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Confounding the Starving Snowy Owl Irruption Theory

10,000 Birds

Irruptions of Snowy Owls in 2011 and again in 2013 found these Arctic birds wintering well south of their usual range , in some cases straying down to Bermuda and even Hawaii. (I But new research, published in The Auk , suggests that this narrative may not provide the whole story.

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2013 AOU North American checklist proposals

10,000 Birds

Proposal 2013-A-5 would remove the Hawaiian honeycreepers out of their own subfamily (Drepanidinae) and place them in the subfamily Carduelinae near the rosefinches, which a 2011 study showed to be their closest relatives. This change has been needed and tracks with our best understanding of finch relationships. Shearwater split.

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