For folks who want to keep up with the work of the academic
ornithological community, the latest AOU Checklist is in the new issue
of the AUK, online at

         http://www.aoucospubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1642/AUK-16-77.1

Many new scientific species names, and some of higher orders, are
listed, beginning on p. 545.  Some scientific names of familiar species
are changed, as are their places in the systematic organization. The
recent inclusions of central America avifauna are welcome, but may
temporarily confuse naive users (like me), especially since the common
nomenclature used for added species is new and more often subject to
revision--not to mention seldom in English.
        Closer to home, no approved common names for local species have been
changed that I can see, but there are lots of changes in scientific
names (sandhill crane is now Antigone canadensis, presumably a classical
reference to the character of Sophocles' play, via the scientific name
of Sarus cranes of the far East). Those of us who share and publish
checklists will want to acknowledge and obey these and new systematic
orders. We hope these yearly cleansings and orderings of our birds'
names will bring us ever closer to understanding nature's mysteries.


Bill Whan


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