Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

For eBird users, the new 2016 taxonomy goes into effect today and tomorrow (August 9-10) and the most noticeable difference for South Florida users will be how American Coot is now listed. Our "regular" American Coot is now called American Coot (Red-shielded) in eBird.

Caribbean Coot is now lumped with American Coot and the two forms are considered the same species. The American Coot (White-shielded) choice is available on Caribbean eBird filters. For more information, see David Sibley's 2011 article explaining the differences and similarities of the two forms. The link is: http://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/03/the-caribbean-coot-in-north-america/

Experienced and knowledgeable former South Florida birder Wally George is mentioned in Sibley's article.