Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!ox.com!math.fu-berlin.de!unidui!unido!gmdzi!tmc-ae From: tmc-ae@gmdzi.gmd.de (FA Jirka) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: European vs. American Bird Names Message-ID: <4520@gmdzi.gmd.de> Date: 12 Apr 91 07:55:23 GMT References: <1991Apr11.120249.8804@verdix.com> Organization: GMD, St. Augustin, F.R. Germany Lines: 45 edm@verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: >Just going through my lists recently trying to make certain my world list >is up-to-date. Ran into a couple of confusions that perhaps one of you >will be able to help with. Two birds in question: one a gannet, the other >a snipe. The gannet on my England list is Sula bassana, while our common >Northern Gannet here in the States is Morus bassanus. The snipe on my >Ireland list is Gallinago gallinago, while its counterpart on my ABA area >list is Capella gallinago. Both pairs of birds look superficially similar >to me -- similar enough to wonder if they have been reclassified. Can >anyone tell me whether these are in fact dissimilar species? Thanks. >-- >Ed Matthews edm@verdix.com >Verdix Corporation Headquarters (703) 378-7600 >Chantilly, Virginia Both species have a long history of being reclassified. In North America, Gannet has been moved to Morus as per AOU Checklist 37th Supplement (1989) ; Snipe has been Gallinago a long time. The following is straight from the computer version of the ABA checklist : 56 Northern Gannet Morus bassanus N 1 309 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago N 1 The European lists I have speak of Sula bassana and Gallinago gallinago. I am aware of Capella but I think it's obsolete on both sides of the ocean. There is no recognized authority on world lists, officially, although most world listers stick to whatever James Clements decides. Any standard is better than no standard. Other differences you may encounter in Old World nomenclature (restricting myself to Holarctic birds) : Snow goose in genus Anser not Chen Great Skua (jaeger) in genus Stercorarius not Catharacta Sabine's Gull in genus Larus not Xema Gull-billed Tern in Gelochelidon not Sterna In total, I found more than 100 differences when comparing the AOU checklist with a Holarctic checklist which originated in Europe (K.H.Voous). >>>>> Please ignore the From: line. This is a guest account. Daan Sandee sandee@mimikri.gmd.de Thinking Machines Corporation Gesellschaft fuer Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung D-5205 Sankt Augustin, Germany Phone: +49 2241 142410