Habitat.—

Pelagic waters; nests in burrows on islands.

Distribution.—

Breeds in the Cape Verde Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Ranges at sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, mainly near the breeding grounds.

Accidental off the coast of North Carolina (48 km southeast of Hatteras Inlet, 15 August 2004; photos; Patteson and Armistead 2004).

Notes.—

Formerly considered conspecific with C. diomedea; see Patteson and Armistead (2004) for a synopsis of the rationale for treatment as separate species.

p. 23. Because of new distributional information, a genus and species are added to the Check-list. After the account for Hydrobates pelagicus, insert the following new generic name and species account:

Habitat.—

Pelagic waters; nests on islands.

Distribution.—

Breeds on islands in the subantarctic zone circumpolarly from South Shetland Islands (Deception, Elephant), South Orkney Islands (Signy, Larsen, and Laurie), South Georgia, Gough, Prince Edward Islands, Iles Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, Auckland Islands, and Antipodes Islands. May breed on South Sandwich Islands, Bouvet, Heard, and the Bounty islands.

Ranges at sea north to subtropical and tropical waters north to Equatorial waters in Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans (recorded north to nearly 18 degrees north).

Accidental off North Carolina (77 km south- east of Oregon Inlet, 31 May 2004; photos; Guris et al. 2004).

Notes.—

A previous report from St. Marks, Florida (AOU 1957), was relegated to the Appendix (AOU 1983, AOU 1998:687) under White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Fregetta grallaria).

pp. 96–100. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Riesing et al. 2003) shows that the genus Asturina is embedded within the genus Buteo. Remove the entry for the genus Asturina from p. 96. The citation for Asturina should be placed in the synonymy of Buteo on p. 99, immediately following the citation for Buteo. Add to the Notes under the genus Buteo: Includes Asturina, formerly (AOU 1998) treated as distinct.

Move the account for Asturina nitida from p. 97 and insert it on p. 100 following the account for Buteo platypterus, under the name “Buteo nitidus (Latham). Gray Hawk.”

Add the following to Notes under Buteo nitidus: Riesing et al. (2003) suggested that the groups should be recognized as distinct species, but did not provide supporting data. Formerly (AOU 1998) treated in the genus Asturina, but Riesing et al. (2003) showed from mitochondrial DNA sequence data that recognition of the genus Asturina renders Buteo paraphyletic.

p. 121. The two groups of Blue Grouse are recognized as species on the basis of evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Barrowclough et al. 2004) that supports the previous separation (AOU 1931, Hellmayr and Conover 1942) based on behavior, plumage, and vocalizations (e.g., Brooks 1929).

Replace the heading for the Blue Grouse with:

Dendragapus obscurus (Say). Dusky Grouse.

The citation remains as it is. Habitat is as for the obscurus group. Distribution is as for obscurus group with the deletion of “from southeastern Alaska (except coastal areas),” and comma following Yukon. Change Notes to: Previously included D. fuliginosus and called Blue Grouse, but now separated on the basis of genetic evidence (Barrowclough et al. 2004) and differences in voice (hooting), behavior, and plumage (Brooks 1929). Barrowclough et al. (2004) also found a lesser genetic difference between northern and southern populations of D. obscurus that does not correspond to currently recognized subspecific boundaries.

Following the account for D. obscurus, insert the following:

Dendragapus fuliginosus (Ridgway). Sooty Grouse.

Canace obscura var. fuligniosa [sic] Ridgeway [sic], 1873, Forest and Stream 1(19):289. (Cascade Mountains, at foot of Mount Hood, Oregon, and Chiloweyuck Depot, Washington = beneath Mount Hood, Hood River County, Oregon.) See Banks and Browning (1979) for citation and Deignan (1961) and Browning (1979) for type locality.

Habitat and Distribution as for fuliginosus group in AOU (1998) account for D. obscurus.

Notes.—

Formerly merged with D. obscurus as Blue Grouse, but separated on the basis of genetic evidence (Barrowclough et al. 2004) and differences in voice (hooting), behavior, and plumage (Brooks 1929).

pp. 152 ff. Analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences in members of the shorebird tribe Tringini (Pereira and Baker 2005) has shown that the species in the genera Catoptrophorus and Heteroscelus are embedded within Tringa and should be merged into it, and that the genera Xenus and Actitis are basal in the tribe. The resultant phylogeny necessitates a rearrangement of the species accounts in our list, with some new combinations of generic and specific names (but no changes in English names), to the following sequence:

Xenus cinereus (Güldenstädt)

Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus)

A. macularius (Linnaeus)

Tringa ochropus Linnaeus

T. solitaria Wilson

T. brevipes (Vieillot)

T. incana (Gmelin)

T. erythropus (Pallas)

T. melanoleuca (Gmelin)

T. nebularia (Gunnerus)

T. semipalmata (Gmelin)

T. flavipes (Gmelin)

T. stagnatilis (Bechstein)

T. glareola Linnaeus

T. totanus (Linnaeus)

Following the heading “Tribe TRIGININI: Tringinine Sandpipers” insert the following:

Notes.—

Tringa incana and T. brevipes were formerly placed in the genus Heteroscelus Baird, and T. semipalmata was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Catoptrophorus Gmelin (AOU 1998). Sequence here follows Pereira and Baker (2005).

Remove the headings for the genera Catoptrophorus and Heteroscelus from p. 156, and move the citations for these names into the synonymy of the genus Tringa on pp. 152–153.

p. 181. The subfamily Stercorariinae is elevated to family status as a result of analyses of DNA sequence data that show the family is sister to the Alcidae and not part of Laridae (Ericson et al. 2003, Paton et al. 2003, Fain and Houde 2004). Replace the subfamily heading with Family STERCORARIIDAE: Skuas and Jaegers. Remove the entire new family (pp. 181–183) from the Laridae and place it following the larid subfamily Rynchopinae and before the family Alcidae (p. 208).

Following the heading “Family STERCORARIIDAE: Skuas and Jaegers” insert the following:

Notes.—

Formerly considered a subfamily of the Laridae (AOU 1998), but analyses of sequence data indicate that it is more closely related to the Alcidae (Ericson et al. 2003, Paton et al. 2003, Fain and Houde 2004).

pp. 196–207. Bridge et al. (2005) analyzed mitochondrial DNA of terns (except Procelsterna) and correlated the results with plumage characters. The data show that the genus Sterna as currently defined by AOU (1983, 1998) is paraphyletic, and that to keep it monophyletic would require the merger of Phaetusa, Larosterna, and Chlidonias into Sterna. Further, members of several distinct genetic clusters share crown patterns that correspond with formerly recognized genera. Because of the new phylogenetic data and because these genera were merged without comment or explanation, a generic revision is warranted. Rather than merge additional genera into Sterna, we follow the recommendation by Bridge et al. (2005) to resurrect four generic names currently placed in the synonymy of Sterna (p. 196) with the citations given—Thalasseus Boie, Sternula Boie, Hydroprogne Kaup, and Gelochelidon C. L. Brehm. One other generic name is revived— Genus Onychoprion Wagler, 1832, Isis 25, col. 277. Type, by monotypy, Sterna serrata Wagler = Sterna fuscata Linnaeus. This revised classification results in a new sequence of genera and species as follows:

Genus Anous Stephens

Genus Procelsterna Lafresnaye

Genus Gygis Wagler

Genus Onychoprion Wagler

Genus Sternula Boie

Genus Phaetusa Wagler

Genus Gelochelidon C. L. Brehm

Genus Hydroprogne Kaup

Genus Larosterna Blyth

Genus Chlidonias Rafinesque

Genus Sterna Linnaeus

Genus Thalasseus Boie

Under the generic headings and citations for the genera Onychoprion, Sternula, Gelochelidon, Hydroprogne, and Thalasseus, insert the following: Notes.—Formerly (AOU 1983, 1998) included in the genus Sterna but separated on the basis of genetic data that correspond to plumage patterns (Bridge et al. 2005).

p. 221. The name Streptopelia risoria is applied to a long-domesticated (often feral) form of S. roseogrisea (Goodwin 1983, Sibley and Monroe 1990, Baptista et al. 1997). We follow these authors in using the name of the wild species (roseogrisea) in place of the name based on domesticated birds. This follows the principle set forth in Opinion 2027 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (2003) that conserved the usage of specific names based on wild species of mammals that are predated by or contemporary with names based on domesticated forms.

In the citation for the generic name Streptopelia, add to the designation of the type species “= Columba roseogrisea Sundevall.”

Replace the account of S. risoria with the following account:

Streptopelia roseogrisea (Sundevall). African Collared-Dove.

Columbam roseogriseam (accusative case) Sundevall, 1857, Kongl. Sv. Vet.-Akad, Handl. (n.s.) no. 1, art. 3, p. 54. (Nubia.)

Habitat.—

Arid country with trees and shrubs, often near human habitation. Feral populations occur mainly in urban and suburban parks.

Distribution.—

Resident in northeastern Africa and southwestern Arabia.

Introduced and established as feral populations of domesticated stock in west-central Florida (Pinellas County), the Bahamas (New Providence), and Puerto Rico. Other introduced populations in North America have failed to become established.

Notes.—

Also known as Ringed Turtle-Dove and Barbary Dove. The widely domesticated and locally introduced populations (Goodwin 1983) have been known as S. risoria (Linnaeus, 1758). Present North American feral populations may be entirely human-dependent and not self-sustaining.

p. 246. We follow Payne (2005) in separating Cuculus optatus and C. lepidus from C. saturatus on the basis of differences in vocalizations and minor morphological features. Records from our area are of C. optatus. The account for Cuculus saturatus should be replaced with the following:

Cuculus optatus Gould. Oriental Cuckoo.

Cuculus optatus Gould 1845, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1845: 18. (Port Essington, northern Australia.)

Habitat.—

Forested regions, in coniferous, mixed, and deciduous woodlands.

Distribution.—

Breeds from Finland and Komi, western Russia, east through Russia south of the Arctic Circle to Anadyrland and Kamchatka, and south from Kazakhstan through Mongolia, northern China and South Korea to Japan and the Nansei-shoto Islands.

Winters from the Malay Peninsula and Vietnam to the Philippines, Micronesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, northern and eastern Australia, and Lord Howe Island.

Wanders casually to the western Aleutian Islands (Attu, Rat Islands), the Pribilof Islands (St. Paul), St. Lawrence Island, and (once) to the western Alaskan mainland (Cape Prince of Wales).

Notes.—

Previously considered conspecific with C. saturatus Blyth, 1843 [Himalayan Cuckoo] and C. lepidus S. Müller, 1845 [Sunda Cuckoo] but separated on the basis of differences in vocalizations and morphological characters (Payne 2005). Formerly known as C. s. horsfieldi and as Horsfield's Cuckoo.

pp. 246–250. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA and ribosomal RNA sequences (Sorenson and Payne 2005) produced a phylogeny for the family Cuculidae in which the subfamily Cuculinae is paraphyletic with respect to the Coccyzinae. Therefore, we merge the Coccyzinae into the Cuculinae. Delete the heading Subfamily COCCYZINAE: New World Cuckoos.

The study by Sorenson and Payne (2005) further showed that the species now (AOU 1998) in the genera Saurothera and Hyetornis are embedded within Coccyzus, and that the genus Piaya is not monophyletic if minuta is included, the latter forming a monophyletic group with two South American species to be recognized as the genus Coccycua. The resultant phylogeny necessitates a rearrangement of the species accounts in our list, with some new combinations of generic and specific names (but no changes in English names), to the following sequence:

Coccycua minuta (Vieillot)

Piaya cayana (Linnaeus)

Coccyzus melacoryphus Vieillot

Coccyzus americanus (Linnaeus)

Coccyzus euleri Cabanis

Coccyzus minor (Gmelin)

Coccyzus ferrugineus Gould

Coccyzus erythropthalmus (Wilson)

Coccyzus pluvialis (Gmelin)

Coccyzus rufigularis Hartlaub

Coccyzus vetula (Linnaeus)

Coccyzus vieilloti (Bonaparte)

Coccyzus merlini (d'Orbigny)

Coccyzus longirostris (Hermann)

Following the account for Cuculus optatus (see above), before the account for Coccycua minuta (formerly Piaya minuta), insert the generic citation:

Genus COCCYCUA Lesson

Coccycua Lesson, 1830, Traité d'Orn., livr. 2, p. 142. Type, by monotypy, Cuculus monachus Lesson = Coccyzus minutus Vieillot.

Notes.—

Includes two extralimital species usually placed in Coccyzus (e.g., Payne 1997) and minuta, formerly (AOU 1998) placed in Piaya. Analysis of DNA sequence data showed this former arrangement to be paraphyletic (Sorenson and Payne 2005).

Remove the generic headings and notes for Saurothera and Hyetornis, and place the names and citations in the synonymy of the genus Coccyzus. Following the heading and citation for the genus Coccyzus, insert the following:

Notes.—

Includes species formerly placed in the genera Saurothera (vetula, vieilloti, merlini, and longirostris) and Hyetornis (pluvialis and rufigularis), now included in Coccyzus on the basis of DNA sequence data (Sorenson and Payne 2005).

p. 354. Two independent genetic data sets (Irestedt et al. 2002, Chesser 2004) strongly indicate that the Furnariidae is paraphyletic with respect to the Dendrocolaptidae because the furnariid genera Sclerurus and Geositta (extra- limital) are basal to Dendrocolaptidae and the rest of the Furnariidae. This confirms suspicions dating back to at least Ihering (1915), and is consistent with morphological data (e.g., Ames 1971, Feduccia 1973). Therefore, we merge the Family Dendrocolaptidae into the Furnariidae. Remove the heading and Notes for the Family Dendrocolaptidae. There are no changes in sequence or names at this time.

p. 408. A new distributional record adds a species to the list of birds known to occur in the United States. In the account for Myiozetetes similis, add to the Distribution:

Accidental in Texas (near Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Hidalgo County, 7–14 January 2004; photo in North American Birds 59:368, 2004).

pp. 479, 481. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Martinez Gómez et al. 2005) showed that Thryomanes sissonii is embedded in the Troglodytes clade and is a member of the Troglodytes aedon species complex. Remove the species account from its present position and move it to p. 481 following the account for Troglodytes aedon, as follows:

Troglodytes sissonii (Grayson). Socorro Wren.

The citation (synonymy), habitat, and distribution remain unchanged. Change the Notes to read as follows:

Notes.—

Placed in the genus Thryomanes by Oberholser (1898) because of similarities to Thryomanes bewickii in bill structure. Phillips (1986) used the specific name insularis Lawrence and placed the species in Troglodytes; see Banks and Browning (1995) for comments on nomenclature. It is here placed in Troglodytes because analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Martinez Gómez et al. 2005) revealed that it is part of the T. aedon complex. Howell and Webb (1995) treated the species in Troglodytes on the basis of voice, behavior, and plumage.

p. 494. Ficedula albicilla is recognized as distinct from F. parva (Svensson et al. 2005) on the basis of differences in song, plumage pattern and molt sequence, and divergent mtDNA. Replace the account for F. parva with the following:

Ficedula albicilla (Pallas). Taiga Flycatcher.

Muscicapa Albicilla Pallas, 1811, Zoographia Rosso-Asiat., 1, p. 462. (Dauriya, near the Onon [Russia].)

Habitat.—

Deciduous and mixed taiga forest.

Distribution.—

Breeds from eastern Russia east across Siberia to Anadyrland, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Kamchatka, south to the Altai, northern Mongolia, and Ussuriland.

Winters from west-central India through Bangladesh and south-east Asia to the upper Malay Peninsula.

Casual in Alaska in the western Aleutian Islands (Attu, Shemya) and St. Lawrence Island.

Notes.—

Formerly considered conspecific with F. parva (Bechstein, 1792) [Red-breasted Flycatcher] but recognized as distinct on the basis of differences in voice, plumage pattern, molt sequence, and mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Svensson et al. 2005). Also known as Red-throated Flycatcher.

p 503. A new distributional record adds a species to the list of birds known to occur in the United States. In the account for Catharus mexicanus, add to the Distribution:

Accidental in Texas (Pharr, Hidalgo County, 28 May-early August, 19–29 October 2004; photograph in Lockwood and Bates 2005).

p. 596. The Barbados population of Loxigilla noctis differs from populations on other islands in the Lesser Antilles by being sexually monochromatic, in several behavioral characters, and genetically (Buckley and Buckley 2004), and is recognized as a species. Insert the following account after that of L. noctis:

Loxigilla barbadensis Cory. Barbados Bullfinch.

Loxigilla barbadensis Cory, 1886, Auk 3:382. (Barbados.)

Habitat.—

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Forest, Secondary Forest, Tropical Deciduous Forest (0–300 m).

Distribution.—

Resident on Barbados in the Lesser Antilles.

Notes.—

Formerly considered a subspecies of L. noctis, but treated here as a separate species because of differences in plumage (sexual monochromatism), behavioral traits (e.g., foraging behavior), and genetics (summarized by Buckley and Buckley 2004) consistent with specific status.

p. 705 ff. In the list of French names of North American Birds, make the following changes:

Insert in the appropriate place in main list:

Calonectris edwardsii Puffin du Cap-Vert

Fregetta tropica Océanite à ventre noir

Dendragapus fuliginosus Tétras fuligineux

Streptopelia roseogrisea Tourterelle rieuse

Cuculus optatus Coucou oriental

Troglodytes sissonii Troglodyte de Socorro

Ficedula albicilla Gobemouche de la taïga

Loxigilla barbadensis Sporophile de Barbade

Delete the entries for the following:

Streptopelia risoria

Cuculus saturatus

Thryomanes sissonii

Ficedula parva

Move the species from Stercorarius skua through Stercorarius longicaudus to a position following Rynchops niger.

Rearrange, with appropriate changes, the first 15 scientific names in the family Scolopacidae to the following sequence, with no change in French names:

Xenus cinereus

Actitis hypoleucos

Actitis macularius

Tringa ochropus

Tringa solitaria

Tringa brevipes

Tringa incana

Tringa erythropus

Tringa melanoleuca

Tringa nebularia

Tringa semipalmata

Tringa flavipes

Tringa stagnatilis

Tringa glareola

Tringa totanus

Rearrange, with appropriate changes, the scientific names from Sterna nilotica through Gygis alba to the following sequence, with no change in French names:

Gygis alba

Onychoprion fuscatus

Onychoprion lunatus

Onychoprion anaethetus

Onychoprion aleuticus

Sternula albifrons

Sternula antillarum

Sternula superciliaris

Phaetusa simplex

Gelochelidon nilotica

Hydroprogne caspia

Larosterna inca

Chlidonias niger

Chlidonias leucopterus

Chlidonias hybrida

Sterna dougallii

Sterna hirundo

Sterna paradisaea

Sterna forsteri

Thalasseus maximus

Thalasseus bergii

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Thalasseus elegans

Rearrange, with appropriate changes, the scientific names from Coccyzus erythropthalmus through Piaya minuta to the following sequence, with no change in French names:

Coccycua minuta

Piaya cayana

Coccyzus melacoryphus

Coccyzus americanus

Coccyzus euleri

Coccyzus minor

Coccyzus ferrugineus

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

Coccyzus pluvialis

Coccyzus rufigularis

Coccyzus vetula

Coccyzus vieilloti

Coccyzus merlini

Coccyzus longirostris

The committee considered several other taxonomic changes, but did not make changes because of insufficient or conflicting information. Included were proposals to recognize Sitta pusilla insularis of the Bahamas as a species (Hayes et al. 2005), to split the Gray Hawk Buteo nitidus into two species (Riesing et al. 2003), to recognize the genus Rupornis for the Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris (Riesing et al. 2003), to move Calcarius mccownii to the genus Plectrophenax (Klicka et al. 2003), and to elevate Loxigilla portoricensis grandis to specific rank (Garrido and Wiley 2003). Action on these proposals awaits further studies that include additional data. Various records committees are still evaluating several distributional reports that would add species to the list