With the restructured bird taxonomy released in October 2025, birders around the world have seen bird species changes on eBird, Merlin, and Birds of the World.
For example, all my Yellow Warbler observations have been changed to Northern Yellow Warbler. And my Warbling Vireo observations have changed to Eastern Warbling Vireo.
I was glad to read the 2025 taxonomic changes described on eBird:
…40 species gained because of splits and 18 species lost through lumps, resulting in a net gain of 22 species and a new total of 11,167 species worldwide.
When I downloaded my Personalized eBird Taxonomy Report, I learned none of the taxonomic changes resulted in any increase/decrease in bird species on my Life List.
I was curious to learn more about the taxonomic changes and thankful to discover Birds of the World is offering a free taxonomy webinar on November 13, 2025 is 9:00AM Eastern Time (conversion to your time zone).
From the webinar description, concepts presented will be intermediate to advanced.
If you plan to attend and you’re new to birding/birdwatching, you’re encouraged to watch BOW Discovery Webinar: Avian Taxonomy Update 2022 on YouTube (one hour 26 minutes) for an overview of basic avian taxonomy concepts before the November 13th webinar.
Presenters for the webinar include:
- Dr. Shawn Billerman, Science editor, Birds of the World
- Dr. Pamela Rasmussen, Senior research associate – avian systematist, Birds of the World
- Marshall Iliff, eBird project leader, taxonomy specialist, common names database manager
While the webinar is free, pre-registration is required.
Summary
I’ve registered for the taxonomy webinar and hope you consider joining me!
If you’re interested in the webinar but your schedule doesn’t allow you to attend, Birds of the World posts recorded webinars on their YouTube playlist.
