An interesting subject but not one to everyone’s taste. What one can ask for is consistency: that is if an agency, association or publisher expresses an intention to conform to a particular taxonomy, that taxonomy should be followed no matter how conservative or unfashionable, unless a different taxonomy is adopted expressly.
There is a thoughtful summary of the whole unhappy problem in the relatively recent vol I of HBW and Birdlife International’s Checklist (which when complete will be a (another) serious rival to the IOC venture, along with eBird/Clements etc).
Among the observations made is the following:
<<A further trend is for these splits to pass largely unchallenged into the literature, by virtue of a domino effect involving one uncritical acceptance after another, each exerting an ever-increasing peer pressure to conform (if two or three lists accept the split, it looks increasingly perverse or out of touch for a new list to stand against it).>>
Relevant to present purposes, HBW/BLI adds : “ That this phenomenon has considerable ramifications for ornithology in general and conservation in particular – in its various managerial and legislative guises – goes without saying.”
From: Mark Clayton [
Sent: Thursday, 21 May 2015 8:54 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Scarlet Robin and White-winged Triller
Following on from my comment yesterday concerning the scientific name of the Scarlet Robin, I was contacted by two very eminent, world renowned Australian taxonomists who both confirmed that the scientific name of the robin should be Petroica boodang and not P. multicolor as has been given in the listing of the species by the ACT Government as a Vulnerable species. One actually commented that “the ACT authorities name is just behind the times by 15 years or so”.
The other name that has worried me for some time is that of the White-winged Triller, Lalage sueurii. The correct scientific name for the White-winged Triller is L. tricolor - this name is correct in the latest COG Annual Bird Report – L. sueurii is the scientific name of the White-shouldered Triller, a species found in the general region of the Lesser Sundas. I still don’t know why the triller has been placed on the “Vulnerable Species “ list in the ACT!!!
I realise that taxonomy of species is constantly changing but it is not that hard to keep up with it. Groups like the IOC review their listings about 4 times a year whereas checklists such as Christidis and Boles, still being used by many Australian organisations, including COG, are out of date the minute they are published.
Someone in the ACT Government needs to be aware of these taxonomic changes and upgrades to the status of species listed in their legislation. The status of the Swift Parrot, Lathamus discolor , for example, is now listed as “Endangered” Federally and in all the states where the species occurs but it is still listed as “Threatened” in the ACT.
I have long maintained that any species on the NSW Threatened Species List that occurs in the ACT should automatically be covered by ACT legislation. After all, birds don’t recognise political borders.
Mark
