This is a follow-up to Dave Cahlander’s announcement from Oct 13 regarding the Seasonal Reports checklist. Specifically, “sub-species have been added to keep track of the multiple sub-species seen in Minnesota.”
MOURC is now accepting reports of selected subspecies. We are doing this for the following reasons: 1. The trend is for more species to be split along subspecies lines. We only see this increasing and becoming more problematic from a records-keeping standpoint. Maintaining a subspecies database prepares us for when a subspecies is elevated to full species status. 2. We want to be able to add to our knowledge of Minnesota birds by tracking them at a subspecies level. Currently, we do not have a systematic or disciplined process for understanding the status and distribution of subspecies in MN. This is a first step in that direction. A team of MOURC members selected subspecies based on the following criteria: (1) they can be identified in the field (i.e. handling is not necessary for identification), (2) they have well documented occurrences in the state, and (3) they may be considered candidates for potential splits to full species status or have been considered at some point in the past. Please note that the resulting list is not a final list of all subspecies that occur in the state and will be updated over time. Note that subspecies that we track will have an assigned status: accidental, casual or regular. The same MOURC processes will apply based on these status. For example, a report of an “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warbler, having an accidental status, will require a request for documentation (RQD) form. You can assist us in developing a better understanding of the occurrence of subspecies in the state by submitting sightings via the MOU Seasonal Reports web site at https://moumn.org/moureports/season.php. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
