Birding Despite Disability

The Clements taxonomy (based on the August 2019 revision) includes 10,721 species.

eBird, as of April 24, 2020, lists 10,508 species. So where (and who) are the other 213?

I had looked at this last summer and decided to look at it again, as a few things have changed, even though there was not a revision to the taxonomy.

The Clements list includes a total of 160 species that they classify as extinct. Of these, 22 have at least one record in eBird and so do not count toward the 213.

Another way to look at this is that Clements has 10,561 total species that it does not consider extinct. (That means that to see at least half the world’s species, with a 1% margin for error, one will need 5,333 birds… this is my current life goal.)

Subtracting 22 from 160, we are left with 138 extinct species in Clements that have no eBird records. So remove these 138 birds from the 213 we wish to explain… this leaves 75 birds; these are the unreported species, out there waiting to join the eBird records, if only someone would go out and find them! They are listed below:

• Abd al Kuri Sparrow Passer hemileucus
• Alagoas Curassow Mitu mitu
• Aldabra Brush-Warbler Nesillas aldabrana
• Ash’s Lark Mirafra ashi
• Bare-legged Swiftlet Aerodramus nuditarsus
• Bates’s Weaver Ploceus batesi
• Bismarck Thicketbird Cincloramphus grosvenori
• Black-lored Waxbill Estrilda nigriloris
• Blue-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii
• Bougainville Thicketbird Cincloramphus llaneae
• Bougainville Thrush Zoothera atrigena
• Brass’s Friarbird Philemon brassi
• Cayenne Nightjar Setopagis maculosa
• Chapin’s Mountain-Babbler Turdoides chapini
• Coastal Boubou Laniarius nigerrimus
• Congo Bay-Owl Phodilus prigoginei
• Congo Sunbird Cinnyris congensis
• Coppery Thorntail Discosura letitiae
• Duida Grass-Finch Emberizoides duidae
• Dulit Partridge Rhizothera dulitensis
• Glaucous Macaw Anodorhynchus glaucus
• Foja Honeyeater Melipotes carolae
• Golden-fronted Bowerbird Amblyornis flavifrons
• Gorgeted Puffleg Eriocnemis isabellae
• Itombwe Nightjar Caprimulgus prigoginei
• Javan Lapwing Vanellus macropterus
• Kabobo Apalis Apalis kaboboensis
• Kinglet Calyptura Calyptura cristata
• Kordofan Lark Mirafra cordofanica
• Lake Lufira Masked-Weaver Ploceus ruweti
• Louisiade Flowerpecker Dicaeum nitidum
• Louisiade Pitta Erythropitta meeki
• Luzon Buttonquail Turnix worcesteri
• Makira Moorhen Gallinula silvestris
• Manus Masked-Owl Tyto manusi
• Maui Nukupuu Hemignathus affinis
• Moorea Reed Warbler Acrocephalus longirostris
• Mountain Starling Aplonis santovestris
• Naung Mung Scimitar-Babbler Napothera naungmungensis
• Nechisar Nightjar Caprimulgus solala
• Negros Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus arcanus
• New Britain Goshawk Accipiter princeps
• New Britain Thrush Zoothera talaseae
• New Caledonian Nightjar Eurostopodus exul
• New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles savesi
• New Caledonian Rail Gallirallus lafresnayanus
• New Hanover Munia Lonchura nigerrima
• Niam-Niam Parrot Poicephalus crassus
• Oahu Alauahio Paroreomyza maculata
• Pernambuco Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium mooreorum
• Pohnpei Starling Aplonis pelzelni
• Prigogine’s Sunbird Cinnyris prigoginei
• Red Sea Swallow Petrochelidon perdita
• Rio de Janeiro Antwren Myrmotherula fluminensis
• Rotuma Myzomela Myzomela chermesina
• Rück’s Blue Flycatcher Cyornis ruckii
• Rusty Lark Mirafra rufa
• Saffron-breasted Redstart Myioborus cardonai
• Sangihe White-eye Zosterops nehrkorni
• Sassi’s Greenbul Phyllastrephus lorenzi
• Schouteden’s Swift Schoutedenapus schoutedeni
• Shelley’s Crimsonwing Cryptospiza shelleyi
• Siau Scops-Owl Otus siaoensis
• Society Islands Reed Warbler Acrocephalus musae
• Sulu Bleeding-heart Gallicolumba menagei
• Tachira Antpitta Grallaria chthonia
• Tagula White-eye Zosterops meeki
• Three-toed Swiftlet Aerodramus papuensis
• Turquoise-throated Puffleg Eriocnemis godini
• Urich’s Tyrannulet Phyllomyias urichi
• Vilcabamba Brushfinch Atlapetes terborghi
• White-chested White-eye Zosterops albogularis
• White-eyed River Martin Pseudochelidon sirintarae
• White-faced Redstart Myioborus albifacies
• Yellow-legged Weaver Ploceus flavipes

There are also what I arbitrarily call AWOL species: species with eBird records and which are not considered extinct, but which have not been seen for at least twenty years. There are 37 in this list below, which includes the year last seen. A number of famous species are near the bottom.

• Rapa Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus huttoni 1999
• Oriole Cuckooshrike Lobotos oriolinus 1999
• Sulu Boobook Ninox reyi 1999
• Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris 1999
• Ghana Cuckooshrike Lobotos lobatus 1995
• Moustached Kingfisher Actenoides bougainvillei 1994
• Prigogine’s Greenbul Chlorocichla prigoginei 1994
• Grauer’s Cuckooshrike Coracina graueri 1994
• Obbia Lark Spizocorys obbiensis 1993
• Rockefeller’s Sunbird Cinnyris rockefelleri 1992
• Yellow-breasted Satinbird Loboparadisea sericea 1992
• Yellow-crested Helmetshrik Prionops alberti 1992
• Streaked Bowerbird Amblyornis subalaris 1991
• Maned Owl Jubula lettii 1990
• Ou Psittirostra psittacea 1989
• Sooty Shrikethrush Colluricincla tenebrosa 1987
• Mayr’s Rail Rallina mayri 1986
• Tagula Honeyeater Meliphaga vicina 1985
• Tagula Butcherbird Cracticus louisiadensis 1985
• Santa Cruz Shrikebill Clytorhynchus sanctaecrucis 1985
• Santa Cruz Ground Dove Alopecoenas sanctaecrucis 1985
• Ua Pou Monarch Pomarea mira 1985
• Kamao Myadestes myadestinus 1984
• Kauai Nukupuu Hemignathus hanapepe 1983
• Red-throated Lorikeet Charmosyna amabilis 1981
• Maui Akepa Loxops ochraceus 1980
• Guam Kingfisher Todiramphus cinnamominus 1978
• Olomao Myadestes lanaiensis 1975
• Tana River Cisticola Cisticola restrictus 1967
• Eskimo Curlew Numenius borealis 1962
• Bachman’s Warbler Vermivora bachmanii 1962
• Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis 1949
• Imperial Woodpecker Campephilus imperialis 1941
• Semper’s Warbler Leucopeza semperi 1934
• Vaurie’s Nightjar Caprimulgus centralasicus 1929
• Zapata Rail Cyanolimnas cerverai 1927
• Manipur Bush-Quail Perdicula manipurensis 1881

I’d like to think that these are all out there, but I cannot imagine that is the case.  Finding something that has not been seen in over twenty years would be, for me, as exciting as any of the unreported birds. So between the two lists, there are 111 targets that would be once-in-a-lifetime events – never before seen or not seen in 20 years or more. The “one-percenters.”

Will revisit this later in the summer when eBird releases their yearly taxonomy update.