Greetings All,
If the attached document makes your head hurt, feel free to blame Matt Hunter,
who suggested that we create a list of the subspecies and sub-population
groupings that we want to include in our default checklists for Oregon's
counties. Using an expansive draft document of all of the potential North
American taxonomic delineations, I have created an annotated list that includes
the recognizable and the presumptive forms of Oregon species with monotypic
representation (i.e. Great Egret – American). For each, I have included my own
thoughts about why and how we may go about including them in our default
checklists. Please understand that the draft document that I used was sent to
me by Marshall Iliff for review. He would be the first to tell you, it needs
some tweaking, but it did provide me with a good base list to work from,
anticipating of course that most of what is in there will make it into the
final version. That document makes my head hurt, but reviewing it in the
context of how it applies to Oregon helped me get through it. When I first
looked at it, I was so overwhelmed that I had to close the file and walk away.
Now it makes much more sense.
There are number of reasons why this taxonomic review (for Oregon) is something
we should be thinking about. First, there is the obvious. Taxonomies are
subject to change and some birds that are treated as recognizable subspecies
today may be full species tomorrow. We need to be forward thinking and seek to
capture data (when we can) so that when and if the anticipated splits come, we
will already have a set of pre-sorted reports that can be appropriately slotted
in the new taxonomy
Secondly, ongoing climate changes are likely to radically rearrange the
distribution of birds that we now believe will never occur in Oregon. When I
started birding in Oregon (1970), I had no reason to believe that I would ever
see a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Barred Owl in the state. Both species are now
fully established in Oregon and they continue to expand their range and fill in
parcels of suitable habitat. In 1970, Eurasian Collared-Dove was not remotely
on my radar, as it didn't appear in my Golden Guide to North American Birds. I
hardly go a day without seeing one now.
Lastly, the combination of improving field guides and ID resources along with
digital cameras have allowed us to sort individual birds at a much higher
resolution rate than we once could. Many birders seek to learn the subspecies
of their local area and having done so want to report them in their eBird
checklists. Further, they would love to have range maps showing where they
might expect to find the various subspecies depicted in their field guides.
Obviously, eBird is at the front of the line in terms of its potential to
provide this sort of resource.
I spent most of today cranking out the attached document, which is part one of
two. It covers the species from waterfowl up through falcons. It is not
intended to be the last word on this topic, only a document that we can use as
a launch point for arriving at some sort of consensus and consistency in our
approach to making default checklist decisions. Right now, it's the world
according to me. What is needed most is the feedback and refinement that can
only come from the rest of the Oregon Review Team and the eBird staffers who
oversee this project.
Enjoy,
Dave Irons
Attachment:
OReBirdsubspecies.doc
Description: MS-Word document
