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In a recent American publication, I read the
following that may be of interest to some readers:
"Mario Cohn-Haft (a Brazilian
ornithologist) was recently awarded a Ph.D. in zoology from Louisiana State
University for his research on Hemitriccus, an obscure genus of small
flycatchers known as tody-tyrants. Mario showed that vocally recognizable
populations of this bird are genetically distinct.
He found that vocal classification is a better
way of recognising genetic differences in these birds than the physical
appearance-based subspecies classifications found in most field
guides.
According to Mario's research, distinct vocal
types probably represent good biological species that will need to be split. For
example, what we know as the White-eyed Tody-Tyrant is actually three distinct
species. What's more, some of these very similar and hard-to-differentiate
species (even as currently classified without splitting) differ from one another
genetically as much as some genera of North American bird species differ from
one another, suggesting that they are extremely old."
Does this point to similar possibilities in some
of our own bird populations in which the call is noticeably different in
different parts of the country? Cicadabirds and Mistletoebirds, for example,
have noticeable call variations that have been pointed out to me on numerous
occasions. So now, we not only have to record all subspecies in case of future
splits but also have to take note of vocalisation in birds that might look the
same but sound different in case they are different species!
Cheers
Max O'Sullivan
Brisbane
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