Date: 2/5/25 8:09 am From: Aidan Kiley via CTBirds <ctbirds...> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: Question About Subspecies
Hi Lance,
This is an interesting topic.
eBird has put much time and effort into developing eBird subspecies options
and guidelines for proper use.
A handful of general notes:
1- These subspecies options are totally optional - there is nothing wrong
with using the plain species entries.
2- The subspecies shown on the filter (such as the ones you mention) that
do not get flagged are generally the only expected ones in the region.
3- Downy Woodpecker (Eastern), Purple Finch (Eastern), Dark-eyed Junco
(Slate-colored), etc. are perfectly acceptable ways to enter individuals of
those species in the state. eBird Central has made that abundantly clear.
4- Those eBird subspecies options are called ISSFs (identifiable
subspecific forms). Not all subspecies are listed as options in eBird, only
types that are readily identifiable by visual and/or audio.
5- However, eBird discourages blind use of these subspecies forms if
observers have no idea what they mean. It is not best practice to enter
every bird to subspecies if you don't have at least some knowledge of what
they mean.
This is where the fun comes in – this provides an opportunity to learn
about some really cool stuff! Like the variation in Downy and Hairy
Woodpeckers across North America. The (Eastern) forms of both Hairy and
Downy have notably more black spots in the outer tail feathers than Pacific
and Rocky Mountain. Dark-eyed Junco has other subspecies groups that have
shown up in the Northeast that are worth learning about and checking for.
Red-tailed Hawks are a great study because in recent years, we have been
learning about small numbers of Northern RT Hawk (abieticola) that winter
here in addition to the common (borealis). Our typical Brant here
are lightly marked below, Brant (Atlantic), unlike the western Brant
(Black) which is very dark and is known as a very rare but regular vagrant
in the east. Our Eastern White-breasted Nuthatches sound quite different
from the two western forms!
The Sibley app you mention is useful for seeing pictures of what the
different subspecies options look like and figuring out what the ones here
are.
6- One of the people in charge of Macaulay Library (eBird Media) states
that it is useful to use these subspecies options when uploading media –
categorizing photos by subspecies group is a valuable thing for
researchers. If photos of Downy Woodpeckers in the east are entered under
(Eastern), it makes a search for pix of Eastern Downies much easier.
7 - eBird has made it clear that entering these to subspecies is not only
for "true experts" and entering subspecies forms that are the only expected
ones in the region is perfectly acceptable ways to enter birds, *but*
observers are strongly encouraged to learn about what the forms are, not
just enter them randomly. The majority of the subspecies options in CT
eBird are the only ones that occur, but exceptions are Red-tailed Hawk,
Peregrine Falcon, Solitary Sandpiper, Dark-eyed Junco, Willet, and
White-crowned Sparrow. Those species have rare other subspecies that have a
handful of records here.
I have worked extensively on this topic, including discussions with
numerous other eBird Reviewers, as well as with the people in charge of
eBird. This is a topic that I am very passionate about, as some know :) To
anyone, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any further
questions on this, or subspecies ID in general! It's difficult stuff, and
certainly not all birds can be safely categorized (possible vagrant
subspecies especially), but I think it's a good topic for folks to dip
their feet into, if interested.
Greg Hanisek and I serve as CT's eBird reviewers, and we would be more than
happy to answer any eBird questions!
I hope this helps a little.
Best,
Aidan Kiley
CT eBird Reviewer
On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 10:34 AM lcjhnsn--- via CTBirds <
<ctbirds...> wrote:
> I have recently started using eBird to submit and log my bird observations
> and I have a question. eBird has multiple options for several common local
> birds; Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and
> Purple Finch have options with and without the “Eastern” subspecies tag.
> Dark-eyed Junco has options with and without the “Slate Colored” subspecies
> tag.
>
> Upon reviewing the Sibley v2 app, it appears that any of these birds that
> would be observed in Connecticut would be the Eastern and Slate Colored
> subspecies.
>
> Would that be an accurate conclusion and should I be selecting the
> subspecies when building my eBird checklists?
>
> Thank you,
> Lance Johnson
> Colchester, CT
>
>
>
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