AERC TAC’s TAXONOMIC RECOMMENDATIONS
2011 report

Citation:
Crochet P.-A., Barthel P.H., Bauer H.-G., van den Berg A.B., Bezzel E., Collinson J.M., Dietzen
C., Dubois P.J., Fromholtz J., Helbig A.J. †, Jiguet F., Jirle E., Knox A.G., Krüger T., Le Maréchal
P., van Loon A.J., Päckert M., Parkin D.T., Pons J.-M., Raty L., Roselaar C.S., Sangster G.,
Steinheimer F.D., Svensson L., Tyrberg T., Votier S.C., Yésou P. (2011) AERC TAC's taxonomic
recommendations: 2011 report. Available online at http://www.aerc.eu/tac.html.

Introduction
This document constitutes the official 2011 AERC TAC recommendations for species-levelsystematics and nomenclature of Western Palearctic birds. For full information on the TAC and its
history, please refer to the documents on the AERC web page www.aerc.eu, including the minutesof the AERC meetings (www.aerc.eu/Minutes.htm) and the TAC pages (www.aerc.eu/tac.html).
The format of this document follows the previous TAC recommendations (Crochet et al.
2010), which see for details.
The TAC has five members: Taxonomic Sub-committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union
Records Committee (BOURC-TSC, UK), Commission de l’Avifaune Française (CAF, France),
Swedish Taxonomic Committee (STC, Sweden), Commissie Systematiek Nederlandse Avifauna(CSNA, Netherlands) and Kommission Artenliste der Vögel Deutschlands der Deutschen
Ornithologen-Gesellschaft (German TC, Germany). As decided previously (see introduction to
AERC TAC 2003), systematic changes are based on decisions published by, or directly passed to
the TAC chairman, by these taxonomic committees (TCs).
In this document, the support for each case is given as yes / no / not addressed.
Note that several TAC members sent some of their votes directly to the TAC chairman, either
without publishing a decision on the case (when this did not affect their national list) or prior to the
publication of their own decisions in order not to delay the publication of the TAC
recommendations. There might thus be some discrepancy between the support indicated here
and the “relevant taxonomic committee publications” section; this is not necessarily a mistake.
The species sequence (the higher-level systematics i.e. the family and order names and the order ofthe species in the species list) has still largely not been addressed by the AERC TAC. This
document and the corresponding list of birds of the Western Palearctic thus still follow the sequence
in Voous (1973; 1977a; b) except for a few decisions adopted by the AERC here or in the previous
report. This species sequence and the corresponding higher-level systematics are now known togrossly misrepresent avian species relationships in many cases and updating them remains a majortask for the TAC.
Systematics below the species rank is not part of the TAC remit. Subspecies lists that are given
for some cases are based on the “Handbook of the Birds of the World” series (Lynx Edicions,
Barcelona) and are purely indicative. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the TAC
members.
Authorship follows the same convention as in Crochet et al. (2010): in addition to the twochairmen of the TAC, members of the national taxonomic committees who were responsible for thedecisions that fed into the report are listed in alphabetic order. This should not be interpreted assuggesting that they support every individual conclusion contained here. Authors acknowledge here
the contributions of C. J. Hazevoet.
This document is certainly not free from mistakes. One of the advantages of posting it on the web isthat mistakes can easily be corrected, so please send any comments, suggestions or corrections to
Pierre-André Crochet (pierre-andre.crochet at cefe.cnrs.fr).

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AERC TAC 2011 new recommendations
Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia (was Bonasa bonasia)
Support: 4/0/1. This treatment is supported by four TAC members; the BOURC-TSC did not
address it.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Helbig (2005; in Bauer et al. 2005, Germany), Jirle etal. (2010, on behalf of the STC).
Tropical Shearwater Puffinus bailloni (split from extralimital P. lherminieri; polytypic:
bailloni, persicus and several extralimital subspecies)
Support: 4/0/1. The split of persicus and bailloni from P. lherminieri is supported by four TAC
members; the BOURC-TSC did not address it. In addition, several TCs treat persicus as specificallydistinct from bailloni, but this treatment is not endorsed by all TAC members. Jirle et al. (2010)provisionally left bailloni in P. lherminieri, a treatment that will be amended in the next STC report.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Jirle et al. (2010, on behalf of the STC).
Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumenifer (was Leptoptilos crumeniferus)
Notice the correct spelling: the species was described as Ciconia crumenifera, in which crumenifera
is adjectival; crumenifer is the usual masculine form (David & Gosselin 2011).
Purple Gallinule Porphyrio martinicus (was Porphyrio martinica)
Notice the correct spelling: the species was described as Fulica martinica; according to David &Gosselin (2011), martinica is adjectival and must thus agree in gender with the masculine genericname Porphyrio.
Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes (was Heteroscelus brevipes)
Willet Tringa semipalmata (was Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Support: 5/0/0. These treatments are favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Helbig (2005; in Bauer et al. 2005, Germany),
Sangster et al. (2007, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC), Sangster et al. (2009, on behalf of theCSNA), Jirle et al. (2010, on behalf of the STC).
Species sequence of Tringa and related genera
Phylogenetic relationships of Tringa and related genera based on mitochondrial and nuclear
sequence data have been examined by Pereira and Baker (2005) and Gibson (2010). These studies
offer a tentative arrangement of the species on the WP list as follows:
Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
Common Redshank Tringa totanus

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Great Skua Stercorarius skua (monotypic)
Brown Skua Stercorarius antarticus (split from S. skua; extralimital, polytypic: hamiltoni,
lonnbergi and antarcticus)
South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki (monotypic)
Chilean Skua Stercorarius chilensis (extralimital, monotypic)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Kjellen & Olsson (1995) and Anderson et al. (2007)
for STC; Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).
Tufted Puffin Fratercula cirrhata (was Lunda cirrhata)
Support: 4/0/1. This treatment is favoured by four TAC members; the CSNA did not address it.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of BOURC-TSC).
African Collared Dove Streptopelia risoria (was S. roseogrisea)
A purely nomenclatural change. Streptopelia risoria (Linnaeus, 1758), based on the domesticatedform, has priority over Streptopelia roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857). The International Commissionof Zoological Nomenclature (2008, Opinion 2215) rejected a proposal to conserve the juniorsynonym (Donegan 2007).
Nanday Parakeet Aratinga nenday (was Nandayus nenday)
Ribas and Miyaki (2004) have clearly showed that Nanday Parakeet is closely related to thesolstitialis species group of the genus Aratinga, and that recognising a monotypic genus Nandayus
for Nanday Parakeet renders Aratinga paraphyletic. They therefore suggest treating Nanday
Parakeet as a member of the genus Aratinga, a proposal formally accepted here.
Support: this case has not been addressed by any TC yet but has been discussed within the TAC andthis treatment is accepted by all TC members.
Sand Martin Riparia riparia (polytypic: riparia, shelleyi, eilata and extralimital
innominata and ijimae)
Pale Martin Riparia diluta (split from R. riparia; extralimital, polytypic: diluta, gavrilovi,
transbaykalica, indica, fohkienensis and tibetana).
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).
Banded Martin Neophedina cincta (was Riparia cincta)
Based on Sheldon et al. (2005), Banded Martin is clearly not a Riparia, but forms a clade with
Mascarene Martin Phedina borbonica and Brazza’s Martin Phedina brazzae. This cincta + Phedina
clade is the sister group of all other ‘core martins’, including Sand Martin Riparia riparia and
Brown-throated Martin R. paludicola. Two nomenclatural options are possible to accommodate thisresult: move Banded Martin to the genus Phedina or use the monotypic genus Neophedina for
cincta. The second option (Neophedina cincta) is preferred here as borbonica and cincta are
genetically more divergent (by 12.8 %) than many Hirundinidae genus and cincta has several
morphological characters (large size, distinct bill and nostril shape, sharp loral bristles) andbehavioural characters (lack of coloniality) that separates it from Phedina martins.
Support: this case has not been addressed by any TC yet but has been discussed within the TAC andthis treatment is accepted by all TC members.
Streak-throated Swallow Petrochelidon fluvicola (was Hirundo fluvicola)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Jirle et al. (2010, on behalf of the STC).
This species has been added to the Western Palearctic list after the genera of swallows and martinshave been addressed by the TAC, hence its exclusion from previous TAC recommendations.
4Species sequence of Hirundinidae
Based on current published phylogenies of Hirundinidae (Sheldon et al. 2005, Pavlova et al. 2008,
Dor et al. 2010), the species of swallows and martins currently on the WP list should be listed asfollows:
Banded Martin Neophedina cincta
Brown-throated Martin Riparia paludicola
Sand Martin Riparia riparia
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Purple Martin Progne subis
Eurasian Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestrisRock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica
Common House Martin Delichon urbicum
Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica
Streak-throated Swallow Petrochelidon fluvicola
American Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus (split from extralimital S. torquatus; polytypic:
armenicus, maurus, stejnegeri, variegatus and extralimital indicus and przewalskii)
European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola (split from extralimital S. torquatus; polytypic:
hibernans and rubicola)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Helbig (2005; in Bauer et al. 2005, Germany),
Sangster et al. (1999, on behalf of the CSNA), Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of the BOURCTSC).
Species sequence of Saxicola
Based on current published mitochondrial phylogenies of the genus Saxicola (Illera et al. 2008;
Zink et al. 2009), the species of Saxicola currently on the WP list should be listed as follows:
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
Pied Bush Chat Saxicola caprata
Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus
Canary Islands Stonechat Saxicola dacotiae
European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola
Siberian Thrush Geokichla sibirica (was Zoothera sibirica)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Sangster et al. (2009, on behalf of the CSNA), Jirle etal. (2010, on behalf of the STC), Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).
Varied Thrush Ixoreus naevius (was Zoothera naevia)
Support: 4/0/1. This treatment is favoured by four TAC members; the CSNA did not address it.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Jirle et al. (2010, on behalf of the STC), Sangster et al.
(2007, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).

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Generic sequence of Turdinae
Based on published mitochondrial phylogenies (Klicka et al. 2005; Voelker and Klicka 2008), thegenera of Turdinae (“true thrushes”) currently on the WP list should be listed as follows:
Zoothera
Ixoreus
Hylocichla
Catharus
Geokichla
TurdusThick-billed Warbler Iduna aedon (was Acrocephalus aedon)
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Iduna pallida (was Hippolais pallida)
Western Olivaceous Warbler Iduna opaca (was Hippolais opaca)
Booted Warbler Iduna caligata (was Hippolais caligata)
Sykes’s Warbler Iduna rama (was Hippolais rama)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Sangster et al. (2011, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).
Species sequence of Iduna
Based on current phylogenetics hypotheses (Fregin et al. 2009), the WP species in the genus Iduna
should be listed as follows:
Thick-billed Warbler Iduna aedon
Booted Warbler Iduna caligata
Sykes’s Warbler Iduna rama
Western Olivaceous Warbler Iduna opaca
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Iduna pallida
Generic sequence of Acrocephalus, Hippolais and Iduna
Fregin et al. (2009) also allow listing these genera as follows:
Iduna
Hippolais
Acrocephalus
Rosy Starling Pastor roseus (was Sturnus roseus)
Daurian Starling Agropsar sturninus (was Sturnus sturninus)
Support: 5/0/0. This treatment is favoured by all five TAC members.
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Knox et al. (2008, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC),
Sangster et al. (2009, on behalf of the CSNA).
Species sequence of starlings and mynas
Using nuclear and mitochondrial genes, Lovette et al. (2008) and Zuccon et al. (2008) offeredindependent, well-supported and largely congruent phylogenies of the starlings and mynas formerly
included in the genera Sturnus and Acridotheres. Based on these results, those species that are on
the WP list should be listed as follows:
Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Rosy Starling Pastor roseus
Daurian Starling Agropsar sturninus
Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Vinous-breasted Starling Acridotheres burmannicus
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus
6Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora cyanoptera (was Vermivora pinus)
A purely nomenclatural change made necessary by adherence to the rules of zoologicalnomenclature (ICZN 1999), as explained in Olson and Reveal (2009).
Relevant taxonomic committee publications: Jirle et al. (2010, on behalf of the STC), Sangster et al.
(2011, on behalf of the BOURC-TSC).

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