Our annual update to the BFS Bird List been completed. Many thanks to our BFS Web Intern Maya Nakamura for doing the update! Here is a summary of the revisions:
- All links have been checked and updated as needed.
- There are a few taxonomic changes:
- California Quail (Callipepla californica): Formerly in Phasianidae, Callipepla is now placed in Odontophoridae.
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) and California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica): Formerly in Polioptilidae, Polioptila is now placed in Sylviidae.
- Spelling corrected for Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana).
- The Cornell ‘All About Birds Bird Guide’ website was recently restructured, and we have updated all the ‘AAB’ links to the new URLs.
- CalPhotos has been adding bird photos, and we’ve added CalPhotos links for all the birds they have photos for.
- The conservation status have been checked, and a few changes were made:
- California Partners in Flight has revised their Conservation Plans, including a number of changes in the focal species for the plans. Consequently, the CaPIF designation has been removed from the following:
· Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
· California Quail (Callipepla californica)
· Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
· Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
· Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)
· Red-crowned Parrot (Amazona viridigenalis)
· Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii)
· Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
· Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)
· Hutton’s Vireo (Vireo huttoni)
· White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
· Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
· California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)
· European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
· Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculates)
· California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
And CaPIF designations have been added to the following as they have been added as focal species:
· Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
· Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) - A California Department of Fish & Game ‘Species of Special Concern’ designation has been added to the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
- The following species have been designated ‘Species of Concern’ by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and we’ve noted that (although the designation carries no regulatory status):
· American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
· Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
· Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)
· Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
· Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
· Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
· White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
· Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
· Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
· Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
· Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
· Merlin (Falco columbarius)
· Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis)
· Vaux’s Swift (Chaetura vauxi)
· Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
· Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)
· Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
· Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
· Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
· Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
· Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
· MacGillivray’s Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei)
· Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
· Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)
· Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
· Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
· Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
· Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
· Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)
· White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
- California Partners in Flight has revised their Conservation Plans, including a number of changes in the focal species for the plans. Consequently, the CaPIF designation has been removed from the following: