Phalacrocorax

Double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed by Larry Thompson.

Belongs within: Sulida.

Phalacrocorax is a genus of cormorants or shags. There is no formal distinction between these names though there has been a historical tendency for the name 'cormorant' to apply to freshwater forms and 'shag' to marine birds. However, this usage has not been invariable and many species may be found in either habitat.

The circumscription of Phalacrocorax varies significantly between authors. Some would use it to cover all or almost all shags whereas others restrict it to the larger black-footed species related to the great cormorant P. carbo. A group of southern species with pink feet and white venters, including the imperial shag P. atriceps and the guanay cormorant P. bougainvillii, is often separated as the genus Leucocarbo.

<==Phalacrocorax Brisson 1760 CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |--P. gaimardi BKB15 [=P. (Sticticarbo) gaimardi HD09]
    `--+--+--P. melanoleucos (Vieillot 1817) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |  |    |--P. m. melanoleucos (see below for synonymy) CC10
       |  |    |--P. m. brevicauda Mayr 1931 CC10
       |  |    `--P. m. brevirostris Gould 1837 (see below for synonymy) CC10
       |  `--P. pygmaeus (Pallas 1773) BKB15, CS77 (see below for synonymy)
       `--+--+--P. aristotelis (Linnaeus 1761) BKB15, M02 (see below for synonymy)
          |  |    |--P. a. aristotelis CS77
          |  |    |--P. a. desmarestii (Payraudeau 1826) CS77
          |  |    `--P. a. riggenbachi Hartert 1923 CS77
          |  `--+--+--P. penicillatus BKB15
          |     |  `--+--P. urile (Gmelin 1789) BKB15, I92
          |     |     `--+--P. capillatus BKB15
          |     |        `--P. pelagicus BKB15
          |     `--+--P. neglectus BKB15
          |        `--+--P. nigrogularis Ogilvie-Grant & Forbes 1899 BKB15, CS77
          |           `--+--+--*P. carbo (Linnaeus 1758) CC10, BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |              |  |    |--P. c. carbo CC10
          |              |  |    |--P. c. hanedae Kuroda 1925 CC10
          |              |  |    |--P. c. lucidus (Lichtenstein 1823) CC10 [incl. P. carbo patricki Williams 1966 CS77]
          |              |  |    |--P. c. lugubris Rüppell 1845 CC10
          |              |  |    |--P. c. maroccanus Hartert 1906 CC10
          |              |  |    |--P. c. novaehollandiae Stephens in Shaw 1826 CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |              |  |    `--P. c. sinensis (Blumenbach 1798) CC10
          |              |  `--P. capensis BKB15
          |              `--+--+--P. featherstoni Buller 1873 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |                 |  `--P. punctatus (Sparrman 1786) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |                 |       |--P. p. punctatus (see below for synonymy) CC10
          |                 |       `--P. p. oliveri Mathews 1931 (see below for synonymy) CC10
          |                 `--+--P. sulcirostris (Brandt 1837) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |                    `--+--P. fuscescens (Vieillot 1817) BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
          |                       `--P. varius (Gmelin 1789) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |                            |--P. v. varius CC10 (see below for synonymy)
          |                            |--P. v. hypoleucos (Brandt 1837) [=Carbo hypoleucos] CC10
          |                            `--P. v. nitidus Serventy 1940 WS48
          `--+--+--P. atriceps (King 1828) BKB15, R85 [=Leucocarbo atriceps R85, *Notocarbo atriceps CC10]
             |  |    |--P. a. atriceps M03
             |  |    `--'Leucocarbo’ a. nivalis M03
             |  `--+--P. harrisi BKB15
             |     `--+--P. auritus (Lesson 1831) BKB15, CC10 [=Carbo auritus CC10, Graucalus auritus CC10]
             |        `--P. brasilianus BKB15
             `--+--P. magellanicus (Gmelin 1789) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                `--+--P. bougainvillii BKB15 [=Carbo bougainvillii CC10, *Leucocarbo bougainvillii CC10, HD09]
                   `--+--P. ranfurlyi Ogilvie-Grant 1901 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                      |--+--P. albiventer BKB15 [=P. (Leucocarbo) albiventer HD09]
                      |  |--P. georgianus BKB15
                      |  `--P. purpurascens (Brandt 1837) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                      `--+--+--P. campbelli (Filhol 1878) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                         |  `--P. colensoi Buller 1888 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                         `--+--P. chalconotus (Gray 1845) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                            `--P. onslowi Forbes 1893 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)

Phalacrocorax incertae sedis:
  P. africanus (Gmelin 1788) [=Pelecanus africanus, Graculus africanus] CC10
    |--P. a. africanus CS77
    `--P. a. pictilis Bangs 1918 CS77
  P. carunculatus (Gmelin 1789) JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
  P. coronatus (Wahlberg 1855) CS77
  P. filamentosus T89
  P. fuscicollis JT12
  P. gouldi HD09
  P. ibericus Villalta 1963 [=P. ibericum] M02
  P. imperialis King 1831 CC10
  P. intermedius (Milne-Edwards 1867) (see below for synonymy) M02
  P. lautus Kuročkin & Ganea 1972 M02
  ‘Hydrocorax’ leucogaster Vieillot 1817 [=Carbo leucogaster, Graculus leucogaster] CC10
  P. littoralis (Milne-Edwards 1863) [=Graculus littoralis, *Oligocorax littoralis] M02
  P. longipes (Tugarinov 1940) [=*Pliocarbo longipes] M02
  P. niger JT12 [incl. Carbo javanicus CC10, *Graculus javanicus CC10]
  P. nycthemerus Cabanis 1855 (n. d.) CC10
  P. olivaceus M03
  P. perspicillatus FP64
  P. serdicensis Burčak-Abramovič & Nikolov 1984 M02
  P. verrucosus [=P. (Leucocarbo) verrucosus] HD09
  P. vigua S18
  P. wetmorei FP64

Nomen nudum: Carbo risgoviensis Fraas in Engel 1908 [=Phalacrocorax risgoviensis] M02

Phalacrocorax Brisson 1760 CC10 [=Carbo Lacépède 1799 CC10, Ecmeles Gistel 1848 CC10, Gracalus Gray 1845 CC10, Graucalus Gray 1841 non Cuvier 1816 CC10, Haliaeus Schinz 1825 CC10, Halieus Illiger 1811 CC10, Hydrocorax Vieillot 1816 non Brisson 1760 CC10; incl. Botaurites Ammon 1918 M02, Enygrotheres Heine & Reichenow 1890 CC10, Euleucocarbo Voisin 1973 CC10, Graculus Reichenbach 1850 CC10, Halietor Heine 1860 CC10, Hypoleucus Reichenbach 1853 CC10, Leucocarbo Bonaparte 1857 CC10, Microcarbo Bonaparte 1856 CC10, Nesocarbo Voisin 1973 CC10, Notocarbo Siegel-Causey 1988 CC10, Oligocorax Brodkorb 1952 M02, Paracorax Lambrecht 1933 M02, Pliocarbo Tugarinov 1940 M02, Stictocarbo Bonaparte 1855 CC10; Carboninae, Halieinae, Phalacrocoracinae]

Phalacrocorax aristotelis (Linnaeus 1761) BKB15, M02 [=Pelecanus aristotelis M02; incl. Ph. destefanii Regàlia 1902 M02, *Paracorax destefanii M02, Ph. destefani M02]

Phalacrocorax campbelli (Filhol 1878) BKB15, CC10 [=Urile campbelli CC10, Hypoleucus campbelli CC10, Leucocarbo (*Nesocarbo) campbelli CC10, Phalacrocorax carunculatus campbelli CC10]

*Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus 1758) CC10, BKB15, CC10 [=Pelecanus carbo CC10, *Carbo carbo CC10, *Ecmeles carbo CC10, Graculus carbo CC10, *Graucalus carbo CC10, *Halieus carbo CC10, *Hydrocorax carbo CC10]

Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae Stephens in Shaw 1826 CC10 [=Gaculus (l. c.) novaehollandiae CC10; incl. Ph. carboides Gould 1838 CC10, Gracalus carboides CC10, Graculus carboides CC10, Graucalus carboides CC10, Pelecanus carboides CC10, Phalacrocorax novaehollandiae carboides CC10, Pe. major Ellman 1861 CC10, Ph. novaezealandiae var. major Forbes 1892 CC10, Carbo carbo steadi Mathews & Iredale 1913 CC10, Ph. novaehollandiae steadi CC10, C. carbo westralis Mathews 1912 WS48]

Phalacrocorax carunculatus (Gmelin 1789) JT12, CC10 [=Pelecanus carunculatus CC10, Graculus carunculatus CC10, Graucalus carunculatus CC10, Hypoleucus carunculatus CC10, Leucocarbo (*Euleucocarbo) carunculatus CC10; incl. Pe. cirrhatus Gmelin 1789 CC10, Gracalus cirrhatus CC10, Graculus cirrhatus CC10, Graucalus cirrhatus CC10, Hydrocorax cirratus CC10, Pelecanus cirratus CC10, Phalacrocorax cirrhatus CC10, Ph. finschii Buller 1876 non Sharpe 1875 CC10]

Phalacrocorax chalconotus (Gray 1845) BKB15, CC10 [=Gracalus chalconotus CC10, Euleucocarbo chalconotus CC10, Graculus chalconotus CC10, Hypoleucus chalconotus CC10, Phalacrocorax (Leucocarbo) carunculatus chalconotus CC10; incl. Graculus glaucus Riechenbach 1850 CC10, Phalacrocorax glaucus CC10, Ph. huttoni Buller 1888 CC10, H. huttoni CC10, Ph. stewarti Ogilvie-Grant 1898 CC10, Hypoleucus campbelli stewarti CC10, Ph. (Leucocarbo) stewarti HD09]

Phalacrocorax colensoi Buller 1888 BKB15, CC10 [=Phalacrocorax colensoi CC10, Euleucocarbo colensoi CC10, Hypoleucus campbelli colensoi CC10, Phalacrocorax (Leucocarbo) campbelli colensoi CC10, P. carunculatus colensoi CC10]

Phalacrocorax featherstoni Buller 1873 BKB15, CC10 [=Graculus featherstoni CC10, Leucocarbo featherstoni CC10, Phalacrocorax (Stictocarbo) punctatus featherstoni CC10]

Phalacrocorax fuscescens (Vieillot 1817) BKB15, WS48 [=Hydrocorax fuscescens WS48; incl. Carbo gouldi tunneyi Mathews 1912 WS48]

Phalacrocorax intermedius (Milne-Edwards 1867) [=Graculus intermedius, Miocorax intermedius; incl. *Botaurites avitus Ammon 1918, Ardea brunhuberi Ammon 1918, Phalacrocorax brunhuberi, P. praecarbo Ammon 1918] M02

Phalacrocorax magellanicus (Gmelin 1789) BKB15, CC10 [=Pelecanus magellanicus CC10, Ph. (Leucocarbo) magellanicus HD09]

Phalacrocorax melanoleucos (Vieillot 1817) BKB15, CC10 [=Hydrocorax melanoleucos CC10, Gracalus melanoleucos CC10, Graculus melanoleucos CC10, Microcarbo melanoleucos CC10, Phalacrocorax melanoleucus CC10]

Phalacrocorax melanoleucos brevirostris Gould 1837 [=Carbo brevirostris, Gracalus brevirostris, Graculus brevirostris, Haliaeus brevirostris, Halietor melanoleucos brevirostris, Halieus brevirostris, Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris; incl. Phalacrocorax finschii Sharpe 1875, Graculus finschi, Carbo flavagula Peale 1848] CC10

Phalacrocorax melanoleucos melanoleucos (Vieillot 1817) [incl. Ph. flavirhynchus Gould 1838, Graucalus flavirostris Gray in Dieffenbach 1843, Pelecanus flavirostris, Phalacrocorax flavirostris] CC10

Phalacrocorax onslowi Forbes 1893 BKB15, CC10 [=Euleucocarbo onslow CC10, Hypoleucus carunculatus onslowi CC10, Leucocarbo onslowi CC10, Phalacrocorax (Leucocarbo) carunculatus onslowi CC10; incl. P. rothschildi Forbes 1893 CC10]

Phalacrocorax punctatus (Sparrman 1786) BKB15, CC10 [=Pelicanus (l. c.) punctatus CC10, *Enygrotheres punctatus CC10, Gracalus puncatus CC10, Graculus punctatus CC10, Graucalus punctatus CC10, Leucocarbo punctatus CC10, *Stictocarbo punctatus CC10]

Phalacrocorax punctatus oliveri Mathews 1931 [=Leucocarbo punctatus oliveri, Stictocarbo punctatus oliveri, S. steadi Oliver 1930 non Carbo carbo steadi Mathews & Iredale 1913, Phalacrocorax (Stictocarbo) punctatus steadi] CC10

Phalacrocorax punctatus punctatus (Sparrman 1786) [incl. Hydrocorax dilophus Vieillot 1817, Pelecanus naevius Gmelin 1789, Graculus naevius, Phalacrocorax naevius, Stictocarbo punctatus sassi Mathews 1930] CC10

Phalacrocorax purpurascens (Brandt 1837) BKB15, CC10 [=Carbo purpurascens CC10, Hypoleucus atriceps purpurascens CC10, Leucocarbo atriceps purpurascens CC10, Notocarbo purpurascens HWT01, Phalacrocorax (Leucocarbo) albiventer purpurascens CC10, P. atriceps purpurascens CC10; incl. P. traversi Rothschild 1898 CC10, Hypoleucus carunculatus traversi CC10, P. atriceps traversi CC10, P. (Leucocarbo) traversi HD09]

Phalacrocorax pygmaeus (Pallas 1773) BKB15, CS77 [=Pelecanus pygmaeus CC10, *Halietor pygmaeus CC10, *Microcarbo pygmaeus CC10]

Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi Ogilvie-Grant 1901 BKB15, CC10 [=Euleucocarbo ranfurlyi CC10, Hypoleucus campbelli ranfurlyi CC10, Leucocarbo ranfurlyi CC10, Phalacrocorax (Leucocarbo) campbelli ranfurlyi CC10, P. carunculatus ranfurlyi CC10]

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris (Brandt 1837) BKB15, CC10 [=Carbo sulcirostris CC10, Graculus sulcirostris CC10; incl. C. purpuragula Peale 1848 CC10, Mesocarbo ater purpuragula CC10, Me. sulcirostris purpuragula CC10, Phalacrocorax purpuragula CC10, Microcarbo stictocephalus Bonaparte 1857 CC10, Graculus stictocephalus CC10]

Phalacrocorax varius (Gmelin 1789) BKB15, CC10 [=Pelecanus varius CC10, Gracalus varius CC10, Graculus varius CC10, Graucalus varius CC10, *Hypoleucus varius CC10]

Phalacrocorax varius varius (Gmelin 1789) CC10 [incl. Carbo fucosus Peale 1848 CC10, C. varius perthi Mathews 1912 WS48, Pelecanus pica Forster in Lichtenstein 1844 CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[HWT01] Holdaway, R. N., T. H. Worthy & A. J. D. Tennyson. 2001. A working list of breeding bird species of the New Zealand region at first human contact. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 28: 119–187.

[HD09] Hutton, F. W., & J. Drummond. 1909. The Animals of New Zealand: An account of the Dominion's air-breathing vertebrates 3^rd ed. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[M03] Mayr, G. 2003. The phylogenetic affinities of the shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). Journal für Ornithologie 144: 157–175.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[R85] Robertson, C. J. R. (ed.) 1985. Reader’s Digest Complete Book of New Zealand Birds. Reader’s Digest: Sydney.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[T89] Takeshita, N. 1989. Nihon no Yachoo. Kogakukan: Tokyo.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 1 December 2021.

Threskiornithidae

African spoonbill Platalea alba, photographed by Callie de Wet.

Belongs within: Aequornithia.

The Threskiornithidae, ibises and spoonbills, are long-legged and -billed wading birds that generally feed on small invertebrates. Synapomorphies of the group include a schizorhinal beak with the proximal part of the maxilla dorsoventrally high below the narial openings, and at least three thoracic vertebrae fused to a notarium (Mayr 2002). Previous authors have recognised the ibises, with downcurved bills, as a separate subfamily (Threskiornithinae) from the spoonbills (Plataleinae) with straight and distinctly spatulate bills; however, the former may be paraphyletic to the latter. The Middle Eocene Rhynchaeites messelensis has a decurved beak like modern ibises but differs from crown-group threskiornithids in its relatively short tarsometatarsus and deeply excavated facies articularis scapularis on the coracoid (Mayr 2002).

The Old World spoonbills of the genus Platalea are mostly white in colouration whereas the roseate spoonbill Ajaja ajaja of the Americas is extensively coloured with pink. Among the ibises, the type genus Threskiornis includes the sacred ibises, a cluster of species with white plumage and featherless black heads and necks (T. aethiopicus, T. bernieri, T. melanocephalus and T. molucca). Authors differ on whether these should be treated as separate species or geographic races of a single species. The glossy ibises of the genus Plegadis have largely reddish-brown bodies and green wings.

<==Threskiornithidae [Ibididae, Ibidinae, Plataleidae, Plegadidae, Threskiornithes, Threskiornithoidea]
    |--Rhynchaeites Wittich 1899 JM14, Ml02 [incl. Plumumida Hoch 1980 Ml02; Rhychaeitinae]
    |    `--*R. messelensis Wittich 1898 Ml02, M05 [incl. *Plumumida lutetialis Hoch 1980 Ml02]
    `--Threskiornithinae [Plataleinae] Ma02
         |--‘Platalea’ minor Temminch & Schlegel 1849 BKB15, I92
         `--+--+--Eudocimus Wagler 1832 BKB15, B94 [Eudociminae]
            |  |    |--E. albus BKB15 [=Guara alba RN72a, Ibis albus B94]
            |  |    `--E. ruber BKB15 [=Guara rubra RN72a, Ibis rubra B66, I. rubus B94]
            |  `--Theristicus BKB15
            |       |--T. caerulescens BKB15
            |       |--T. caudatus BKB15
            |       `--T. hagedash K08
            `--+--+--‘Theristicus’ melanopis BKB15
               |  `--+--Phimosus Wagler 1832 BKB15, B94 [Phimosinae]
               |     |    `--P. infuscatus BKB15
               |     `--Geronticus Wagler 1832 JT12, Ml02 [Geronticinae]
               |          |--G. apelex Olson 1985 B93
               |          |--G. calvus JT12
               |          |--G. eremita (Linnaeus 1758) S05 (see below for synonymy)
               |          |--G. olivaceus D66
               |          |--G. perplexus (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Ardea perplexa, Proardea perplexa] Ml02
               |          `--G. spinicollis Scl66
               `--+--‘Platalea’ alba BKB15
                  `--+--Plegadis Kaup 1829 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                     |    |  i. s.: P. paganus (Milne-Edwards 1868) (see below for synonymy) Ml02
                     |    |--P. ridgwayi JT12
                     |    `--+--*P. falcinellus (Linnaeus 1766) CC10, JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                     |       `--P. chihi JT12
                     `--+--‘Platalea’ ajaja Linnaeus 1758 JT12, L58
                        `--+--Nipponia nippon (Temminck 1835) BKB15, I92
                           `--+--Platalea Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                              |    |--*P. leucorodia Linnaeus 1758 CC10, Ml02
                              |    |    |--P. l. leucorodia CS77
                              |    |    |--P. l. archeri Neumann 1928 CS77
                              |    |    `--P. l. balsaci de Naurois & Roux 1974 CS77
                              |    |--P. flavipes Gould 1838 [=*Platibis flavipes] CC10
                              |    |--P. pygmea Linnaeus 1758 L58
                              |    |--P. regia Gould 1838 (see below for synonymy) CC10
                              |    `--P. telfairi Sch66
                              `--Threskiornis Gray 1842 JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                                   |--*T. aethiopicus (Latham 1790) B94 (see below for synonymy)
                                   |--T. bernieri JT12
                                   |    |--T. b. bernieri HSS13
                                   |    `--T. b. abbotti HSS13
                                   |--T. melanocephalus (Latham 1790) I92
                                   |--T. molucca (Cuvier 1829) [=Ibis molucca] CC10
                                   |    |--T. m. molucca CC10
                                   |    `--T. m. strictipennis (Gould 1838) (see below for synonymy) CC10
                                   |--T. solitarius HSS13
                                   `--T. spinicollis (Jameson 1835) (see below for synonymy) CC10

Threskiornithidae incertae sedis:
  Ajaja ajaja FP64
  Bostrychia JT12
    |--B. bocagei JT12
    |--B. carunculata (Rüppell 1837) [=Ibis carunculata] S05
    |--B. hagedash JT12
    |--B. olivacea JT12
    `--B. rara JT12
  Comatibus eremita RN72b
  Thaumatibis gigantea JT12
  Pseudibis JT12
    |--P. davisoni JT12 [=P. papillosa davisoni SU93]
    `--P. papillosa JT12
  Hagedashia hagedash M03
    |--H. h. hagedash PB27
    `--H. h. nilotica PB27
  Lophotibis cristata JT12
  Harpiprion EA06
    |--H. caerulescens EA06
    `--H. cayennensis S18
  Borbonibis latipes FS01
  Protibis cnemialis Ameghino 1891 A94
  Cercibis oxycerca JT12
  Mesembrinibis cayennensis JT12
  Actiornis Lydekker 1891 M09, Ml02
    `--*A. anglicus Lydekker 1891 Ml02
  Minggangia changgouensis Hou 1982 M09

Geronticus eremita (Linnaeus 1758) S05 [=Upupa eremita Ml02; incl. G. balcanicus Boev 1998 Ml02, Ibis comata Rüppell 1837 (n. n.) S05, G. comatus Rüppell 1845 S05]

Platalea Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [incl. Platibis Bonaparte 1855 CC10, Spatherodia Reichenbach 1852 CC10]

Platalea regia Gould 1838 [=P. leucorodia regia, Spatherodia regia; incl. P. intermedia Ogilvie-Grant 1889, Ardea latirostrum Ellman 1861, P. melanorhynchos Reichenbach 1845, P. melanorhyncha, *Spatherodia melanorhynchus, P. regia stalkeri Mathews 1912] CC10

Plegadis Kaup 1829 BKB15, CC10 [=Plegadornis Brehm 1855 CC10, Tantalides Wagler 1832 CC10; incl. Egatheus Lönnberg 1906 non Billberg 1828 CC10, Falcinellus Vieillot 1816 B94, Milnea Lydekker 1891 non Reichenbach 1866 Ml02; Falcinellinae, Plegadinae]

*Plegadis falcinellus (Linnaeus 1766) CC10, JT12, CC10 [=Tantalus falcinellus CC10, *Plegadornis falcinellus CC10, *Tantalides falcinellus CC10; incl. *Egatheus autumnalis CC10, Ibis peregrina Bonaparte 1855 CC10, Plegadis falcinellus peregrinus CC10, P. falcinellus rogersi Mathews 1916 CC10]

Plegadis paganus (Milne-Edwards 1868) [=Ibis pagana, Actiornis pagana, Eudocimus paganus; incl. *Milnea gracilis Lydekker 1891] Ml02

Threskiornis Gray 1842 JT12, CC10 [=Ibis Cuvier 1816 non Lacépède 1799 B94; incl. Carphibis Reichenbach 1853 CC10, Setibis Bonaparte 1856 CC10]

*Threskiornis aethiopicus (Latham 1790) B94 [=Tantalus aethiopicus CC10, *Ibis aethiopicus B94]

Threskiornis molucca strictipennis (Gould 1838) [=Ibis strictipennis, I. molucca strictipennis, T. aethiopica strictipennis] CC10

Threskiornis spinicollis (Jameson 1835) [=Ibis spinicollis, *Carphibis spinicollis, *Setibis spinicollis; incl. I. australis Jardine & Selby 1837, C. spinicollis fitzroi Mathews 1912, I. lamellicollis Lafresnaye 1836] CC10

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A94] Ameghino, F. 1894. Sur les oiseaux fossiles de Patagonie et la aune mammalogique des couches a Pyrotherium. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino 15 (11–12): 501–602.

[B66] Bartlett, A. D. 1866. Notes on the breeding of several species of birds in the Society's gardens during the year 1865. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 76–79.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[B93] Brooke, R. K. 1993. Annotated catalogue of the Aves type specimens in the South African Museum. Annals of the South African Museum 102 (10): 327–349.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[D66] Dohrn, H. 1866. Synopsis of the birds of Ilha do Principe, with some remarks on their habits and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 324–332.

[EA06] Ericson, P. G. P., C. L. Anderson, T. Britton, A. Elzanowski, U. S. Johansson, M. Källersjö, J. I. Ohlson, T. J. Parsons, D. Zuccon & G. Mayr. 2006. Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils. Biology Letters 2 (4): 543–547.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[FS01] Flannery, T., & P. Schouten. 2001. A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Text Publishing: Melbourne.

[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World's Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JM14] Jarvis, E. D., S. Mirarab, A. J. Aberer, B. Li, P. Houde, C. Li, S. Y. W. Ho, B. C. Faircloth, B. Nabholz, J. T. Howard, A. Suh, C. C. Weber, R. R. de Fonseca, J. Li, F. Zhang, H. Li, L. Zhou, N. Narula, L. Liu, G. Ganapathy, B. Boussau, M. S. Bayzid, V. Zavidovych, S. Subramanian, T. Gabaldón, S. Capella-Gutiérrez, J. Huerta-Cepas, B. Rekepalli, K. Munch, M. Schierup, B. Lindow, W. C. Warren, D. Ray, R. E. Green, M. W. Bruford, X. Zhan, A. Dixon, S. Li, N. Li, Y. Huang, E. P. Derryberry, M. F. Bertelsen, F. H. Sheldon, R. T. Brumfield, C. V. Mello, P. V. Lovell, M. Wirthlin, M. P. Cruz Schneider, F. Prosdocimi, J. A. Samaniego, A. M. Vargas Velazquez, A. Alfaro-Núñez, P. F. Campos, B. Petersen, T. Sitcheritz-Ponten, A. Pas, T. Bailey, P. Scofield, M. Bunce, D. M. Lambert, Q. Zhou, P. Perelman, A. C. Driskell, B. Shapiro, Z. Xiong, Y. Zeng, S. Liu, Z. Li, B. Liu, K. Wu, J. Xiao, X. Yinqi, Q. Zheng, Y. Zhang, H. Yang, J. Wang, L. Smeds, F. E. Rheindt, M. Braun, J. Fjeldså, L. Orlando, F. K. Barker, K. A. Jønsson, W. Johnson, K.-P. Koepfli, S. O'Brien, D. Haussler, O. A. Ryder, C. Rahbek, E. Willerslev, G. R. Graves, T. C. Glenn, J. McCormack, D. Burt, H. Ellegren, P. Alström, S. V. Edwards, A. Stamatakis, D. P. Mindell, J. Cracraft, E. L. Braun, T. Warnow, W. Jun, M. T. P. Gilbert & G. Zhang. 2014. Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346 (6215): 1320–1331.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[K08] Kellogg, V. L. 1908. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den Umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905–1906 vol. 15. Corrodentia pt 4. Mallophaga. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri-A. B.: Uppsala.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[Ma02] Mayr, G. 2002. A contribution to the osteology of the Middle Eocene ibis Rhynchaeites messelensis (Aves: Threskiornithidae: Rhynchaeitinae nov. subfam.). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie—Monatshefte 2002: 501–512.

[M03] Mayr, G. 2003. The phylogenetic affinities of the shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). Journal für Ornithologie 144: 157–175.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

[Ml02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[RN72a] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972a. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. Blandford Press: London.

[RN72b] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972b. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

[Sch66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[Scl66] Sclater, P. L. 1866. Notice of recent additions to the Society's menagerie. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 418–419.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[SU93] Sonobe, K., & S. Usui (eds.) 1993. A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia. Wild Bird Society of Japan: Tokyo.

[S05] Steinheimer, F. D. 2005. Eduard Rüppel’s avian types at the Natural History Museum, Tring (Aves). Senckenbergiana Biologica 85 (2): 233–264.

Last updated: 1 December 2021.

Pelecanidae

Great white pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus, photographed by Hamed Saber.

Belongs within: Aequornithia.

The Pelecanidae includes the pelicans, distinctive large fishing birds with elongate bills subtended by an expansive gular pouch. Pelicans use this pouch to scoop up water containing fish, straining it out and then swallowing their prey. All living species are included in the genus Pelecanus, with other genera potentially recognised from the fossil record. Among modern pelicans, the brown pelican P. occidentalis and Peruvian pelican P. thagus of the Americas are dark in coloration and capture prey by plunge-diving for prey. The remaining species are mostly white or grey and usually catch fish while swimming on the water's surface. The Australian pelican P. conspicillatus is extensively black on the wings, rump and tail. The American white pelican P. erythrorhynchos develops a laterally flattened horn on the upper surface of the bill during the breeding season that is shed after mating.

<==Pelecanidae [Pelecanida, Pelecanoidea, Pelicanea, Pelicanidae]
    |--Liptornis Ameghino 1894 A94
    |    `--*L. hesternus Ameghino 1894 A94
    `--Pelecanus Linnaeus 1758 CC10 [incl. Catoptropelecanus Reichenbach 1853 CC10, Miopelecanus Cheneval 1984 M02]
         |  i. s.: P. gracilis Milne-Edwards 1863 M11, M02 [=*Miopelecanus gracilis M02]
         |         P. intermedius Fraas 1870 [=Miopelecanus intermedius; incl. P. fraasi Lydekker 1891] M02
         |         P. odessanus Vidgal’m 1886 M02
         |         P. philippensis JT12 [incl. P. roseus Gmelin 1789 CS77, P. onocrotalus roseus RN72]
         |         P. rufescens Gmelin 1789 CS77
         |         P. thagus JT12
         |--P. conspicillatus Temminck 1824 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
         `--+--P. occidentalis BKB15
            |    |--P. o. occidentalis E52
            |    `--P. o. carolinensis E52
            `--+--P. erythrorhynchos BKB15
               `--+--*P. onocrotalus Linnaeus 1758 CC10, BKB15, S05 [incl. P. minor Rüppell 1837 non Gmelin 1789 S05]
                  `--P. crispus Bruch 1832 BKB15, CS77

Pelecanus conspicillatus Temminck 1824 BKB15, CC10 [=Catoptropelecanus conspicillatus CC10; incl. P. australis Stephens in Shaw 1826 CC10, P. conspicillatus novaezealandiae Scarlett 1966 CC10, *Catoptropelecanus perspicillatus Reichenbach 1853 CC10, P. proavus De Vis 1892 CC10, P. spectabilis Salvado 1851 WS48, P. conspicillatus westralis Mathews 1912 CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A94] Ameghino, F. 1894. Sur les oiseaux fossiles de Patagonie et la aune mammalogique des couches a Pyrotherium. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino 15 (11–12): 501–602.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[E52] Eisenmann, E. 1952. Annotated list of birds of Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 117 (5): 1–62.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[M11] Mayr, G. 2011. Cenozoic mystery birds—on the phylogenetic affinities of the bony-toothed birds (Pelagornithidae). Zoologica Scripta 40: 448–467.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. London, Blandford Press.

[S05] Steinheimer, F. D. 2005. Eduard Rüppel’s avian types at the Natural History Museum, Tring (Aves). Senckenbergiana Biologica 85 (2): 233–264.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 27 November 2021.

Ardea

Great blue heron Ardea herodias, photographed by Walter Siegmund.

Belongs within: Ardeidae.

The genus Ardea contains the larger herons. Ardea species are generally (but not always) darker than the egrets of the genus Egretta, and lack powder down patches on the thighs. They are generally solitary nesters. Authors have differed over the assignment of some herons species to Ardea or to related genera such as Egretta, but the core members of Ardea include species related to the grey heron A. cinerea and the purple heron A. purpurea. The grey heron is widely distributed in Eurasia and Africa; it is mostly white on the head, neck and underparts, and grey on the back, with a black superciliary stripe on the head leading to a thin black crest. The similarly distributed (though not spreading as far north) purple heron has a darker grey back and chestnut hindneck.

<==Ardea Linnaeus 1758 [=Ardaea Dumont in Levrault 1804; incl. Myola Mathews 1913] CC10
    |--A. pacifica Latham 1802 JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |--A. purpurea Linnaeus 1766 BKB15, CS77
    |    |--A. p. purpurea CS77
    |    |--A. p. bournei de Naurois 1966 CS77
    |    |--A. p. madagascariensis van Oort 1910 CS77
    |    `--A. p. manilensis Meyen 1834 CS77
    `--+--A. herodias Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CS77
       |    |--A. h. herodias S18
       |    `--A. h. lessonii S18
       `--+--*A. cinerea Linnaeus 1758 CC10, BKB15, CC10
          |    |--A. c. cinerea CC10
          |    |--A. c. firasa Hartert 1917 CS77
          |    |--A. c. jouyi Clark 1907 CC10 [incl. A. altirostris Mees 1971 CS77]
          |    `--A. c. monicae Jouanin & Roux 1963 CS77
          `--A. cocoi BKB15

Ardea incertae sedis:
  A. aequinoctialis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. agami [incl. Agamia picta] SS66
  A. americana Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. antigone Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. atricapilla S66
  A. atricollis S66
  A. aurelianensis Milne-Edwards 1871 M02
  A. caerulea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. canadensis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. goliath Cretzschmar 1826 CS77
  A. humbloti JT12
  A. imperialis SU93
  A. insignis JT12
  A. leucoptera [incl. A. idae] S66
  A. maculata Gmelin 1789 [=Ardetta maculata] CC10
  A. melanocephala Vigors & Children 1826 CS77
  A. modesta Gray 1831 (see below for synonymy) CC10
  A. nivea Gmelin 1770 CC10
  A. occidentalis RN72
  A. pavonina Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. picata Gould 1845 JT12, WS48 [=A. (Herodias) picata WS48, Notophoyx picata WS48]
  A. piveteaui Brunet 1970 M02
  A. rectirostris Gould 1843 [=A. cinerea rectirostris] CC10
  A. rupeliensis Beneden 1873 M02
  A. schistacea S66
  A. sturmi [=Ardetta sturmi] K08
  A. sumatrana Raffles 1822 WS48
    |--A. s. sumatrana WS48
    `--A. s. mathewsae Mathews 1912 [incl. A. s. gilberti Mathews 1912] WS48
  A. violacea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. virescens Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. virgo Linnaeus 1758 L58

Nomina nuda: Ardea effosa Meyer in Lepsius 1883 M02
             A. latipes Meyer in Lepsius 1883 M02

Ardea modesta Gray 1831 [=A. alba modesta, Egretta alba modesta; incl. A. alba Ellman 1861 non Linnaeus 1758, Herodias alba maoriana Mathews & Iredale 1913, Casmerodius albus maorianus, Egretta alba neglecta Mathews 1912, Ardea putea Franklin 1831, Herodias syrmatophorus Gould 1846, A. syrmatophora, Egretta alba syrmatophora, Herodias alba syrmatophora, Ardea timoriensis Lesson 1831, H. timoriensis, A. torra Franklin 1831] CC10

Ardea pacifica Latham 1802 JT12, CC10 [=*Myola pacifica CC10, Notophoyx pacifica CC10, Ardea bullaragang Wagler 1827 CC10, A. bullaranjaus CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[K08] Kellogg, V. L. 1908. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den Umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905–1906 vol. 15. Corrodentia pt 4. Mallophaga. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri-A. B.: Uppsala.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. London, Blandford Press.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. On some additions to the catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Ucayali. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 566–567.

[SU93] Sonobe, K., & S. Usui (eds.) 1993. A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia. Wild Bird Society of Japan: Tokyo.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 27 November 2021.

Egretta

Little egret Egretta garzetta, from here.

Belongs within: Ardeidae.

Egretta, the egrets, is a genus of colonially-breeding herons known for the feathery plumes that they grow in the breeding season. They also possess powder-down patches on the thighs in addition to those on the breast and rump (Heather & Robertson 1996). Many egrets are white in colouration but the genus also includes darker-coloured species such as the white-faced heron Egretta novaehollandiae and the little blue heron E. caerulea. The Pacific reef heron E. sacra has both white and dark forms, as does the reddish egret E. rufescens of the northern Neotropical region. The tricoloured heron E. tricolor has a blue-grey head, neck and back and a white belly.

<==Egretta Forster 1817 (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |--+--E. caerulea JT12
    |  `--+--E. rufescens JT12
    |     `--E. tricolor JT12
    `--+--E. novaehollandiae (Latham 1790) JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |    |--E. n. novaehollandiae CC10
       |    `--E. n. nana CC10 [=Ardea novaehollandiae nana HR96]
       `--+--E. eulophotes (Swinhoe 1860) JT12, I92
          `--+--*E. garzetta (Linnaeus 1766) CC10, JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |    |--E. g. garzetta CC10
             |    |--E. g. dimorpha Hartert 1914 CS77
             |    |--E. g. immaculata (Gould 1846) (see below for synonymy) CC10
             |    `--E. g. nigripes (Temminck 1840) [=Ardea nigripes] CC10
             `--E. thula JT12

Egretta incertae sedis:
  E. ardesiaca JT12
  E. candidissima S18 [=Garzetta candidissima SS66]
  ‘Herodias’ egretta S18
  E. gularis (Bosc 1792) [=Ardea gularis] CS77
    |--E. g. gularis CS77
    `--E. g. schistacea (Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1828) CS77 [=E. garzetta schistacea SU93]
  ‘Herodias’ pacifica N87
  E. picata SU93
  E. sacra (Gmelin 1789) CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |--E. s. sacra (see below for synonymy) CC10
    `--E. s. albolineata CC10 [=Ardea albolineata S13, Herodias albolineata S13]
  E. vinaceigula JT12

Nomen nudum: Egretta brevipes Verr. & Murs 1862 S13

Egretta Forster 1817 [=Garzetta Kaup 1829, Erodias Brehm 1832, Erodius Macgillivray 1842 non Fabricius 1775, Herodias Boie 1822; incl. Demegretta Blyth 1852, Demiegretta Baird 1858, Demigretta Blyth 1846, Hemiegretta Bonaparte 1857, Notophoyx Sharpe 1895; Herodiini] CC10

*Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus 1766) CC10, JT12, CC10 [=Ardea garzetta CC10, *Garzetta garzetta CC10, *Herodias garzetta CC10; incl. A. elegans S66, A. xanthopoda S66]

Egretta garzetta immaculata (Gould 1846) [=Herodias immaculata; incl. E. garzetta kempi Mathews 1916, H. melanopus Gould 1865 non Ardea melanopus Wagler 1829] CC10

Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham 1790) JT12, CC10 [=Ardea novaehollandiae CC10, *Notophoyx novaehollandiae CC10, Ardea leucops Wagler 1827 CC10; incl. N. novaehollandiae parryi Mathews 1912 WS48]

Egretta sacra (Gmelin 1789) CC10 [=Ardea sacra CC10, A. (Herodias) sacra CC10, Demiegretta sacra CC10, Demigretta sacra CC10; incl. Demigretta matook carteri Mathews 1920 WS48, *Demiegretta concolor CC10, Demigretta sacra tormenti Mathews 1912 WS48]

Egretta sacra sacra (Gmelin 1789) [incl. Ardea cinerea Ellman 1861 non Linnaeus 1758, A. jugularis Wagler 1827, A. iugularis, A. matook Vieillot 1817, Demigretta sacra matook, Herodias matook, H. pannosus Gould 1848, Ardea pannosa, H. pannosa] CC10

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[HR96] Heather, B. D., & H. A. Robertson. 1996. The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Viking: Auckland.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[N87] North, A. J. 1887. List of references to authentic descriptions of Australian birds' eggs. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1163–1174.

[S13] Sarasin, F. 1913. Die Vögel Neu-Caledoniens und der Loyalty-Inseln. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 1 pp. 1–78, pls 1–3. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. Catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Uyacali, Eastern Peru, with notes and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 175–201.

[SU93] Sonobe, K., & S. Usui (eds.) 1993. A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia. Wild Bird Society of Japan: Tokyo.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 1 December 2021.

Ardeidae

Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii, copyright Lip Kee.

Belongs within: Aequornithia.
Contains: Ixobrychus, Egretta, Nycticorax, Butorides, Ardea.

The Ardeidae include the herons and bitterns, long-billed and -legged fishing birds found worldwide. Characters of the group include a short tail, powder down patches on the breast, rump and sometimes the thighs, and serrations used for grooming along the side of the central forward-directed toe. Basal members of the family include the tiger herons Tigrisoma of South America which resemble bitterns in their cryptic colouration and booming mating calls. The zigzag heron Zebrilus undulatus, another South American species, in primarily grey in colour with light barring.

The night herons of the genera Nycticorax and Nyctanassa are relatively short-necked and stout herons; as indicated by their vernacular name, they are mostly nocturnal in habits. The yellow-crowned night heron Nyctanassa violacea, found in warmer regions of the Americas, is mostly blue-grey with a black head marked by white cheeks and a pale yellow crown. The boatbill heron Cochlearius cochlearius is a Neotropical species with a similar habitus to the night-herons Nycticorax, with a black cap, grey back and pale venter, but with a unique broad beak. This species has historically been classified it in its own family outside the Ardeidae.

See also: The stately herons.

<==Ardeidae [Ardeae, Ardeiformes, Ardeinae, Ardeini, Botaurinae, Erodii, Tigriornithini] BKB15
    |--Calcardea Gingerich 1987 JM14, MR07
    |    `--C. junnei Gingerich 1987 M09
    |--Proardea Lambrecht 1933 JM14, M02
    |    `--*P. amissa (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Ardea amissa, Egretta amissa] M02
    |--Proardeola Harrison 1979 JM14, M02
    |    `--*P. walkeri Harrison 1979 M02 (see below for synonymy)
    `--+--Tigrisoma BKB15
       |    |--T. brasiliense SS66
       |    |--T. cabanisi S18
       |    |--T. fasciatum BKB15
       |    |--T. lineatum BKB15
       |    `--T. mexicanum JT12
       `--+--Cochlearius Brisson 1760 BKB15, B94 [incl. Cancroma Linné 1766 B94; Cancromini, Cochleariidae, Cochleariini]
          |    `--C. cochlearius (Linnaeus 1766) [=Cancroma cochlearius] W51
          |         |--C. c. cochlearius FS55
          |         |--C. c. panamensis Griscom 1926 [=C. zeledoni panamensis] W51
          |         `--C. c. zeledoni FS55
          `--+--+--Ixobrychus BKB15
             |  `--Zebrilus Bonaparte 1855 BKB15, B94 [Zebrilini]
             |       `--Z. undulatus BKB15
             `--+--+--Syrigma sibilatrix BKB15
                |  `--Egretta BKB15
                `--+--+--Nyctanassa violacea BKB15
                   |  `--Nycticorax BKB15
                   `--+--+--Butorides BKB15
                      |  `--Ardeola Boie 1822 BKB15, CC10 [Ardeolini]
                      |       |--A. bacchus (Bonap. 1855) [=Buphus bacchus] M01
                      |       |--A. grayii (Sykes 1832) [=Ardea grayii; incl. Ardeola grayii phillipsi Scheer 1960] CS77
                      |       |--A. idae JT12
                      |       |--A. ralloides (Scopoli 1769) M02 (see below for synonymy)
                      |       |--A. rufiventris JT12
                      |       `--A. speciosa JT12
                      `--+--Ardea BKB15
                         `--+--Bubulcus Bonaparte 1855 BKB15, CC10 [Bubulcini]
                            |    `--*B. ibis (Linnaeus 1758) [=Ardea ibis, Ardeola ibis, Egretta ibis] CC10
                            |         |--B. i. ibis CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                            |         `--B. i. coromandus (Boddaert 1783) CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                            `--+--Casmerodius Gloger 1841 [=Cosmerodius Salvadori 1882] CC10
                               |    `--C. albus (Linnaeus 1758) CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                               |         |--C. a. albus CS77
                               |         `--‘Egretta alba’ melanorhynchos (Wagler 1827) CS77
                               `--Mesophoyx Sharpe 1894 BKB15, CC10
                                    `--*M. intermedia (Wagler 1829) [=Ardea intermedia, Egretta intermedia] CC10
                                         |--M. i. intermedia CC10
                                         |--‘Egretta’ i. brachyrhyncha (Brehn 1854) CS77
                                         `--M. i. plumifera (Gould 1848) (see below for synonymy) CC10

Ardeidae incertae sedis:
  Pilherodius pileatus JT12
  Gorsachius JT12
    |--G. goisagi (Temminck 1835) I92
    |--G. leuconotus JT12
    |--G. magnificus JT12
    `--G. melanolophus (Raffles 1822) I92
  Melanophoyx ardesiaca A61
  Dichromanassa rufescens A61
  Agamia agami JT12
  Proherodius Lydekker 1891 FP64, M02
    `--*P. oweni Lydekker 1891 M02
  Heterocnus cabanisi FS55
  Ardeagrandis Kuročkin & Ganea 1972 M02
    `--*A. arborea Kuročkin & Ganea 1972 M02
  Zonerodius heliosylus JT12
  Tigriornis Sharpe 1895 B94
    `--T. leucolopha JT12
  Florida caerulea S18
  Ardeirallus CS77
    |--A. flavicollis S89
    `--A. sturmii (Wagler 1827) CS77
  Gnotornis aramiellus Wetmore 1942 M09
  ‘Anas’ basaltica Bayer 1883 M02, M05
  Hydranassa RN72
    |--H. caerulea A61
    `--H. tricolor S18
         |--H. t. tricolor S18
         `--H. t. ruficollis S18
  Leucophoyx thula E52

Ardeola ralloides (Scopoli 1769) M02 [=Ardea ralloides CS77; incl. A. ralloides paludivaga Clancy 1968 CS77]

Bubulcus ibis coromandus (Boddaert 1783) CC10 [=Cancroma coromanda CC10, Ardea ibis coromanda CC10, Ardea coromandeliensis Stephens 1819 CC10, Ardeola ibis coromanda L81, Bubulcus coromandensis Bonaparte 1855 CC10, Egretta ibis coromanda CC10; incl. Ardea affinis Horsfield 1820 CC10, Ardea bubulcus Gray & Gray 1846 CC10, Ardea caboga Franklin 1832 CC10, Ardea flavirostris Vieillot 1823 CC10, Herodias flavirostris CC10, Ardea russata Wagler 1827 CC10]

Bubulcus ibis ibis (Linnaeus 1758) CC10 [incl. Ardea ruficrista Bonaparte 1855 S66, CS77, Ardeola ibis seychellarum (Salomonsen 1934) L81, CS77]

Casmerodius albus (Linnaeus 1758) CC10 [=Ardea alba BKB15, Egretta alba CC10, Herodias alba K08; incl. Ardea egretta Gmelin 1789 CC10, *Casmerodius albus egretta CC10, A61, Egretta alba egretta CS77]

Mesophoyx intermedia plumifera (Gould 1848) [=Herodias plumiferus, Ardea intermedia plumifera, Egretta intermedia plumifera] CC10

*Proardeola walkeri Harrison 1979 M02 [=Ardeola walkeri M02, Proardea walkeri JM14; incl. Ardea formosa Milne-Edwards 1871 (n. n.) M02]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[E52] Eisenmann, E. 1952. Annotated list of birds of Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 117 (5): 1–62.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JM14] Jarvis, E. D., S. Mirarab, A. J. Aberer, B. Li, P. Houde, C. Li, S. Y. W. Ho, B. C. Faircloth, B. Nabholz, J. T. Howard, A. Suh, C. C. Weber, R. R. de Fonseca, J. Li, F. Zhang, H. Li, L. Zhou, N. Narula, L. Liu, G. Ganapathy, B. Boussau, M. S. Bayzid, V. Zavidovych, S. Subramanian, T. Gabaldón, S. Capella-Gutiérrez, J. Huerta-Cepas, B. Rekepalli, K. Munch, M. Schierup, B. Lindow, W. C. Warren, D. Ray, R. E. Green, M. W. Bruford, X. Zhan, A. Dixon, S. Li, N. Li, Y. Huang, E. P. Derryberry, M. F. Bertelsen, F. H. Sheldon, R. T. Brumfield, C. V. Mello, P. V. Lovell, M. Wirthlin, M. P. Cruz Schneider, F. Prosdocimi, J. A. Samaniego, A. M. Vargas Velazquez, A. Alfaro-Núñez, P. F. Campos, B. Petersen, T. Sitcheritz-Ponten, A. Pas, T. Bailey, P. Scofield, M. Bunce, D. M. Lambert, Q. Zhou, P. Perelman, A. C. Driskell, B. Shapiro, Z. Xiong, Y. Zeng, S. Liu, Z. Li, B. Liu, K. Wu, J. Xiao, X. Yinqi, Q. Zheng, Y. Zhang, H. Yang, J. Wang, L. Smeds, F. E. Rheindt, M. Braun, J. Fjeldså, L. Orlando, F. K. Barker, K. A. Jønsson, W. Johnson, K.-P. Koepfli, S. O'Brien, D. Haussler, O. A. Ryder, C. Rahbek, E. Willerslev, G. R. Graves, T. C. Glenn, J. McCormack, D. Burt, H. Ellegren, P. Alström, S. V. Edwards, A. Stamatakis, D. P. Mindell, J. Cracraft, E. L. Braun, T. Warnow, W. Jun, M. T. P. Gilbert & G. Zhang. 2014. Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346 (6215): 1320–1331.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[K08] Kellogg, V. L. 1908. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den Umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905–1906 vol. 15. Corrodentia pt 4. Mallophaga. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri-A. B.: Uppsala.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M01] Madarász, J. 1901. Madarak [Vögel]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 21–39. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

[MR07] Mayr, G., R. S. Rana, A. Sahni & T. Smith. 2007. Oldest fossil avian remains from the Indian subcontinental plate. Current Science 92 (9): 1266–1269.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. London, Blandford Press.

[S89] Salvadori, T. 1889. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea nella Birmania e nelle regioni vicine. XIX.—Uccelli raccolti nei Monti Carin a nord-est di Tounghoo, nel Pegù presso Rangoon e Tounghoo e nel Tenasserim presso Malewoon. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a 7: 369–438.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. Catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Uyacali, Eastern Peru, with notes and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 175–201.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[W51] Wetmore, A. 1951. Additional forms of birds from Colombia and Panamá. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 117 (2): 1–11.

Last updated: 1 December 2021.

Anserinae

Mute swan Cygnus olor, photographed by Andrew Dunn.

Belongs within: Anatidae.
Contains: Branta, Anser.

The Anserinae contains the swans and (the majority of the) geese. In general, Anserinae have longer necks than most other waterfowl, and more robust, less flattened bills. However, recent phylogenetic analyses (e.g. Burleigh et al. 2015) place the pink-eared duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus of Australia as a basal anserine despite its short neck and broadly flattened bill. Also placed within the Anserinae are the coscoroba Coscoroba coscoroba, a white swan-like bird from southern South America, and the Cape Barren goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae of southern Australia. Cnemiornis, a recently extinct genus of two species of large flightless goose from New Zealand, is generally believed to have been closely allied to the Cape Barren goose.

The swans of the genus Cygnus are particularly large and long-necked birds. The majority of swan species are found in higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and are predominantly white in coloration. However, distinctive in both distribution and coloration are the black swan Cygnus atratus of Australia and the black-necked swan C. melancoryphus of South America. The mute swan Cygnus olor has an orange-red bill with a large black knob at the base, and has been widely introduced outside its native Palaearctic range as an ornamental bird.

See also: Coscoroba.

<==Anserinae [Anseriinae, Anserina, Cygnopsidinae]
    |  i. s.: Geochen rhuax (n. d.) PJ02
    |--+--Malacorhynchus Swainson 1831 BKB15, CC10 [Malacorhynchini]
    |  |    |--*M. membranaceus (Latham 1802) [=Anas membranacea; incl. M. membranaceus assimilis Mathews 1912] CC10
    |  |    `--M. scarletti Olson 1977 CC10
    |  `--+--Coscoroba Reichenbach 1853 BKB15, B94 [Coscorobinae]
    |     |    `--C. coscoroba BKB15
    |     `--Cereopsini [Cereopsina] CC10
    |          |--Cereopsis Latham 1802 BKB15, CC10 [Cereopseinae]
    |          |    `--*C. novaehollandiae Latham 1802 (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |          `--Cnemiornis Owen 1866 [Cnemiornithidae] CC10
    |               |--*C. calcitrans Owen 1866 (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |               `--C. gracilis Forbes 1892 [incl. C. septentrionalis Oliver 1955] CC10
    `--+--Anserini PJ02
       |    |--Branta BKB15
       |    `--+--+--‘Chen’ canagica BKB15
       |       |  `--Anser BKB15
       |       `--Chen BKB15
       |            |--C. caerulescens BKB15
       |            `--C. rossii BKB15
       `--Cygnus Bechstein 1803 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
            |  i. s.: C. atavus (Fraas 1870) (see below for synonymy) M02
            |         C. equitum Bate 1916 [=Anser equitum, C. (Olor) equitum] M02
            |         C. herenthalsi Beneden in Lambrecht 1933 [=C. herrenthalsi] M02
            |         C. verae Boev 2000 M02
            |         C. (Olor Wagler 1832) M02
            |           |--C. (O.) bewickii Yarrell 1830 M02 (see below for synonymy)
            |           |--C. (O.) csakvarensis Lambrecht 1933 [=*Cygnanser csakvarensis] M02
            |           `--C. (O.) falconeri Parker 1865 (see below for synonymy) M02
            |--C. melancoryphus BKB15
            `--+--+--*C. (Cygnus) olor (Gmelin 1789) CC10, BKB15, CC10 [=Anas olor CC10]
               |  `--C. atratus (Latham 1790) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
               `--+--C. buccinator BKB15 [=C. cygnus buccinator RN72, Olor buccinator L81]
                  `--+--C. columbianus (Ord 1815) BKB15, CS77 (see below for synonymy)
                     `--C. cygnus (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, M02 [=Anas cygnus M02; incl. C. cygnus islandicus Brehm 1831 CS77]

*Cereopsis novaehollandiae Latham 1802 [=C. cinerea Vieillot 1816; incl. C. australis Swainson 1837, C. novaehollandiae georgi Mathews 1912, C. novaehollandiae grisea Storr 1980, Anser griseus Vieillot 1818, C. novaezealandiae Oliver 1955 non Forbes 1892, Anas terraeleeuwin Bennett 1830] CC10

*Cnemiornis calcitrans Owen 1866 [incl. Cn. minor Forbes 1892, Cereopsis novaezealandiae Forbes 1892] CC10

Cygnus Bechstein 1803 BKB15, CC10 [incl. Chenopis Wagler 1832 CC10, Cygnanser Kretzoi 1957 M02, Palaeocycnus Stejneger 1882 M02, Palaeocygnus Oberholser 1908 M02; Cygnina, Cygninae, Olorinae]

Cygnus atavus (Fraas 1870) [=Anas atava, Anser atavus; incl. Anas cygniformis Fraas 1870, Anser cygniformis, Palaelodus steinheimensis Fraas 1870] M02

Cygnus atratus (Latham 1790) BKB15, CC10 [=Anas atrata CC10, *Chenopis atrata CC10, Chenopis atratus CC10, Chenopsis (l. c.) atrata CC10, Chenopsis (l. c.) atratus CC10; incl. Cygnus chathamicus Oliver 1955 CC10, Cy. chathamensis CC10, Cy. chathamica CC10, Anas cygnus niger Perry 1811 CC10, Anser novaehollandiae Bonnaterre 1791 CC10, Anas plutonia Shaw 1792 CC10, Cygnus plutonius CC10, Chenopis atrata roberti Mathews 1912 CC10, Chenopis sumnerensis Forbes 1890 CC10, Cygnus sumnerensis CC10]

Cygnus columbianus (Ord 1815) BKB15, CS77 [=Anas columbianus CS77; incl. C. columbianus jankowskii Alpheraky 1904 CS77]

Cygnus (Olor) bewickii Yarrell 1830 M02 [=C. columbianus bewickii CS77; incl. Anser liskunae Kuročkin 1976 M02, Olor liskunae M02, A. subanser Jánossy 1983 M02]

Cygnus (Olor) falconeri Parker 1865 [=*Palaeocycnus falconeri, *Palaeocygnus falconeri; incl. Cygnus melitensis Falconer 1868] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[PJ02] Paxinos, E. E., H. F. James, S. L. Olson, M. D. Sorenson, J. Jackson & R. C. Fleischer. 2002. MtDNA from fossils reveals a radiation of Hawaiian geese recently derived from the Canada goose (Branta canadensis). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 99: 1399–1404.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. Blandford Press: London.

Last updated: 27 November 2021.