List of Birds of Ontario - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the accompanying bird lists adhere to the conventions of the AOU's (1998) Check-list of North American birds, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North America birds. The AOU's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the body responsible for maintaining and updating the Check-list, "strongly and unanimously continues to endorse the biological species concept (BSC), in which species are considered to be genetically cohesive groups of populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups" (AOU 1998). See Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy for an alternative phylogenetic arrangement based on DNA-DNA hybridization.

Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in North America as permanent residents, summer or winter residents or visitors, or migrants. The following codes are used to denote certain categories of species:

• (A) = Accidental–occurrence based on one or two (rarely more) records, and unlikely to occur regularly.

• (I) = Introduced–The population in North America was established solely as result of direct or indirect human intervention; synonymous with non-native and non-indigenous.

• (E) = Extinct; a recent member of the avifauna that no longer exists.

• (Ex) = Extirpated–No longer occurs in area of interest, but other populations still exist elsewhere.