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Bird splits and lumps: what changed, and what it means for your list
Every year, scientists who keep the official bird lists divide some species and merge others, and your life list can change without a new sighting. Here is every change since 2023 that matters to birders in the US and Canada, and a free check of your own list.
- A split
- is when one species is divided into two or more.
- A lump
- is when two or more species are merged into one.
- Taxonomy
- is the official list of species and their names, which eBird and others update once a year.
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This year: 2026
eBird’s 2026 taxonomy update is expected in late October 2026. We’ll update this page the day it’s out.
Last year's update brought the Yellow Warbler, Whimbrel and Warbling Vireo splits, among others.
AviList, the shared world checklist, plans its next edition for September or October 2026. The North American questions it is looking at include splitting Willet and Marsh Wren into eastern and western species, and splitting Warbling Vireo, as eBird and the AOS already have.
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) publishes its own changes for North America once a year, usually in summer. We'll add its 2026 changes here once they are published. We list only changes that are official, never proposals.
Bird splits in 2025
- Split
Warbling Vireo split into Eastern and Western
In 2025 Warbling Vireo became two species: Eastern Warbling Vireo, east of the Rocky Mountains, and Western Warbling Vireo, from the Rockies west.
+1 if you’ve seen both
- Split
Yellow Warbler split: Northern and Mangrove
In 2025 eBird split Yellow Warbler in two. Almost every Yellow Warbler in the US and Canada is now Northern Yellow Warbler; Mangrove Yellow Warbler lives in coastal mangroves.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
Whimbrel split: Hudsonian and Eurasian
In 2025 eBird split Whimbrel in two. The Whimbrel of the Americas is now Hudsonian Whimbrel; the Old World bird is Eurasian Whimbrel.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
Elegant Trogon split: Arizona's bird is now Coppery-tailed Trogon
In 2025 eBird split Elegant Trogon in two. The trogon of southeast Arizona and Mexico is now Coppery-tailed Trogon; Elegant Trogon is the Central American bird.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
Fea's Petrel split: the Gulf Stream bird is Desertas Petrel
In 2025 eBird split Fea's Petrel in two. The rare petrel seen far off the US East Coast now counts as Desertas Petrel.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
White Tern split: Hawaii's bird is Blue-billed White-Tern
In 2025 White Tern became three species. The white-tern of Hawaii is now Blue-billed White-Tern.
Usually no change to your count
Bird splits, lumps and name changes in 2024
- Split
Herring Gull split into four species
In 2024 eBird split Herring Gull into four species, and the AOS followed in 2025. The Herring Gull of the US and Canada is now American Herring Gull.
Usually no change to your count
- Lump
Common and Hoary Redpoll are now one species
In 2024 Common, Hoary and Lesser Redpoll were merged into one species, now simply called Redpoll.
−1 if you counted both
- Split
Barn Owl split: ours is American Barn Owl
In 2024 Barn Owl became three species, one for each part of the world. The Barn Owl of the Americas is now American Barn Owl.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
House Wren split: ours is Northern House Wren
In 2024 House Wren became seven species. The House Wren of the US and Canada is now Northern House Wren; the others live from Mexico south and on Caribbean islands.
Usually no change to your count
- Split
Cory's Shearwater split: Cory's and Scopoli's
In 2024 Cory's Shearwater became two species, Cory's Shearwater and Scopoli's Shearwater. Both are seen at sea off the US East Coast.
+1 if you’ve seen both
- Split
Brown Booby split: the West Coast bird is Cocos Booby
In 2024 Brown Booby became two species. Boobies off California and western Mexico are now Cocos Booby; Brown Booby stays the bird of the Atlantic, the Gulf and the Caribbean.
+1 if you’ve seen both
- New name
Audubon's Shearwater is now Sargasso Shearwater
In 2024 Audubon's Shearwater was split, and the bird seen off the US East Coast got a new name: Sargasso Shearwater. The other new species live far from North America.
Usually no change to your count
Bird splits and lumps in 2023
- Split
Northern Goshawk split: ours is American Goshawk
In 2023 Northern Goshawk became two species. The goshawk of North America is now American Goshawk; Eurasian Goshawk lives in Europe and Asia.
Usually no change to your count
- Lump
Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatcher are one again: Western Flycatcher
In 2023 Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher were merged back into one species, Western Flycatcher, the name it had before the two were split.
−1 if you counted both
- Split
Cattle Egret split: ours is Western Cattle-Egret
In 2023 eBird split Cattle Egret in two, and the AOS followed in 2024. The Cattle Egret of the Americas is now Western Cattle-Egret; Eastern Cattle-Egret lives in Asia and Australia.
Usually no change to your count
Questions birders ask
Why did my life list number go down?
Most likely a lump: two species you had both seen were merged into one, so they now count once. In 2024, for example, Common and Hoary Redpoll became one species, Redpoll. After a split, a sighting eBird can’t place may also become a “one or the other” record, which doesn’t count as a species.
Do I lose a bird when two are lumped?
Only if you had counted both. Your sightings stay in your records; they are simply filed under the one merged species. If you had seen just one of them, your count doesn’t change.
When does eBird change names?
Once a year, in October, when eBird updates its taxonomy (its official list of species and their names). The 2025 update came out on October 28, 2025. eBird’s 2026 taxonomy update is expected in late October 2026. We’ll update this page the day it’s out.
Do I need to do anything?
Usually not. eBird moves your old records to the new species for you when it can tell which one you saw. If you keep your own list on paper or in a spreadsheet, update the names yourself: the free checker on this page shows which ones changed.
Why do eBird and my book or app show different totals?
Checklists don’t always agree. eBird splits Warbling Vireo into two species, for example, while AviList, the shared world list, still has one. Birdfolio follows AviList and shows any difference on a notes page in your book. More in our guide to bird splits and lumps.
Learn more
- Bird splits and lumps: why your list count changes, our plain guide to how it all works.
- How many bird species are in the US and Canada, and why the number moves.
- How to download your eBird data, for the checker above.