Kirk Roth, Indianapolis, IN
In 2017, Four species were added to the Indiana Checklist, which stands at 424 species. These were: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Wandering Tattler, Mottled Duck, and Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker was added based on historical documentations compiled by Benjamin Leese. The Leese document will be kept in the IBRC archives.
An updated Indiana Checklist was produced this year which included these additions but also brought the Checklist up to date with the recent taxonomic changes enacted by the American Ornithological Society (AOS) based on several studies of bird genetics and relationships. The changes to species order are substantial and may be surprising to many Indiana birders who are used to the “old sequence.” It is notable that the AOS species list is already incorporated into the newest National Geographic Field Guide (7th edition) but not yet into eBird. The updated Indiana Checklist was incorporated into the Indiana Audubon Society website in late January.
The IBRC approved some revisions for the state review list
- Thayer’s Gull would be removed from the list, due to the recent American Ornithological Society taxonomic decision
- Many other gulls are review birds under the “away from Lake Michigan” category, but that may be ill defined or inappropriate in the cases of Iceland, Glaucous, and Great Black‐backed Gulls which have been found at the St. Joseph River and garbage dumps in counties nearby Lake Michigan. It was decided to change the designation for these birds to “Away from a 50-mile radius from Lake Michigan” which would encompass these clusters of reports.
- It was discussed that the review status of other Lake Michigan species could be changed from “away from Lake Michigan” to “immediately away from Lake Michigan.”
- Fish Crow was designated as reviewable “away from known locations” but this was a non‐definitive category. It was decided that the Fish Crow should be a review species “Away from southwest Indiana and Marion County.”
- The review designation for Least Tern was changed to “Away from Gibson, Greene, and Spencer Counties” where breeding colonies exist.
- The review designation for Monk Parakeet was changed to “Away from Lake County” where breeding is known to occur.
The committee acted on the following records in 2017. Dates refer to 2017 unless otherwise indicated. APE = Accepted with Physical Evidence; ANPES = Accepted with No Physical Evidence, Single Observer; ANPEM = Accepted with No Physical Evidence, Multiple Observers; NI = Not Accepted, Insufficient Evidence
| SPECIES | RECORD CODE | RULING | NOTES |
| Long-tailed Jaeger | LTJA-033-LAKE | ANPEM | |
| Prairie Falcon | PRFA-015-GIBS | ANPEM | |
| Glaucous Gull | GLGU-008-STJO | ANPES | |
| Western Kingbird | WEKI-027-VERM | APE | |
| Little Gull | LIGU-009-UNIO | APE | |
| White Ibis | WHIB-017-VAND | APE | |
| White Ibis | WHIB-018-VIGO | ANPES | |
| Townsend’s Solitaire | TOSO-012-LAWR | APE | |
| Townsend’s Solitaire | TOSO-013-MADI | APE | |
| Cinnamon Teal | CITE-014-LAPO | APE, NI | 1 bird accepted, 1 bird possible hybrid |
| Cinnamon Teal | CITE-015-GREE | APE | |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | BBWD-016-GREE | APE | |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | BBWD-017-BOON | APE | |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | BBWD-018-VIGO | APE | |
| Yellow Rail | YEAR-015-WABA | ANPES | |
| Red Knot | REKN-007-GIBS | APE | |
| Ruff | RUFF-018-GREE | APE | |
| Ruff | RUFF-019-WARR | ANPEM | |
| Ruff | RUFF-020-GIBS | APE | |
| Swainson’s Hawk | SWHA-019-PORT | APE | |
| Common Raven | CORA-001-STAR | NI | |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow | GCSP-001-MARI | APE | |
| Mottled Duck | MODU-001-GREE | NI | Concerns about hybridization |
| Mottled Duck | MODU-001-GIBS | APE | |
| Ivory-billed Woodpecker | IBWO-001 | Add to List | Accept historical evidence of occurrence in Indiana |
| Long-tailed Jaeger | LTJA-032-LAKE | APE | |
| Wandering Tattler | WATA-001-LAPO | APE | |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | MAFR-005-LAKE | NI | Accepted as “frigatebird sp.” |
| Royal Tern | ROYT-003-LAKE | NI |
