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REVIEW This Is an Excellent Summary of Many Perplexing Problems That I Recommend to All

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REVIEW This Is an Excellent Summary of Many Perplexing Problems That I Recommend to All 54 REVIEW This is an excellent summary of many perplexing problems that I recommend to all. The bulk of the book (about 150 pages) comprises a discussion and review of the systematics of each order from a The Systematics and Taxonomy of species-level perspective and the book finishes with Australian Birds an extensive and useful assemblage of references. In a review of the 1994 volume Joel Cracraft wrote Leslie Christidis & Walter E. Boles “Given that this is a species list, one might expect the authors to adopt a particular species definition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 2008. 227 pp. They really don’t do this. In the introduction they Hardback - ISBN: 9780643065116 - AU $69.95. discuss the competing species concepts--biological Paperback - ISBN: 9780643096028 - AU $49.95 versus phylogenetic--at some length, but make no operational decision about which they will apply”. Little has changed in this volume yet I do This well laid-out book by two of Australia’s leading not condemn the authors for the lack of rigor - they systematic ornithologists updates the inventory of have done their best in an imperfect world. If we had avian species in Australia and its territories (which complete mitochondrial and nucleic genomes for includes Christmas, Cocos (Keeling), Heard, Lord every species and a complete understanding of the Howe, Macquarie and Norfolk Islands, the islands morphology and osteology of every terminal taxa of Torres Strait and Ashmore Reef, as well as the then, yes, defining a species concept (i.e., drawing a Australian Antarctic Territories). This coverage line in the sand and sticking by it) would be a great is expanded from the 1994 “Taxonomy and idea. But the world is not perfect and our knowledge Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories” of avian biology is incomplete. Molecular studies to include Ashmore Reef and the Australian are often limited in scope and workers fail to make Antarctic Territories. Remarkably, the addition recommendations about species limits in otherwise of the Australian Antarctic Territories (which are excellent papers. Plus there are a lot of bad papers the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any out there. Work is getting published that may be nation, and at over 6 million square kilometers are competent molecularly but is not grounded in only slightly smaller than Australia itself) appears ecological reality. Furthermore, we do not fully to only add a single vagrant record - Kerguelen understand the speed of genetic divergence nor do Teal (also known as Eaton’s Teal, Anas eatoni) to we know which parts of a genome are important in this list based on an immature specimen collected indicating whether 2 taxa are different. Given this at Mawson Base (Johnstone & Irvine 2004). On the imperfection anyone trying to interpret the ‘music other hand, the addition of Ashmore Reef adds of evolution’ through the cacophony of ineptitude dozens of species and legitimises the reef’s status should be given a break! as the Attu or Scilly Isles of Australia’s twitching What is such a list good for then? As an author fraternity. However, the addition of a sand bar of a similar work myself I consider that these lists 130 kilometres from Indonesia yet more than 300 are important parts of documenting a nation’s kilometers of the Australian continent does seem biodiversity. They provide an inventory of a odd biogeographically, if not morally. Wouldn’t it country’s avian legacy and a framework for further be great if the twitchers that spend so much effort effort. They are also an accessible “one-stop shop” trying to see a Pechura Pipit on Ashmore invested a which place a country’s ornithological research tenth of that expense and time undertaking a survey within a global context. Checklists also provide on an uninhabited and probably never visited a framework to closely examine the systematic island in Indonesia (take your pick there are 17,500 position of the included species. Any good checklist to choose from and only a fraction have a published should not innovative. It should incorporate new species list). taxonomic changes and be reliant on published data The format of the book is simple and logical. It and arguments previously published. Whilst the has a short introduction that discusses taxonomic authors attempt to fully justify any changes made methods and species limits; this is followed by to the original 1994 list, I will leave it to the reader the species list arranged at the ordinal and family to decide whether the authors have achieved their levels, along with common names. Twelve pages mandate of not being innovative. Nevertheless, follow discussing the major avian issue of the day, there has been many changes in the 14 years since namely the higher-level systematics of the birds. the earlier volume. Review 55 Higher-level Innovations affect us as New Zealanders and I will not dwell on The treatment of orders in this volume will them: the Kalkadoon grasswren is separated from be surprising to those who sensibly avoid the the dusky grasswren; the short-tailed grasswren arcane literature of systematics. The non-ratites is separated from striated grasswren; the western (Neognathae) are treated as either Galloanseres (the wattlebird is separated from little wattlebird and ducks and Galliformes) or Neoaves (the rest) based the Arafura fantail is spit from the rufous fantail; on numerous studies in the last 10 years. The authors the Kimberley honeyeater is separated from white- are, I believe, the first to use the “super-Orders” lined honeyeater; the Pacific robin of South Pacific Metaves (pigeons, nightjars, swifts, grebes and islands is split from the Australian mainland’s flamingos) and Coronaves (the rest) in a checklist scarlet robin and the buff-sided robin is separated to define two major groupings in the Neoaves. This from white-browed robin. treatment was certainly supported by early DNA Accepting overseas usages analysis (i.e., Fain & Houde 2004) but its adoption Many species in this volume have changed may have been premature as a recent paper (Hackett classification due to schisms in the international et al. 2008) failed to support it. Other innovations in status quo: eastern osprey Pandion cristatus has this volume include the separation of tropic-birds been separated from Eurasian osprey P. haliaetus into the separate order Phaethoniformes at the base and the Australian swiftlet Aerodromus terraereginae of the Neoaves, the splitting of the Falconiformes is separated from the south-western Pacific’s white- (falcons) from the Accipitriformes (hawks), the rumped swiftlet A. spodiopygius; the Austronesian lumping of the Pelecaniformes (pelicans and shags) pale-vented bush-hen Amauronis moluccana is with the Ciconiiformes (herons, etc.), and the separated from the Philippine A. olivacea; the placement of the Podicepiformes (grebes) with the Austro-Pacific eastern grass owl Tyto longimembris Phoenicopteriformes (flamingos). is separated from the African grass owl T. capensis; Species-level Innovations the Australian logrunner Orthonyx temmincki is Christmas Island separated from the New Guinean O. novaeguineae These changes emphasise the biogeographic and the Australasian figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti separation of Christmas Island from the rest of is separated from the extralimital S. viridis and S. Australia and thus questions the usefulness of hypoleucus. The pipits and wagtails receive rather national checklists which treat a few species as interesting treatment, with the green-headed “Australian” whilst their nearest relatives are in yellow wagtail Motacilla taivana separated from Indonesia. At the species level, the Christmas yellow wagtail Moticilla tschutschensis (now known Island hawk-owl has been recognized as a separate as eastern yellow wagtail) whilst the black-backed species from the Moluccan hawk-owl. Two wagtail (Motacilla lugens) is lumped back with white species that breed on Christmas Island have been wagtail (Motacillla alba). This treatment is troubling recognized as belonging to different species from as members of the flava group of yellow wagtails their counterparts on the mainland: the Christmas are known to have extensive hybridization yet are Island taxon of Collocalia, formally recognized as still treated as full species while the Motacillla alba a subspecies of glossy swiftlet C. exculenta, is now group have been lumped based on the fact that recognised as a sub-species of the Indonesian they do interbreed. The inconsistent treatment of cave swift (C. linchi; referred to in this volume as Moticilla is, however, not the fault of the authors Linchi swiftlet) and the Christmas Island taxon of of this volume but an issue systematicists in the Accipiter, formally recognized as a subspecies of northern hemisphere must grapple with. All I ask brown goshawk A. fasciatus, is now recognized as for is consistency! a sub-species of the Indonesian variable goshawk So what does this mean to New Zealanders? (A. hiogaster). As New Zealand’s nearest relative, Australia is Stirring the Australian soup the source of most of our vagrants. Many of these A few of the “splits” in this book are essentially a vagrants have altered their classification. The product of Schodde & Mason’s (1999) seminal work authors recognise the rare vagrant Australasian in “The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines” darter Anhinga novaehollandiae as separate from the combined with Christidis and colleagues ongoing old world darters A. melanogaster and A. rufa; they DNA work, and are very much associated with the recognize the Australian little bittern Ixobrychus uniform use of a more phylogenetic species concept dubia (which has occurred once in New Zealand) (note the use of a lower case here). These do not as separate from the widespread little bittern I. 56 Review minutus; they recognize the eastern great egret of samples. I believe the merger of these species Egretta modesta (that we rather unimaginatively to be premature as species limits in penguins are call white heron) as separate from the widespread extremely contentious.
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