Ah yes, rosellas, maybe we should split Adelaide and the FNQ birds as well? I
opted for a compromise as it seems to me Yellow looks so different and has
different habitat, but these things are not exactly set in stone, I fear it's a
case of large white-headed gull syndrome in Europe where there are a multitude
of different ways to classify the species formerly known as Herring Gull. I
tend to avoid going solely by DNA results, and like to look at morphology,
habitat, vocalizations etc but it all comes down to a matter of opinion.
The Ringnecks are a similar category, there was very interesting paper a while
back (which I don't currently have to hand) which split out 3 quite distinct
clades, roughly corresponding to Australian Ringneck, Mallee Ringneck and also
Cloncurry Ringneck, and this made good sense to me though I have hedged on
Cloncurry for the moment. Not sure where the Flinders Ra. birds fit, don't they
look like the western types? Be good to have a look at Double-eyed Fig-Parrots
too.
Shrike-tits seem to me to be a clear cut split, with distinct morphology and
occurring in areas with high endemism. Northern (and maybe also Western?) has
very different calls, so rather than wait forever for DNA analysis results I
went with what looks pretty clear already, indeed as the prescient Dick Schodde
& ian Mason suggested in their landmark Directory of Australian Birds, where
virtually all the proposed splits have come to pass or are pending.
Cheers
Phil
Website 1: Http://www.sicklebillsafaris.com
Website 2: Http://www.cassowary-house.com.au
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