJF5N4gWGPcgqKlywQVt1CoYZDYmGE0%3D&reserved=0>.
* Note: From broad to narrow groups, traditionally we have: Domain, Kingdom,
Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. (A typical mnemonic is “Dear King
Philip Came Over for Good Spaghetti.” Or the last part is “Keep Pond Clean Or
Froggy Gets Sick.”) I’ve capitalized Order and Family above to help keep the
technical reference clear.
As an example, here is the full classification for Indigo Bunting.
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae [same Family as cardinals, tanagers, grosbeaks,
Dickcissel …]
Genus: Passerina
Species: cyanea
Ben Yandell
Louisville
