Annual taxonomic update nets me eight new species

Prairie Willet, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 17, 2018

The annual eBird taxonomic update took place recently and the update provided me with eight new species thanks to some splits.  The first split was Willet, which was long overdue as the Willets of the west and the east certainly are different in a variety of respects.  The Willets once known as 'western willet' now become Prairie Willet and the 'eastern willet' becomes Saltmarsh Willet.  

Eastern Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Western Marsh Wren, Lerma Marsh, Mexico state, Mexico, Jan 31, 2019

The second split was Marsh Wren with the eastern and western subspecies becoming separate species now known as Eastern Marsh Wren and Western Marsh Wren.  

Great Horned Owl, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 16, 2020

The widespread Great Horned Owl was split into four new species and the split gave me one new species with the addition of Tropical Great Horned Owl in Bolivia.

Lemon bellied Tufted Flycatcher, Savegre Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

Tufted Flycatcher split into Tawny Tufted Flycatcher (found from Nicaragua north) and Lemon bellied Tufted Flycatcher (found in Costa Rica south to Ecuador).

Southern beardless tyrannulet had a major split into six new species and I have seen three of those including Panama Beardless Tyrannulet, Amazonian Beardless Tyrannulet and Pacific Beardless Tyrannulet which add two new species to my life list.  No photos of any of the newly minted tyrannulets unfortunately.

Rufous flanked Thrush, Intervales State Park, Ribeirão Grande, Brazil, Dec 10, 2023

Rufous flanked Thrush, Intervales State Park, Ribeirão Grande, Brazil, Dec 10, 2023

The next split that netted me a new species was White necked Thrus which was split into Rufous flanked Thrush (in south central South America) and Gray flanked Thrush (in northern South America).  I have seen the Rufous flanked Thrush in Brazil and Gray flanked Thrush in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Tobago.

Warbling Masked Flowerpiercer, Reserva Tapichalaca, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

Whistling Masked Flowerpiercer, North Yungus Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 11, 2024

The final split was Masked Flowerpiercer into two new species known now as Warbling Masked Flowerpiercer and Whistling Masked Flowerpiercer.  The Warbling Masked Flowerpiercer in northwest South America from Venezuela to Peru and I have seen the species in Colombia and Ecuador.  The Whistling Masked Flowerpiercer occurs in the Andean Mountains of Peru and Bolivia and I saw the species in both of those countries.  

With the additions of eight species thanks to splits I now have a life list that sits at 2203 out of a total of a world total of at least 11,201 species.

Link to all the changes in taxonomy in eBird here.