As was anticipated 5 months ago in another post, the South America Classification Committee (SACC) unanimously approved the proposal 412 splitting the Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) into five species.
New species:
· Blue-diademed Motmot (Momotus lessonni)
· Highland (Andean) Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis)
· Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens)
· Trinidad Motmot (Momotus bahamensis)
· Amazonia Motmot (Momotus momota)
Another important decision of the SACC has been the recognition of 3 species in Cinclodes fuscus. For this decision, the SACC was based on a mtDNA-based phylogeographic analysis from Sanín et al.
New species:
· Chestnut-winged Cinclodes* (Cinclodes albidiventris)
Chestnut-winged Cinclodes | © John Jackson
· Cream-winged Cinclodes* (Cinclodes albiventris)
Cream-winged Cinclodes | © Carol Foil
*English names proposed by Alvaro Jaramillo
Finally, the recently approved proposal 416, splits the New World Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) from the Old World Common Moorhen (G. chloropus) based on vocalizations and genetic studies.
New species:
· Common Gallinule* (Gallinula galeata)
*English names proposed by Alvaro Jaramillo
More splits very soon…
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Carlos J. Villa and Neotropical Birds, Neotropical Birds. Neotropical Birds said: Guess that'll be 5 new Neotropical Bird species, then. Blue-crowned Motmot split by SACC: http://bit.ly/aQmtlu RT @jpperret [...]