Date: 10/22/26 11:56 am From: Keeli Marvel <keeli.marvel...> Subject: [UCBirders] Bird Species Taxonomic Updates
Stole this from an Audubon chapter Facebook post:
Taxonomy update news! The American Ornithological Society published some new updates yesterday (10/20/2026), and several may be of interest to local birders.
AOS is the entity responsible for the naming and classification of bird species in the Americas, and these recent changes include several doozies! Here goes:
✳ The bird formerly known worldwide as the Great Egret has been split into two species, and our local bird will now be known as the American Egret to differentiate it from its Old-World counterpart, the Great White Egret. Goodbye, GREG! (The previous four-letter identification code for Great Egret; it'll be AMEG instead, which doesn't have quite the same ring.)
✳ Birders may be familiar with the two subspecies of Willet, Eastern and Western. Based on significant differences in breeding habitat and other factors, this species has been split into two different species, Prairie Willet (formerly Western Willet), and Saltmarsh Willet (formerly Eastern Willet). eBirders who have identified Willets to subspecies on their checklists will pick up a new life bird!
✳ Ornithologists studying Marsh Wrens have noted significant differences between the songs of Marsh Wrens in Eastern North America vs. those more frequently found in Western North America. In addition, those two populations apparently hybridize very seldom, so the AOS has split them into two different species, Eastern Marsh-Wren and Western Marsh-Wren. If you are in an area where both may be present, it sounds like the main way to differentiate them will be based on their song, reminiscent of some flycatcher species, sigh...
There are other changes, but these three seemed the most impactful on local birders. We're not sure when the changes will be reflected on your eBird lists, but they should be coming soon!
