Pernilongo-de-costas-brancas (Himantopus melanurus)

When I try to identify the species it keeps changing automatically to Himantopus himantopus when it really is not. The Himantopus melanurus is the only Stilt species present in my region.

comments (3)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

I can explain why this happens. According to Wikipedia, Himantopus melanurus really is a synonym of Himantopus himantopus:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-backed_stilt

Check the "synonyms" section on the above page. JungleDragon follows this association automatically, and that's why this happens. It is usually correct, but not always, because sometimes Wikipedia is outdated.

Let's see what other sources say. eBird (leading source in birding community) does not consider "Himantopus melanurus" to be a valid species. This can be explained by another good quality source:

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/464940-Himantopus-mexicanus-melanurus

It looks like Himantopus melanurus once was a full species but it no longer is. It is now a subspecies of Himantopus mexicanus.

Hence I recommend you identify it as Himantopus mexicanus. Posted 6 months ago
1. Kuvolviski
  
  Giant Tortoise
  
  Thank you so much for the info, Ferdy!
  I use the WikiAves, the brazilian wikipedia for birds in our country, and the list made by the SBO (Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia, or Brazilian Society of Ornithology) for the identification of the species. Looks like these sources aren't always on par with the rest of the world.
  I'll identify as Himantopus mexicanus, but I'll keep the title with Himantopus melanurus since this is how we identify these birds in Brazil. Posted 6 months ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Welcome!
    
    You're absolutely right that bird taxonomy has multiple authorities that don't always agree. The way you identified it yet used a different title is a good solution for this case. Posted 6 months ago

The Black-necked stilt

The black-necked stilt is a locally abundant shorebird of American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

Info 10 0

Similar species: Shorebirds And Allies

Species identified by Kuvolviski