[TN-Bird] Re: New bird taxonomy
- From: Andy Jones <ajones@xxxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:50:10 -0400
Dear David and TN-birders:
This is indeed a landmark study, and you can see the images from this
important paper at the following link:
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/06/early_birds_shake_up_avian_tre.php
Several relationships that have been discussed in other papers are
confirmed, such as the close relationship between grebes and flamingoes,
and the close relationship between New Caledonia's Kagu and the American
tropics' Sunbittern.
Other new relationships are suggested, including parrots as the closest
living relatives of songbirds - I think that no one has ever suggested
this relationship!
Falcons are then the next closest relative to songbirds + parrots, and
as David mentioned, the falcons are not closely related to the other
hawks and such.
Very interesting stuff, though some of these relationships will need
extra confirmation from other studies. The National Science Foundation
has funded several major bird Tree of Life studies, and other results
are starting to trickle out. This is an exciting time for avian
systematics.
How does all of this affect you and your lifelist and field guides?
Results from studies like this get evaluated by the Check-list Committee
of the American Ornithologists' Union, and eventually their changes make
it into your field guides. This process has become more transparent
recently, and you can see what ideas are up for consideration on their
website:
http://www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/pending.php3
Currently under consideration are several changes affecting Tennessee's
birdlife, including renaming Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - it would
become Nelson's Sparrow. European Starling may become Common Starling.
And the tanagers in the genus Piranga - Scarlet, Summer, Western, etc.
- are likely best treated as Cardinal relatives and are not true tanagers.
Andy
David Aborn wrote:
> Get ready for a new checklist! A new study of bird taxonomy that will be
> published later this week has some surprises in it. It is being =
> considered a
> landmark genetic study of 169 bird species published by Field Museum
> researchers. The bird project was part of a larger, federally funded =
> effort
> called Assembling the Tree of Life, which aims to trace the evolutionary
> origins of all living things. "This is the most important single paper =
> to
> date on the higher-level relationships of birds," said Joel Cracraft,
> curator of birds at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. =
> The
> analysis showed that falcons are more closely related to parrots than to
> hawks and eagles. If true, the finding would mean that falcons do not =
> even
> belong in the scientific order originally named for them. Will the sport =
> now
> be changed to parrotry? Will we now have to train our parrots to say =
> "Polly
> wants pigeon"? I will be interested in seeing what else the study found.
>
> David Aborn
> Chattanooga, TN
>
>
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> wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
> Cleveland, OH
> -------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
> Rosedale, VA
> __________________________________________________________
>
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>
--
Andy Jones, Ph.D.
William A. and Nancy R. Klamm Endowed Chair of Ornithology
and Head of Department of Ornithology
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
1 Wade Oval Drive, University Circle
Cleveland, OH 44106
http://www.cmnh.org/site/researchandcollections_Ornithology.aspx
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
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ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
MAP RESOURCES
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
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