Prinia. This
happens when we can't automatically assign an identification to one of the
output taxa.
Review identifications of Prinia gracilis 7707
Taxonomic Split 99290
(Committed on 11-04-2022)
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Comments
@sammyboy2059, @sethmiller, @jackyjudas, @trcarlisle you've identified Prinia on the Arabian Peninsula, do you have any thoughts on this split? Right now, the observations from Bahrain are going to gracilis and the observations from UAE/Oman are going to lepida, following Alström et al. 2021. However, the paper says they're not 100% sure those areas are correctly assigned to species:
"More comprehensive sampling, especially from Syria and the Arabian Peninsula, including genetic evidence from these areas, is required to confirm the membership of hufufae within the gracilis group and carpenteri within the lepida group."
"The variability that led Shirihai and Svensson (2018) to lump carpenteri into hufufae, coupled with the relatively short distances and patchwork taxon distribution as reflected by the specimen record (Figure 1) coupled with an apparent lack of major modern range discontinuity (https://ebird.org/species/grapri1), suggests that there may be a zone of secondary contact between the gracilis and lepida groups somewhere along the northeastern Arabian Peninsula coast."
"Further study, especially of DNA and vocalizations, is needed to corroborate our tentative morphology-based assignment of hufufae to the gracilis group and our assignment of carpenteri to the lepida group."
So the question is: should the observations from Bahrain (hufufae), Oman (carpenteri), and UAE (carpenteri) get bumped to genus, or are we comfortable assigning them to species?
I have observed Graceful Prinia in two areas: southeastern Arabian Peninsula (UAE and Oman) and central southern Turkey, just north of that country's border with Syria. I first recognized the presence of Turkish birds similar to the Arabian ones I had observed earlier from their vocalizations. I didn't have soound-recording equipment so can't say for sure if there are significant differences between the vocalizations of birds in the two areas, but from casual observation it certainly didn't seem so. The birds' appearance differed slightly between the two areas. Somehow the plumage seemed smoother and sleeker in the Arabian birds and more ruffled and scruffy in the Turkish birds. However, this could be a behavioural adaptation to different climates, as it was definitely colder in the Turkish area, at least in winter. Again, purely on the basis of casual observation, I couldn't see any reason to regard the birds in these two areas as belonging to different species. DNA-based evidence could, of course, could lead to a different conclusion. @jackyjudas, if Graceful Prinia are present at your new location in SW Saudi Arabia, it would be interesting to find out if you notice any differences from birds observed further east.
@trcarlisle hi, good morning! This taxonomic split follows a paper published this year in Ornithology: Alstrom et al. 2021: Morphology, vocalizations, and mitochondrial DNA suggest that the
Graceful Prinia is two species. Ornithol. 138: 1-23
There are quite clear differences between P. lepida (occuring in Turkey to India, and the one present in UAE), and P. gracilis, which seems to be the one mainly present in KSA. The intervals between notes is longer for P. gracilis than P. lepida, giving a slower rhythm of the song. I actually noticed it, quite straight away, from the first Prinia I heard singing in Abha.
Best
@jackyjudas, how nice to hear from you! Then it seems that our combined observations are totally in line with Alstrom et al., so we should be happy for the split to be acknowledged with carpentieri and akyildizi going to lepida and yemensis to gracilis. I see no reason for carpentieri to be considered a separate species, at least in the absence of further compelling evidence. I can't really comment on the status of hufufuae, except to remind everyone that Bahrain is an island and the birds there may not be inclined to use the causeway or other means to make contact with the Arabian Peninsula mainland or, indeed, with the Iranian mainland.
@jwidnes, @sammyboy2059, @sethmiller
Yes, it's interesting to see what's going on at the limits of distribution of the newly proposed species. Few guys are systematically taking sound records in eastern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Bahrain. I didn't check in details yet what they have found. Best!
Alström, Per, et al. "Morphology, vocalizations, and mitochondrial DNA suggest that the Graceful Prinia is two species." The Auk 138.2 (2021): ukab014.
Ranges of the focal taxa, showing locations of sound recordings analyzed (cool-colored circles for gracilis group except black dot for tiny-range natronensis [labeled nat], south and west of white dashed line and warm-colored squares for lepida group, and north and east of white dashed line) and DNA samples (stars in group-specific color). Vocal subgroups are indicated by upper-case letter following subspecies name. Question mark denotes isolated populations of uncertain taxon.