Last year’s eBird/Clements bird taxonomy update, which I discussed here, featured some widely talked about changes. These include a split of Yellow Warbler into Northern Yellow Warbler and Mangrove Yellow Warbler and also a split of Whimbrel in Eurasian Whimbrel and Hudsonian Whimbrel. A couple other changes affecting North America, however, flew under the radar due to not being explicitly listed in the update. They are discussed below with the intent that they become better known. Species marked with asterisks (*) are found in North America but not in the ABA Area; that is, they are found in Mexico, Central America, and/or the West Indies, though not necessarily exclusively so.
Split of Coccothraustes
Hooded Grosbeak* (Coccothraustes abeillei ➛ Hesperiphona abeillei)
Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus ➛ Hesperiphona vespertinus)
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
Prior to this split, there were three species in genus Coccothraustes found in North America. Now, there are only two. Evening Grosbeak and Hooded Grobeak—both North American endemics—are now placed in the resurrected genus Hesperiphona (meaning “evening sound”). While Evening Grosbeak is widespread across much of Canada and occurs south through parts of the western and northern U.S. and into western Mexico, Hooded Grosbeak is endemic to wooded montane habitats in Mexico and northern Central America. Hooded Grosbeak has not been documented from the ABA Area, but it is numerous in northeastern Mexico, not far from Texas.
Coccothraustes (meaning “seed-crusher”) is now a monotypic genus in the eBird/Clements taxonomy; its only member is Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), which occurs in the ABA Area as a regular vagrant to Alaska. There is also a single record in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
Split of Dryobates
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
Nuttall’s Woodpeker (Dryobates nuttallii)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris)
Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis ➛ Leuconotopicus borealis)
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus ➛ Leuconotopicus villosus)
White-headed Woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus ➛ Leuconotopicus albolarvatus)
Smoky-brown Woodpecker* (Dryobates ➛ Leuconotopicus fumigatus)
Strickland’s Woodpecker* (Dryobates stricklandi ➛ Leuconotopicus stricklandi)
Arizona Woodpecker (Dryobates arizonae ➛ Leuconotopicus arizonae)
The genus Leuconotopicus (which means “white-backed woodpecker”) was split out of Dryobates (which means “tree walker”). While Dryobates occurs in Eurasia, northern Africa, and North America, Leuconotopicus is endemic to the Americas. Of its six species, all but one, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, is endemic to North America. If you’ve spent time with members of both genera in North America, you have probably noticed how Dryobates woodpeckers tend to be smaller, shorter-billed, and more delicate than Leuconotopicus woodpeckers.
Recommended citation: Retter, Michael L. P. 2026. “Additional 2025 eBird/Clements Checklist Changes.” North American Birds. 77(1).
Last year’s eBird/Clements bird taxonomy update, which I discussed here, featured some widely talked about changes. These include a split of Yellow Warbler into Northern Yellow Warbler and Mangrove Yellow Warbler and also a split of Whimbrel in Eurasian Whimbrel and Hudsonian Whimbrel. A couple other changes affecting North America, however, flew under the radar due to not being explicitly listed in the update. They are discussed below with the intent that they become better known. Species marked with asterisks (*) are found in North America but not in the ABA Area; that is, they are found in Mexico, Central America, and/or the West Indies, though not necessarily exclusively so.
Split of Coccothraustes
Hooded Grosbeak* (Coccothraustes abeillei ➛ Hesperiphona abeillei)
Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus ➛ Hesperiphona vespertinus)
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
Prior to this split, there were three species in genus Coccothraustes found in North America. Now, there are only two. Evening Grosbeak and Hooded Grobeak—both North American endemics—are now placed in the resurrected genus Hesperiphona (meaning “evening sound”). While Evening Grosbeak is widespread across much of Canada and occurs south through parts of the western and northern U.S. and into western Mexico, Hooded Grosbeak is endemic to wooded montane habitats in Mexico and northern Central America. Hooded Grosbeak has not been documented from the ABA Area, but it is numerous in northeastern Mexico, not far from Texas.
Coccothraustes (meaning “seed-crusher”) is now a monotypic genus in the eBird/Clements taxonomy; its only member is Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), which occurs in the ABA Area as a regular vagrant to Alaska. There is also a single record in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
Split of Dryobates
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
Nuttall’s Woodpeker (Dryobates nuttallii)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris)
Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis ➛ Leuconotopicus borealis)
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus ➛ Leuconotopicus villosus)
White-headed Woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus ➛ Leuconotopicus albolarvatus)
Smoky-brown Woodpecker* (Dryobates ➛ Leuconotopicus fumigatus)
Strickland’s Woodpecker* (Dryobates stricklandi ➛ Leuconotopicus stricklandi)
Arizona Woodpecker (Dryobates arizonae ➛ Leuconotopicus arizonae)
The genus Leuconotopicus (which means “white-backed woodpecker”) was split out of Dryobates (which means “tree walker”). While Dryobates occurs in Eurasia, northern Africa, and North America, Leuconotopicus is endemic to the Americas. Of its six species, all but one, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, is endemic to North America. If you’ve spent time with members of both genera in North America, you have probably noticed how Dryobates woodpeckers tend to be smaller, shorter-billed, and more delicate than Leuconotopicus woodpeckers.
Recommended citation: Retter, Michael L. P. 2026. “Additional 2025 eBird/Clements Checklist Changes.” North American Birds. 77(1).
