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This is the 21st supplement since publication of the 7th edition of the Check-list of North American Birds (American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU] 1998). It summarizes decisions made between 15 April 2020 and 15 April 2021 by the American Ornithological Society’s (formerly American Ornithologists’ Union) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature—North and Middle America. The Committee has continued to operate in the manner outlined in the 42nd Supplement (Banks et al. 2000). During the past year, Blanca E. Hernandez-Banos was added to the committee.

The Willet (Tringa semipalmata; Scolopacidae) is composed of 2 morphologically and vocally distinct subspecies with broadly disjunct breeding distributions in North America. Nominate T. s. semipalmata breeds in coastal salt and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of eastern North America and the West Indies, and T. s. inornata breeds in wet grasslands and prairies in the northwestern interior of North America. To assess divergence and test for hybridization between the 2 subspecies, we sampled breeding and wintering populations and collected morphological data, mitochondrial DNA sequences from the ND2 locus, and nuclear DNA sequences from genomic libraries enriched for ultraconserved elements (UCEs). Mitochondrial haplotypes were reciprocally monophyletic between the 2 subspecies and indicated divergence approximately 700,000 yr ago. The UCE dataset included 4,635 loci containing 19,322 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and, based on these data, individuals clustered by subs...

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA 2 3201 Circle Hill Road, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 3 Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA 4 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA 5 24 Idaho Street, Bishop, California, USA 6 Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA 7 Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA 8 Museo de Zoologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico D.F., Mexico 9 Michigan State University Museum and Department of Integrative Biology, East Lansing, Michigan, USA 10 Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA 11 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ramsay Wright Labs, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 12 Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA 13 University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA * Corresponding author: chessert@si.edu; Chairman of the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature—North and Middle America, of the American Ornithologists’ Union. All authors are members of the Committee and are listed alphabetically after the Chairman.

The Auk, Vol. 128, Number 3, pages 600−613. ISSN 0004-8038, electronic ISSN 1938-4254.  2011 by The American Ornithologists’ Union. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals. com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/auk.2011.128.3.600 R. TeRRy ChesseR,1,12,13 RiChaRd C. Banks,1 F. keiTh BaRkeR,2 CaRla CiCeRo,3 Jon l. dunn,4 andRew w. kRaTTeR,5 iRBy J. loveTTe,6 Pamela C. Rasmussen,7 J. v. Remsen, JR.,8 James d. Rising,9 douglas F. sToTz,10 and kevin winkeR11

The Auk, Vol. 126, Number 3, pages 705−714. ISSN 0004-8038, electronic ISSN 1938-4254.  2009 by The American Ornithologists’ Union. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals. com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/auk.2009.8709 R. TeRRy ChesseR,1,12,13 RiChaRd C. Banks,1 F. keiTh BaRkeR,2 CaRla CiCeRo,3 Jon l. dunn,4 andRew w. kRaTTeR,5 iRBy J. loveTTe,6 Pamela C. Rasmussen,7 J. v. Remsen, JR.,8 James d. Rising,9 douglas F. sToTz,10 and kevin winkeR11

1U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, MRC-111, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013, USA; 2Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; 3Rural Route 2, Box 52R, Bishop, California 93514, USA; 4Florida Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 117800, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA; 5Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA; 6Museum and Department of Zoology, Michigan State, University, West Circle Drive, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA; 7Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Foster Hall 119, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA; 8Department of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada; 9Environmental and Conservation Programs, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA; and 10University of Alaska Museum, 907 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA

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Taxonomic indexing refers to a new array of taxonomically intelligent network services that use nomenclatural principles and elements of expert taxonomic knowledge to manage information about organisms. Taxonomic indexing was introduced to help manage the increasing amounts of digital information about biology. It has been designed to form a near basal layer in a layered cyberinfrastructure that deals with biological information. Taxonomic Indexing accommodates the special problems of using names of organisms to index biological material. It links alternative names for the same entity (reconciliation), and distinguishes between uses of the same name for different entities (disambiguation), and names are placed within an indefinite number of hierarchical schemes. In order to access all information on all organisms, Taxonomic indexing must be able to call on a registry of all names in all forms for all organisms. NameBank has been developed to meet that need. Taxonomic indexing is an area of informatics that overlaps with taxonomy, is dependent on the expert input of taxonomists, and reveals the relevance of the discipline to a wide audience.

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We demonstrate compaction of DNA with nanoscale biomimetic constructs which are robust synthetic analogs of globular proteins. These constructs are approximately 15 nm in diameter, shell crosslinked knedel-like (SCKs) nanoparticles, which are prepared by covalent stabilization of amphiphilic di-block co-polymer micelles, self-assembled in an aqueous solution. This synthetic approach yields size-controlled nanoparticles of persistent shape and containing positively charged functional groups at and near the particle surface. Such properties allow SCKs to bind with DNA through electrostatic interactions and facilitate reduction of the DNA hydrodynamic diameter through reversible compaction. Compaction of DNA by SCKs was evident in dynamic light scattering experiments and was directly observed by in situ atomic force microscopy. Moreover, enzymatic digestion of the DNA plasmid (pBR322, 4361 bp) by Eco RI was inhibited at low SCK:DNA ratios and prevented when [le]60 DNA bp were bound per SCK. Digestion by Msp I in the presence of SCKs resulted in longer DNA fragments, indicating that not all enzyme cleavage sites were accessible within the DNA/SCK aggregates. These results have implications for the development of vehicles for successful gene therapy applications.

Summary: Web content syndication through standard formats such as RSS and ATOM has become an increasingly popular mechanism for publishers, news sources and blogs to disseminate regularly updated content. These standardized syndication formats deliver content directly to the subscriber, allowing them to locally aggregate content from a variety of sources instead of having to find the information on multiple websites. The uBioRSS application is a ‘taxonomically intelligent’ service customized for the biological sciences. It aggregates syndicated content from academic publishers and science news feeds, and then uses a taxonomic Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify and index taxonomic names within those data streams. The resulting name index is cross-referenced to current global taxonomic datasets to provide context for browsing the publications by taxonomic group. This process, called taxonomic indexing, draws upon services developed specifically for biological sciences, collectively referred to as ‘taxonomic intelligence’. Such value-added enhancements can provide biologists with accelerated and improved access to current biological content.Availability: http://names.ubio.org/rss/Contact: sarkar@mbl.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

In contrast to the results of Thompson et al. (1992), refined colorimetry validates three subspecies of Least Tern in North America, Sterna antillarum antillarum (Lesson), S. a. browni Mearns, and S. a. athalassos Burleigh and Lowery. Four of nine color characters exhibited significant seasonal differences, presumably a result of plumage wear and bleaching. The sexes differed in lightness and hue of dorsum and hind neck. Males of S. a. athalassos differed significantly from those of both S. a. antillarum and S. a. browni in lightness of dorsum, and males of S. a. browni differed significantly from those of S. a. antillarum in lightness of hind neck. Females generally showed patterns concordant with males. Because S. a. browni and S. a. athalassos are listed as endangered, the validity of these taxa is important to conservationists and managers. Rigorous systematic methodology and scientific collections of high quality are indispensable to conservation biology.

Hamilton and Zuk (1982) proposed that bright plumage in birds evolved as an advertisement of parasite resistance in response to heavy parasite loads, and they predicted that sexual dichromatism should be strongly correlated with parasite loads across species. To test their hypothesis, we sampled 935 individuals of 19 species of passerine birds in Louisiana for the presence of blood parasites. Nest height, a variable generally not considered in most recent literature on the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis, was as good or better a predictor of para- site prevalence as was sexual dichromatism or plumage brightness. Because certain ornitho- philic vectors are most common in the canopy, the relationship between nest height and para- site prevalence may follow from the natural history of parasitism. Ecological conditions may influence blood-parasite loads in the species studied, suggesting that genetically based resis- tance is less important. If parasite vectors are more common in the canopy, then more colorful bird species will be more heavily parasitized, on average, than less colorful species, because bird species that live high in the trees tend to be more colorful than those that live closer to the ground. Received 18 July 1994, accepted 14 August 1995. HAMILTON AND ZUK (1982) predicted that bird species with strong plumage dichromatism also will have the highest prevalence of parasitic in- fection. They indicated that species with heavy parasite burdens have undergone strong selec- tion for ways to advertise relative healthiness, such as by evolution of bright plumage. They proposed that males of such species would ex- perience strong sexual selection, generating strong sexual dimorphism in plumage. Hamil- ton and Zuk's specific prediction was that "those (species) with most evident sexual selec- tion are most subject to attack by debilitating parasites." Their review of data on blood para- sites in 109 species of North American passer- ines revealed that bright plumage was posi- tively associated with prevalence of blood para- sites, a finding consistent with predictions of their hypothesis. They concluded that although "alternative explanations for their results could be offered," their results suggested that genetic variation for disease resistance contributes to sexual selection and evolution of bright plum- age.

DNA sequences from mitochondrial tRNA genes, the light strand replication site, and a region of the 12S rRNA gene were used to test the hypothesis that the unusual Antillean island subspecies, Artibeus jamaicensis schwartzi , was derived from a South American origin. Parsimony and bootstraping analyses allied the mitochondrial genome in these bats with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) isolated from Artibeus planirostris living in French Guiana rather than with mtDNA isolated from Artibeus jamaicensis from the Antilles or Mexico. Although the tRNA sequences differed slightly, the 12S rRNA sequences were identical in mtDNA isolated from A. j. schwartzi on St. Vincent and A. planirostris from French Guiana. It is proposed that A. planirostris was an early arrival to the Antilles, and that it possibly reached the Greater Antilles. Genetic analyses of these island populations may shed light on gene flow, speciation, and even extinction processes in bats. In broader interspecific comparisons, it was noted that the 12S rRNA and cytochrome- b genes might evolve somewhat differently among different stenodermatine species, and it was hypothesized that this could affect systematic analyses. None of the mtDNA sequence data supported the utility of the proposed genera Dermanura and Koopmania .

Capture data from mist nets are used frequently to quantify the relative abun- dance of birds. In spite of obvious confounding variables, most of which have been mentioned previously in the literature, relative capture of birds typically is equated directly to relative abundance. Through modeling, we quantify the potential magnitude of the effect of those variables among species and between age/sex categories of the same species. We demonstrate that differences in proportional use of vertical-height categories, including differences below the resolving power of visual estimates, can produce substantial differences in the capture rates of birds with identical abundance. To simulate capture on the horizontal plane, we designed a computer program that models how frequently birds strike nets with respect to home-range size and overlap, number of flights, and mean flight distance. The quantitative results of these simulations show that differences in spacing system, flight distance, and flight frequency have strong effects on capture rates. We also list additional problems with inter- pretation of differences in capture data. We think that these influences on capture data combine to preclude quantitative comparisons of relative abundance of birds, either among species or within species in different habitats, by use of mist-net capture data under most current research protocols. Although our analyses refer directly only to birds and mist nets, the outcomes of the analyses are relevant to any method that estimates relative abundance from captures of mobile organisms by stationary traps during brief sampling periods. Received

We attempted to determine why the distribution of Atlapetes rufinucha (Rufous- naped Brush-finch; Emberizinae) is so patchy. This common, sedentary species is found in several discrete areas of the humid Andes separated by distances of hundreds of kilometers, yet the gaps contain seemingly suitable habitat. Mapping of 906 specimen localities by both latitude and elevation shows that these gaps are filled by populations of other Atlapetes species, especially A. tricolor and A. schistaceus (a gray-plumaged species currently thought to be only distantly related to rufinucha, a species with yellow-and-green plumage), which in turn also show complementary, patchy distributions. Where rufinucha is the only species found, it occupies the entire elevational gradient. Where two or more species occur, their elevational distributions are restricted and often complementary. We attribute these patterns to interspecific competition. Hypothetical reconstructions of the sequence of historical events that would generate such a checkerboard distribution pattern in these sedentary taxa are complex. A novel hypothesis that would greatly simplify historical reconstructions is that rufinucha, schistaceus, and perhaps tricolor refer only to recurring color patterns characterized by differing amounts of pigment in the feathers and, therefore, adjacent populations (re- gardless of current taxonomic designation) are more closely related than either is to more distant populations of the same "species." Therefore, rufinucha and schistaceus populations would be merely allopatric forms of the same lineage that alternate in color pattern (yellow or gray) between adjacent populations, as known for three other lineages of Andean birds. We found limited support for such a hypothesis. Even if rufinucha and schistaceus are distinct species, we predict that they are much more closely related than currently believed and that they differ primarily in pigment concentration. The dramatic differences in phenotype created by differences in pigment concentration in the plumage may frequently cause problems for phenotype-based taxonomic hypotheses. Received 22 December 1992, accepted 12 May 1993.

AI•STRACT.--Two species of Andean brush-finches, Buarremon (formerly Atlapetes) torquatus and B. brunneinuchu$, show an interdigitating pattern of distribution in the Andes that we interpret as the result of competition between them. Plotting 590 specimen localities by latitude and elevation reveals that the two species have complementary, parapatric distributions with minimal overlap. More importantly, where only one species occurs, that species usually occupies the entire elevational range in that region. Furthermore, the usual relative position of the two species, with B. torquatus at high and B. brunneinuchus at low elevations, is reversed in two regions. These "natural experiments" suggest hat elevational limits are unlikely to be governed in these two species by autecological factors and that interspecific competition is the process most likely to generate such a pattern. However, our re-evaluation of other data interpreted to support the prevalence of interspecific ompetition in determining elevational limits of other Andean birds suggests that its role has not been properly resolved. Received 28 June 1993, accepted 24 October 1993.

Sediment pore water samples obtained from a 19 m station in Green Bay in Lake Michigan were examined for levels of ambient dissolved methane and copper, and for the potential for in situ methane oxidation by methanotrophs found within surface sediments. The in situ methane concentration in the upper oxic sediment layer ranged from 20–150 μmol · 1−1 at this station. The activity of methanotrophs and the kinetics of methane oxidation in these sediments were demonstrated by the uptake of radiolabeled methane. Ks values varied between 4.1–9.6 nmol · cm3 of sediment slurry. High Vmax values (12.7–35.2 nmol · cm−3 · h−1) suggest a large population of methanotrophs in the sediments. An average methane flux to the oxic sediments of 0.24 mol · m−2 · year−1 was calculated from the pore water methane gradients. Pore water concentrations of copper in the upper sediment layer ranged from 10–120 nmol · 1−1. Based upon the copper concentration, other measured parameters, and equilibrium conditions defined by WATEQF4, an estimate for dissolved free Cu2+ concentration of 5–38 nmol · 1−1 pore water was obtained. Several factors control the rate of methane oxidation, including oxygen, methane, and the bioavailability of free Cu2+.

Although membership in broad diet categories is a standard feature of community analyses of Neotropical birds, the bases for assignments to diet categories are usually not stated, or they are derived from anecdotal information or bill shape. We used notations of stomach contents on museum specimen labels to assess membership in broad diet categories (“fruit only,” “ arthropods only,” and “fruit and arthropods”) for species of four families of birds in the Neotropics usually considered to have a mixed diet of fruit and animal matter: trogons (Trogonidae), motmots (Momotidae), New World barbets (Capitonidae), and toucans (Ramphastidae). An assessment of the accuracy of label data by direct comparison to independent microscopic analysis of actual stomach contents of the same specimens showed that label notations were remarkably accurate. The specimen label data for 246 individuals of 17 species of Trogonidae showed that quetzals (Pharomachrus) differ significantly from other trogons (Trogon) in being more fiugivorous. Significant differences in degree of frugivory were found among various Trogon species. Within the Trogonidae, degree of frugivory is strongly correlated with body size, the larger species being more frugivorous. The more frugivorous quetzals (Pharomachrus) have relatively flatter bills than other trogons, in accordance with predictions concerning morphology of frugivores; otherwise, bill morphology correlated poorly with degree of fiugivory. An analysis of label data from 124 individuals of six species of motmots showed that one species (Electron platyrhynchum) is highly insectivorous, differing significantly from two others that are more frugivorous (Baryphthengus martii and Momotus momota). An analysis of 135 individuals of 12 species of barbets showed that although “fruit only” predominated among almost all species, arthropods are more frequently recorded in the stomachs of species in the genera Eubucco and Capito than in Semnornis. The highly frugivorous diet of Semnornis species is yet another parameter in which they resemble toucans more than New World barbets. Data from 326 individuals of 32 species of toucans showed that the family is remarkably homogeneous in the predominance of fruit in the stomachs of all species. These data suggest hat the degree to which toucans prey upon bird eggs and nestlings, and animal matter in general, is overemphasized. Although our data suggest that it is safe to assign toucans to a “fruit only” category in community analyses, such assignments must be taken on a genus-by-genus or species-byspecies basis in trogons, motmots, and barbets.

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