BirdLasser is a great tool for recording and submitting observations of birds to the Kenya Bird Map project. However, with 3 taxonomy options (Howard and Moore; Clements; and IOC) available in the Regions and Languages settings, some bird names are bound to differ depending on the taxonomy you are using. After testing out all 3 of them, I find Howard and Moore to be the best taxonomic option as almost all of the birds are named in a way that Kenyan birders recognize. (To set your taxonomy to Howard and Moore: simply go to your Settings, click on Regions and Languages, click Taxonomy and set it to Howard and Moore, set Primary language to ‘English (Kenya)’, Secondary language to ‘English Howard and Moore’ and Tertiary language to ‘Scientific Howard and Moore’.)
With that said, some people tend to have their personal taxonomic preferences. So I have compiled the list below to highlight alternative names that some of the birds have based on your taxonomy and language settings. This will minimize confusion when recording birds. Most of these apply when your taxonomy/language is set to Clements or IOC:
Alternate Bird Names on BirdLasser | |||
Common name – Kenya checklist (2009) | Scientific name – Kenya checklist (2009) | Other name(s) in BirdLasser | Comments |
Yellow-necked Spurfowl | Francolinus leucoscepus | Yellow-necked Francolin (Pternistis leucoscepus) | |
Marabou Stork | Leptoptilos crumeniferus | Marabou (Leptoptilos crumenifer) | |
Hadada Ibis | Bostrychia hagedash | Hadeda Ibis/Hadeda | |
Cattle Egret | Bubulcus ibis | Western Cattle Egret | |
Black-chested Snake Eagle | Circaetus pectoralis | Black-breasted Snake Eagle | |
Great Sparrowhawk | Accipiter melanoleucus | Black Goshawk | |
Eastern Imperial Eagle | Aquila heliaca | Imperial Eagle | |
Crowned Eagle | Stephanoaetus coronatus | Crowned Hawk-Eagle | |
Large Plovers | Vanellus spp | Lapwings | E.g. Crowned Plover (Vanellus coronatus) becomes Crowned Lapwing |
Feral Pigeon | Columba livia | Rock Pigeon/Rock Dove | |
African White-winged Dove | Streptopelia reichenowi | White-winged Collared-dove | |
African Mourning Dove | Streptopelia decipiens | Mourning Collared-Dove | |
Ring-necked Dove | Streptopelia capicola | Cape Turtle Dove | |
Hybrid Lovebird | Agapornis fischeri x personatus | _ | Missing when taxonomy is set to IOC |
Greyish Eagle Owl | Bubo cinerascens | Grayish Eagle Owl | |
Rufous-crowned Roller | Coracias naevius | Purple Roller | |
Northern White-crowned Shrike | Eurocephalus rueppelli | White-rumped Shrike (Eurocephalus ruppelli) | |
Common Fiscal | Lanius collaris | Northern Fiscal (Lanius humeralis) | L. humeralis (Northern Fiscal) and L. collaris (Southern Fiscal) were previously lumped under one species – Common Fiscal – but have now been split. You will therefore notice two options when you type ‘Common Fiscal’ in BirdLasser. Choose the option labeled ‘Northern Fiscal’. Southern Fiscal is a southern African species that does not occur in Kenya. |
Dwarf Raven | Corvus edithae | Somali Crow | |
Plain Martin | Riparia paludicola | Brown-throated Martin | |
Common House Martin | Delichon urbicum | Northern House Martin | |
Winding Cisticola | Cisticola galactotes | Rufous-winged Cisticola | |
Coastal Cisticola | Cisticola haematocephalus | Winding Cisticola (Coastal) | Considered a race of Winding Cisticola by several authors. |
Mountain Greenbul | Andropadus nigriceps | Eastern Mountain Greenbul | |
Grey-chinned Sunbird | Anthreptes rectirostris | Green Sunbird | |
Grey-capped Social Weaver | Pseudonigrita arnaudi | Grey-headed Social Weaver | |
Holub’s Golden Weaver | Ploceus xanthops | Holub’s Weaver | |
Zanzibar Red Bishop | Euplectes nigroventris | Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix nigroventris) | Lumped with the Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix) |
P.S. The common and scientific names I have used are based on the Checklist of the Birds of Kenya, Fourth Edition (Bird Committee, Nature Kenya – the East Africa Natural History Society, 2009). Some common names may differ in various guidebooks, but the scientific names are generally more stable and you can use them as a guide if you get confused. Let’s keep mapping and submitting bird records to the Kenya Bird Map. It’s simple, fun and is the least you can do to contribute to the long-term monitoring and conservation of birds across Kenya! 😉 Note that these are just the ones I’ve noticed so far. I’m sure there must be more. If you notice any others, feel free to email me on kenyabirdmap@naturekenya.org and I will add them to the list.
– Author: Sidney Shema (Project Manager – Kenya Bird Map) –
Rufous crowned roller appears as purple roller…
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Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve added it to the list.
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Then there’s the Schalow’s vs. Abyssinnian (Black) or Mourning Wheatear…
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Hi Steve. In the Kenya checklist it’s called Abyssinian Wheatear, which seems to be what it’s called on BirdLasser
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Thanks Sidney. I’m accidentally highlighting the other source of (initial) confusion: the differences between names in BirdLasser and our regional guidebooks e.g. for Zimmermann, you have Reed/Long-tailed Cormorant, Green-backed/Eastern Honeybird, Reichenow’s/Yellow-rumped Seedeater and maybe a few others.
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That’s true Steve. Thank you for pointing this out as well.
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Some truly nice stuff on this website , I it.
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Thank you!
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