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Holarctic Birds. Version 2.

     

Svensk text

The Swedish Taxonomic Committee. Official list of the birds of the Holarctic region





This is the web version of the official list with Swedish names of all 
 2015 bird species recorded in the Holarctic region. It has Swedish, Scientific and English names of all birds, and also the status of all species occurring in Sweden (breeding, migrating, rarities). It is the only list of this kind on the web.
It was originally compiled by the Name Committee within SOF (Swedish Ornithological Society) and printed in 1995 (as Holarktis Fåglar, eds.; Kjellén, N. & Olsson, U. Vår Fågelvärld suppl. no. 23). This printed list was adapted to the web by E. Jirle in 1996 (version 1).
On 31 Dec 2003, new taxonomic changes were implemented by the Swedish Taxonomic Committee and this web list is no longer a copy of the 1995 printed version, but the independent official web version, version 2 (no printed updated version is available).

The list follows the directives announced by the Swedish Taxonomic Committee (TK in Swedish, STC in English), which cooperates with four other TCs working in Europe.
STC home page   AERC-TAC home page.

A major change 2003 was that the order Anseriformes (Ducks, Geese and Swans) followed by Galliformes (Turkeys, Grouse, Quails, Pheasants, Partridges) was moved to the top of the list, after Struthioniformes (Ostrich, 1 species).

new !1 Feb 2007 a large number of changes were made in the list, after the second report from the STC was published. The report is published in Vår Fågelvärld issue 1, 2007, page 14-21. All new changes 2007 are marked with red text in the list, including the footnotes, which are listed on a separate footnote page.


The original Holarctic Birds from 1995 was based upon the suggestions that the Name Committee presented in the journal Vår Fågelvärld  during 1993 and 1994. It was then revised according to the comments received from members of SOF. The version 2 of Holarctic Birds has been updated due to extensive work in STC from 2001 and onwards.

Some corrections to the old printed version, and comments (feedback from other ornithologists from June 1, 2002).

How to write bird names.

STC made its first report December 2003, published in Vår Fågelvärld 2003, issue 8, page 6-12 (in Swedish) with a large number of changes in taxonomy and systematics. (English translation soon available at STC web site.). All these changes are commented in the footnotes.

Minor corrections were also made 1 May 2004. STC second report: Feb 2007. Can be read in full at the STC home page (will be translated to English in due course..).

The list presents new names of a number of species, but also the position of SOF in taxonomic matters. The Name Committee followed Mark Beaman's Palearctic Birds a checklist of the birds of Europe, North Africa and Asia north of the foothills of the Himalayas   instead of Voous. When it comes to North American birds, the committee follows the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU).
STC is since 2001 in charge of the Holarktic List on behalf of the Swedish Ornithological Society (SOF). STC constantly follows the scientific progress in bird systematics and taxonomy which is reflected in the STC reports published at regular intervals. STC consists of Björn Anderson, Erling Jirle and Lars Svensson, supported by a Reference Group with professional taxonomists.

The entire Arabian peninsula is included in the Palearctic region.


For all species recorded in Sweden the status is given with letters or numbers in column 1:
B = Breeding.
b = breeding unclear / irregular
M = Migrant (usually in great numbers).
R = Regular (> 100 records).
number = Vagrants, < 100 individuals. Only spontaneous records accepted by the Swedish Rarities Committee in category A-C occurring up to 31 Dec 2008. From 2008 the numbers are taken from the list at www.sofnet.org; Swedish Rare Bird Catalog.
number* = undetermined species (2 seabirds, included in the total number on Swedish list)
(D/E:X) = number of records in category D and E (not spontaneous)(Figures from "Swedish Rare Bird List" up to 31 Dec 2007).
V after the Swedish name means spelling the initial capitalized (= Versal in Swedish).

Status changes:

New species for Sweden 1998 :
Blyth's Pipit, Anthus godlewskii

4 new species 1999:
Bridled Tern, Sterna anaethetus.
Pacific Swift, Apus pacificus.
Chimney Swift, Chaetura pelagica.
Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach. The first for Europe (race erythronotus)

In 2000 one new species was recorded:
Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis.
One species was deleted 2000 from the Swedish list (seen only outside the limit of Swedish territorial waters);
Black-browed Albatross, Diomedea melanophris.

News from the Rarities Committee + the Club 300 List Committee:
An agreement was made 2 April 2000 to move 2 species from category D to category C;
Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus. Recorded both 1999 and 2000 in Sweden.
Ruddy Duck, Oxyura jamaicensis. Several records recent years.

New species 2001:
Black-browed Albatross, Diomedea melanophris. (accepted April 2002, so back again on the Swedish list)
Fea's/Zino's Petrel, Pterodroma feae/madeira (accepted April 2002, but undetermined species, so not counted as a species on the Swedish list).
Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda.
Oriental Pratincole, Glareola maldivarium (accepted March 2004).

New species 2002:
White-winged Lark, Melanocorypha leucoptera.
Iberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus ibericus.

New species 2003:
Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica (accepted Nov 2003).
Grey-tailed Tattler, Heteroscelus brevipes (accepted Nov 2003).
Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla (accepted Nov 2003).

On 14 December 2003 splits and other taxonomic changes was published which resulted in 9 new species for Sweden, among them Iberian Chiffchaff.
The only Swedish record of Pallas's Gull, Larus ichthyaetus, from 1956 was rejected.

New species 2004:
Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus.

At the RC meeting in April 2005 two species were deleted from the Swedish list (one old record of each species); Saker Falcon and Dusky Thrush.

New species 2005:
Amur Falcon, Falco amurensis.
Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris.
Little Curlew, Numenius minutus.

New species for Sweden 2006: 0.
But an old record from 1984 of Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus, the first for Europe, was accepted.

New species 2007:
Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalasarche chlororhynchos.

New species 2008:
Pallas's Gull, Larus ichthyaetus and Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus

The total number of accepted cat. A-C (= spontaneous) species in Sweden is consequently 490 (includes the 2007 split Melanitta americana, two undetermined* seabird species and one extinct; Great Auk).

References:
Kjellén, N. & Olssson, U. 1995. Holarktis fåglar. Vår Fågelvärld suppl. no. 43. Stockholm. Breife, B., Hirschfeld, E., Kjellén, N. and Ullman, M. 2003. Sällsynta fåglar i Sverige ( = Rare Birds in Sweden). SOF, Stockholm.
Fågelåret 2002 ( = The Bird Year 2002). Vår Fågelvärld Supplement nr 40. SOF 2003, Stockholm.
Fågelåret 2003.
Fågelåret 2004.
Fågelåret 2005.
Fågelåret 2006.
Fågelåret 2007.
Fågelåret 2008.
Anderson, B., Jirle, E. & Svensson, L. 2007. Förändringar i listan över Holarktis fåglar. Vår Fågelvärld no 1, 2007:14-21.
Swedish Rare Bird Catalog (at www.sofnet.org; choose "Raritetskommittén" and then "Svenska Raritetskatalogen", which is bilingual).

RK-nytt (= News from RC).
STC home page.


Western Palearctic List: For those keeping a Western Palearctic list there are some problems with splits / lumps making the Holarctic List different from other sources.
For Swedish birdwatchers following the list rules of Club 300 I have made a separate list with notes on these species. It is called "skiljelistan" and is mainly in Swedish, but with scientific names. (Updated according to recent changes STC, 2 May 2004).
I have also adapted the ABA rules on the borders of continents and regions. These can be found on the Club 300 web site, and also on this web site, see "regionlistor".

To the list:

Part 1. Non Passerines 1, Ostrich - Flamingo (344 spp.) (with orders Anseriformes and Galliformes at the top)
Part 2. Non Passerines 2, Raptors - Auks (375 spp.)
Part 3. Non Passerines 3, Sandgrouses - Woodpeckers (263 spp.)

Part 4. Passerines 1, Tyrant Flycatchers - Thrushes (292 spp.)
Part 5. Passerines 2, Forktails - Crows (409 spp.)
Part 6. Passerines 3, Starlings - Troupials (332 spp.)


To Eurobirdnet Sweden Homepage. To The Swedish Taxonomic Committee.



This page was created 10 June 1996 and updated 14 January 2010.
This page is the original. It can be linked to other sites, if the source is specified.
© E. Jirle. This list is only meant for browsing, not for downloading.
Searchable at databases like google.com.
Erling Jirle, Dept. Ecology, Lund University, Sölveg. 37, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden. e-mail