List of Alternate Bird Names in BirdLasser – a guide to minimize confusion among bird mappers in Kenya

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) –