Date: 11/6/26 8:28 am From: Chuck Imbergamo via CTBirds <ctbirds...> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: Taxonomy update
I just learned that the taxonomy update is complete - however, it didn't go the way I was expecting and this impacts many birders' lists.
My understanding was that the typical Willets we see in our area would be migrated to Saltmarsh Willet, but I was wrong. Out of an abundance of caution, eBird changed all of those sightings to Saltmarsh/Prairie Willet, which of course is not a species.
If you want the Willets on your lists to count, you will have to go into every checklist and update it to Saltmarsh Willet (unless it was the Western subspecies).
For some of us, this is a big deal; personally, I have around 200 eBird observations of Willet. I never used the subspecies, but I'm sure there's a Western there somewhere in my notes. I will need to download my eBird data to try and find that sighting to record it as a Prairie Willet.
Listers who care about their year numbers or the species they have seen in one particular area will need to address this one bird at a time, unfortunately!
Chuck Imbergamo
CT Birds Moderator
Madison
PS - If you had identified any of the Willets you saw to the subspecies of Western or Eastern, those should have been migrated to Prairie or Saltmarsh Willet as appropriate. I guess this is a vote for using the subspecies if you know them going forward!
> On Nov 1, 2026, at 7:40 PM, Chuck Imbergamo <imbercj...> wrote:
>
> CT Birders -
>
> The often dreaded taxonomy update is in progress!
>
> From time to time, the American Ornithological Society updates bird taxonomy, splitting some species and lumping other species together.
>
> Listers here in CT may have noticed that their species count is currently down by one – I followed up on this and found out that it was due to the Willet species. The birds we typically see in Connecticut will be called 'Saltmarsh Willet' going forward. For now, Cornell has put them into a 'Sp.' Called 'Saltmarsh/Prairie Willet', making this bird 'not count' on your list. The Willet records are being migrated to the appropriate species, but it is taking some time. The latest update I found is below:
>
> UPDATE 30 Oct: At this time, most conversions are done. However, Willets, Spotted Flycatchers, Marsh Wrens, and Whistling-Thrush splits are particularly complicated and we expect small batches of regional updates for these species to continue for several weeks. Personalized Taxonomy Reports will be available starting 4 November.
>
> Hopefully this helps some of you who noticed that your list count doesn't look right!
>
> Chuck Imbergamo
> CT Birds Moderator
> Madison
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: <ctbirds-request...>
>
> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >
> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: <ctbirds-request...>
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
