2018 split
White-collared Seedeater split: the Texas bird is Morelet's Seedeater
In 2018 White-collared Seedeater became two species. The seedeater of the Rio Grande valley in south Texas is now Morelet's Seedeater; Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater lives in western Mexico.
Updated
What changed
The seedeater of the US: along the Rio Grande in south Texas, and south along the Gulf and Caribbean side of Mexico and Central America to western Panama.
Western and southwestern Mexico, from Sonora south to Oaxaca. There are a few reports from the US, but none has been accepted.
Who decided, and when
- American Ornithological Society (AOS): the 59th Supplement to its Check-list of North American birds
- eBird and the Clements Checklist: its 2018 taxonomy update
- AviList, the shared world checklist: agrees, with the same names
Which one did you see?
Go by where you saw it. In Texas, and on the Gulf and Caribbean side of Mexico and Central America, it's Morelet's Seedeater. On Mexico's Pacific side, it's Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater.
What it does to your list
For US birders it's a new name only: the White-collared Seedeater you saw in Texas is now Morelet's Seedeater.
If you have also seen Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater in western Mexico, your total goes up by one.
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