The acceptance of the generalized or unified concept of species (i.e. that species are segments of population lineages) implies that an important task for systematists is to focus on identifying lineages and on testing hypotheses about the acquisition of properties such as phenotypic diagnosability, reciprocal monophyly, or mechanisms of reproductive isolation. However, delimiting species objectively remains one of the most challenging problems faced by biologists. In the present study, we begin to tackle the thorny issue of species delimitation in a complicated group of Neotropical passerine birds (the Arremon torquatus complex, Emberizidae) in which sets of characters vary substantially across space, but do not obviously vary in a concerted fashion. To earlier discussions of species limits in the group, we add a historical perspective offered by a recent molecular phylogeny, present quantitative analyses of morphological and vocal variation, and incorporate ecological niche models as a new tool that aids species delimitation by highlighting cases of ecological distinctiveness and cases where populations appear to be in independent evolutionary trajectories, despite being connected by environments unlikely to represent barriers to gene flow. We demonstrate that at least one pair of taxa (and likely another) currently treated as conspecific are, in fact, distinct lineages that merit species status under essentially any species criterion. However, other pairwise comparisons are not as straightforward owing to nonconcordant patterns of variation in different traits and to the impossibility of distinguishing which characters are causes and which are consequences of reproductive (and evolutionary) isolation. After considering several alternatives, we propose a provisional classification of the complex recognizing eight tentative species-level taxa. Although this classification is likely to change as more detailed work is conducted, it provides a better foundation for studying the biology of these birds and helps to better describe their diversity, which is obscured when all taxa are subsumed into a single species name. The present study highlights several outstanding challenges, both practical and conceptual, for future studies. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 99, 152–176.

https://www.museum.lsu.edu/cuervo/pubs_files/Cadena.Cuervo_BJLS2010.pdf

Molecules, ecology, morphology, and songs in concert: how many species is Arremon torquatus (Aves: Emberizidae)?

The Socotra archipelago lies in the Arabian Sea, c.350 km south of the Yemen mainland. Ecologically heavily influenced by the dry south-west monsoon that batters the islands in May–September, it boasts high endemism in plants, reptiles, insects and birds, which I will summarise. Whilst its avifauna is species-poor, with just 42 regular breeders, 11 are endemic, making it the richest area of avian endemism in the Middle East (along with the highlands of south-west Arabia). From 1999 to 2011, I have been engaged in mapping the distribution and determining the populations of the breeding species and I will present some of my findings. I will also talk briefly about the migrants that visit the islands and recent taxonomic studies that have added Socotra Buzzard Buteo socotraensis, Abd Al Kuri Sparrow Passer hemileucus and Socotra Goldenwinged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus socotranus to the species list. My talk will end with my thoughts on future research and conservation. Biography: Richard Porter has had a continuing involvement in bird research and conservation in the Middle East since 1966, when he spent the autumn studying soaring bird migration over the Bosphorus. Whilst his early exploits were largely in Turkey, since 1979 most of his visits have been to Yemen, particularly Socotra, and Iraq, where he is the bird and conservation adviser to Nature Iraq. Richard, who is author of Birds of the Middle East, advises BirdLife International on their Middle East programme. 20 May 2014—5.30 pm—Annual General Meeting, followed at 6.30 pm by Guy Kirwan—Cuban birds at home and abroad, in the field and museum Abstract: This talk will provide an introduction to the birds of the largest Caribbean island, Cuba, which despite boasting the most speciose avifauna in the West Indies supports fewer endemics than either Hispaniola or tiny Jamaica. Nevertheless, depending on taxonomy, at least seven avian genera occur only on Cuba, as well as the world’s smallest bird, Bee Hummingbird Mellisuga helenae, while the country might yet prove to be the last bastion of one of the planet’s most iconic birds, Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis. Despite >150 years of ornithological exploration, our knowledge of Cuban birds is still advancing comparatively rapidly, especially with respect to their ecology and conservation, largely via the efforts of a few dedicated researchers, both Cuban and foreign. My talk will focus on the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of some of the most special of Cuba’s birds, as well as providing an introduction to travel in what was very briefly part of the British Empire! This talk will provide an introduction to the birds of the largest Caribbean island, Cuba, which despite boasting the most speciose avifauna in the West Indies supports fewer endemics than either Hispaniola or tiny Jamaica. Nevertheless, depending on taxonomy, at least seven avian genera occur only on Cuba, as well as the world’s smallest bird, Bee Hummingbird Mellisuga helenae, while the country might yet prove to be the last bastion of one of the planet’s most iconic birds, Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis. Despite >150 years of ornithological exploration, our knowledge of Cuban birds is still advancing comparatively rapidly, especially with respect to their ecology and conservation, largely via the efforts of a few dedicated researchers, both Cuban and foreign. My talk will focus on the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of some of the most special of Cuba’s birds, as well as providing an introduction to travel in what was very briefly part of the British Empire! Biography: Guy Kirwan has been a regular visitor to the Greater Antilles since the mid-1990s and is a co-author of a forthcoming checklist to Cuban birds. He is a freelance ornithologist and editor, notably of Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., with strong interests in avian taxonomy and the breeding biology of birds in the New World tropics. A Research Associate at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, he recently joined the BOU’s Taxonomic Subcommittee and currently works for Lynx Edicions on the HBW Alive project. 23 September 2014—6.30 pm—Dr Andrew Gosler—Ethno-ornithology 22 November 2014—Joint meeting with the Oriental Bird Club and the Natural History Museum A one-day meeting in the Flett Theatre, Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD starting at 10.30 am. Details to be announced The Chairman: Chris Storey, 22 Richmond Park Road, London SW14 8JT UK. Tel. +44 (0)208 8764728. E-mail: c.storey1@btinternet.com Chairman’s message Since 2003 and the publication of the The birds of Morocco, the BOC and the BOU have jointly published the Checklist series and other books (e.g. The bird atlas of Uganda). However, following a thorough review of its activities, the BOU has decided to withdraw from the publication of such titles with immediate effect. All BOU and joint BOU/BOC titles may of course still be purchased via the BOU website: www.bou.org.uk or from the BOU office, P.O. Box 417, Peterborough PE7 3FX, UK. The BOC Committee remains of the view that Checklists fit naturally with the Club’s aims and objectives, and make an important contribution to ornithological studies. Consequently, it is committed in principle to their continued publication and is now considering in detail the practicalities of undertaking this task as sole publisher, including discussion with the BOU and Dr David R. Wells, Checklist Commissioning Editor. The aim is to seek to resolve the many outstanding issues and to establish our intensions in time for the AGM in May. In the meantime any views and or comments would be gratefully received by David Wells or myself. Chris Storey Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club will be held in the upstairs room at The Barley Mow, Horseferry Road, Westminster, London SW1P 2EE, at 5.30 pm on Tuesday 20 May 2014. Agenda 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 21 May 2013 (see Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 133: 165–166, and the BOC website). 3. Receive and consider the Chairman’s Review, the Trustees’ Report and the Accounts for 2013 (these will be available in the room before the start of the meeting). 4. The Bulletin Editor’s report—Mr G. M. Kirwan. 5. Election of Officers. The Committee proposes that: i. Dr R. P. Prŷs-Jones be re-elected as Hon. Secretary ii. Mr D. J. Montier be re-elected as Hon. Treasurer No other changes to the Committee are proposed as all other members are eligible to serve at least one more year in office. 6. Any other business, of which advance notice has been given. Gerlof Fokko Mees (1926–2013) Gerlof Mees, former bird curator at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH) at Leiden, Netherlands, was born into a well-off family in Bloemendaal, Netherlands. Both his parents had a keen interest in natural history, and Gerlof was stimulated to study birds by them and by his uncle Jan Verwey, founder of Dutch research into bird migration and ethology. After completing secondary school, he started to study biology in Leiden, but this was soon interrupted by a stay on Java (1946–49) as part of the Dutch forces in the Indonesian independence war. His scarce spare time was spent birdwatching, and problems identifying the local white-eyes Zosterops brought him into contact with George Junge, then bird curator at RMNH. Junge permitted Mees to study the white-eyes in his care, and Gerlof also learned the practical work of a museum department. Though he specialised in fish research (thought to be more likely to produce employment than birds), Gerlof visited Trinidad & Tobago when still a student and collected birds during an eight-month stay in 1953/54, reporting on these together with his mentor (Junge & Mees 1958). Between May 1955 and July 1957 he was an assistant at RMNH, working in both the bird and fish departments. He obtained his doctorate in 1956. His study on white-eyes resulted in a thesis on the Indo-Australian Zosteropidae (Mees 1957). However, fishes still held his interest and Mees was appointed a curator at the Western Australian Museum in Perth in 1958 mainly for his fame as an ichthyologist. There he continued Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(1) 1 Club Announcements Bulletin of the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Vol. 134 No. 1 Published 8 March 2014

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

The Auk, Vol. 126, Number 3, pages 705−714. ISSN 0004-8038, electronic ISSN 1938-4254.  2009 by The American Ornithologists’ Union. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals. com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/auk.2009.8709 R. TeRRy ChesseR,1,12,13 RiChaRd C. Banks,1 F. keiTh BaRkeR,2 CaRla CiCeRo,3 Jon l. dunn,4 andRew w. kRaTTeR,5 iRBy J. loveTTe,6 Pamela C. Rasmussen,7 J. v. Remsen, JR.,8 James d. Rising,9 douglas F. sToTz,10 and kevin winkeR11

/pdf/fiftieth-supplement-to-the-american-ornithologists-union-4t3xgw9wk9.pdf

Fiftieth Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds

Slatecrowned Antpitta Grallaricula nana is a small member of the Grallariidae found in the northern Andes. The song of most populations has been soundrecorded (Appendix 1) and some ecological data have been published (Delgado 2002, Greeney & Sornoza 2005, Greeney et al. 2008, Niklison et al. 2008), but no detailed revision of its taxonomy has been attempted. Six subspecies of G. nana have been described from eastern Venezuela to northern Peru, with a disjunct population in the tepui region of southern Venezuela and Guyana (Krabbe & Schulenberg 2003). Subspecies are considered separable by the extent of white on their otherwise redorange underparts, the colour saturation of the underparts and upperparts and eyering pattern (Figs. 1–7). It has recently been suggested that one of the Venezuelan populations might warrant species rank based on plumage and voice (Ridgely & Tudor 1994, Boesman 1999). Separately, recent range extensions (i.e. new populations) in Colombia (Andrade & Lozano 1997, Salaman et al. 2002, Cuervo et al. 2003, Krabbe et al. 2006, Echeverry & Cordoba 2007, Donegan et al. 2007) mandate a reevaluation of subspecific taxonomy. In particular, the nominate subspecies has recently been considered to encompass all Andean populations from Venezuela to Peru (Krabbe & Schulenberg 2003), but published voice recordings (Appendix 1; Figs. 10–12) evidence substantial geographical variation within this region. Grallaricula is currently treated, together with most other antpitta genera, in the family Grallariidae (Irestedt et al. 2002, Chesser 2004, Rice 2005a,b, Remsen et al. 2008). Many species of antpitta occur in montane regions, and individuals probably possess poor dispersal abilities, being unable to cross low valleys of unsuitable habitat. Grallaricula are secretive understorey birds that are more frequently heard than seen. Within the Neotropics, these factors have contributed to the family probably being second only to Rhinocryptidae in the number of new taxa described recently, as previously unknown populations have been discovered and soundrecorded (Graves et al. 1983, Graves 1987, Schulenberg & Williams 1992, Stiles 1992, Krabbe et al. 1999). Two subspecies of G. nana are described from Colombia: G. n. nana (Lafresnaye, 1842) and G. n. occidentalis Todd, 1927. The latter was recently considered a synonym of the nomThomas M. Donegan 150 Bull. B.O.C. 2008 128(3)

Geographical variation in slate-crowned antpitta Grallaricula nana, with two new subspecies, from Colombia and Venezuela

We describe a new subspecies of Pale-bellied Tapaculo Scytalopus griseicollis from the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Venezuela. This form differs diagnosably in plumage from described subspecies Scytalopus griseicollis griseicollis and Scytalopus griseicollis gilesi and from the latter in tail length. It is also differentiated non-diagnosably in voice from both these populations. Ecological niche modelling analysis suggests that the new subspecies is restricted to the Andean montane forest and paramo north of both the arid Chicamocha valley and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy.

https://zookeys.pensoft.net/lib/ajax_srv/article_elements_srv.php?action=download_pdf&item_id=5399

A distinctive new subspecies of Scytalopusgriseicollis (Aves, Passeriformes, Rhinocryptidae) from the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Venezuela.

Range extensionsc taxonomic and ecological notes from Serranía de los Yariguíesc Colombia's new national park

We present a list of bird species recorded in Serrania de los Yariguies, an isolated spur of the East Andes in Santander department, Colombia, and the surrounding region. Details of specific record localities, elevational range and documentation are included for 583 bird species, together with a brief discussion of the avifauna of the region and methods used to collect these data. Thirteen of the species recorded are considered threatened (Northern Helmeted Curassow Pauxi pauxi (EN), Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti (CR), Gorgeted Wood Quail Odontophorus strophium (EN), Rusty-faced Parrot Hapalopsittaca amazonina (VU), Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia castaneiventris (EN), Black Inca Coeligena prunellei (VU), White-mantled Barbet Capito hypoleucus (EN), Upper Magdalena Tapaculo Scytalopus rodriguezi (CR), Recurve-billed Bushbird Clyctotantes alixii (EN), Niceforo's Wren Thryothorus nicefori (EN), Cerulean Warbler Dendroica cerulea (VU), Turquoise Dacnis Dacnis hartlaubi (VU) and Colombian Mountain Grackle Macroagelaius subalaris (EN)) and several involve recently-described subspecies endemic to the massif.

/pdf/aves-de-la-serrania-de-los-yariguies-y-tierras-bajas-16zn1ufbn8.pdf

Elkin R. Briceño-L

Papers

Range extensionsc taxonomic and ecological notes from Serranía de los Yariguíesc Colombia's new national park

Aves de la Serranía de los Yariguíes y tierras bajas circundantes, Santander, Colombia