AviList Committees

Ross's Gull Rhodostethia rosea by Zak Pohlen; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee guides the strategic direction of AviList and ensures that the Vision, Mission, and Terms of Reference are adhered to and that the Objectives and Standards and Principles are being met. It works to form and strengthen partnerships and to help assemble, maintain, and support the other committees.

Executive Committee as of the date of release of version 2025:

Former members: Richard Schodde (through June 2025)

Taxonomic Committee (TaxCom)

TaxCom comprises a team of taxonomic experts who discuss, deliberate, and vote upon taxonomic proposals to change AviList treatments. For the first release of AviList (v2025), TaxCom assessed 1000+ cases in which the delimitation of species, genera, or families had not been in alignment among the three global partner lists (BirdLife, eBird/Clements, IOC). For subsequent versions, TaxCom will assess cases that are submitted via Regional Advisory Groups, often with input from members of the general ornithological community. Committee decisions are determined by majority vote and are reflected in a summary statement, to be published with each version of AviList. TaxCom has the final say in all AviList matters related to taxonomic classification. All TaxCom deliberations and votes are carried out and archived on a GitHub platform. AviList is committed to full transparency: we will make all TaxCom discussions and votes open to the public at some point in the near future by posting them on dedicated webpages, pending the resolution of multiple copyright issues. In the meantime, any person with an interest in a specific TaxCom decision is welcome to get in touch with us and request an anonymized version of the discussions and vote on a particular TaxCom case.

TaxCom for v2026 (as of June 2025):

Voting member changes: Bob Dowsett (v2025 only), Richard Schodde (v2025 only), Michael Mills (v2026 only)

Bibliographic and Nomenclatural Committee

The Bibliographic and Nomenclatural Committee specializes in avian nomenclature and the primary literature that is relevant to the description and application of the scientific names in ornithology. In addition to formal decisions on nomenclature, the Bibliographic and Nomenclatural Committee maintains a large number of bibliographic fields related to original sources of names. 

Bibliographic and Nomenclatural Committee as of the date of release of version 2025:

Technical Committee

The AviList Technical Committee assists with all aspects of data and web content for the AviList, including management of the taxonomic and nomenclatural information as well as facilitating the functioning of the committees themselves. The primary role is to maintain the databases that support AviList and its versions, including both the taxonomic and nomenclatural information. For version 1, this also included identifying the incongruences between the three global lists (IOC World BirdList, BirdLife International Checklist, and eBird/Clements Checklist). Other roles of the technical committee include design and maintenance of the website, coordinating publication of AviList versions, dissemination of AviList to the ornithological and taxonomic communities, coordination of voting by AviList committees, and assistance with meetings.

Technical Committee as of the date of release of version 2025:

Taxonomic Sequence Specialists

Martin Stervander and Gustav Asplund advise on the principles of an accurate taxonomic sequence, and implement these across taxonomic ranks to keep AviList up to date with current research.

Expert Reviewers (v2025)

A team of several expert reviewers contributed to a thorough review of AviList for its first release. This included not only detailed checks of taxonomic and nomenclatural fields, but also a thorough review of the summary statements.

Expert reviewers not part of other AviList committees or groups:

Former Members

The compilation of the first version of AviList was a long process. We are very grateful to those who contributed their expertise at the earlier stages of the project but are not listed elsewhere above:

Specialist and Regional Advisory Groups

Regional subcommittees are tasked with reviewing the AviList Checklist, providing recommendations on revisions to the taxonomy, nomenclature, and bibliographic information where needed. Importantly, these subcommittees bring expertise within a given region and are particularly well qualified to advise on species or subspecies of the region.

AviList consults a number of advisory groups on select issues. These can be divided into specialist advisory groups (which currently only encompass the Nomenclatural Advisory Group) as well as regional advisory groups. Regional advisory groups (RAGs) were not yet established in the lead-up to version 2025. Their work starts with the launch of version 2025. To preclude conflicts of interest in the taxonomic decision process, RAG members cannot at the same time serve in TaxCom. If a RAG member is asked to join TaxCom, he or she must relinquish membership in the respective RAG.

Nomenclatural Advisory Group

Nomenclatural incongruences often constitute complex issues that require extensive scholarship and access to the specialist literature. In its quest to resolve such incongruences, the Bibliographic and Nomenclatural Committee has enlisted the help of a group of experts mostly but not exclusively recruited from the IOU Working Group on Nomenclature (WGAN), forming the Nomenclatural Advisory Group to AviList. This group is tasked with discussing, deliberating, and voting on a number of nomenclatural incongruences or conflicts regarding the correct usage or spelling of scientific names.

As of the launch of version 2025, this Advisory Group included the following members:

AOS North American Classification Committee (NACC)

The North American Classification Committee (NACC), a special committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), is the AviList advisory group for the region covering North and Central America south to the Darién Gap of Panama, inclusive of islands in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean south to Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Bermuda, Greenland, the Aleutians and Pribilofs, Cocos Island, the Hawaiian archipelago, Clipperton, and the Mexican island possessions in the Pacific. NACC has been operating since 1883 and has internal processes for assessing proposals, and for voting and deciding on the taxonomy and nomenclature (including both scientific and English names) of North and Central American birds. Proposals and discussions are shared with AviList TaxCom, and the two operate in the spirit of maximizing consensus where possible, although their two taxonomies may not always be perfectly congruent. At the same time, NACC alone—among all regional advisory groups—is an independent external group not formally embedded with AviList and not subject to its executive decisions.

Learn more about AOS-NACC’s member composition and internal structure.

South American Classification Committee (SACC)

The South American Classification Committee is the AviList advisory group for the region covering South America, inclusive of the Galápagos Islands, Falklands/Malvinas, Masafuera and Masatierra island groups, and Fernando de Noronha. SACC has operated since 1998. It has internal processes for assessing proposals and for voting and deciding on the taxonomy and nomenclature (including both scientific and English names) of South American birds. Proposals and discussions are shared with the AviList Committee and the two operate in the spirit of maximizing consensus where possible, although their two taxonomies may not always be perfectly congruent.

Learn more about SACC’s member composition and internal structure

Palearctic (Regional Advisory Group—Palearctic)

AviList TaxCom has established a Regional Advisory Group covering the Palearctic Zoogeographic Zone centered across Eurasia, also including the Middle East to Iran, the Central Asian republics, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan with its island possessions. In the Atlantic, the region extends to the Cape Verde Islands, the Azores, Iceland, and Svalbard. In Africa, this region covers Morocco (including Western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. In China, the region extends south to the Yangtze River, Sichuan, and Tibet.

The Palearctic Regional Advisory Group commenced its operation after the launch of version 2025. It is responsible for crafting compelling taxonomic proposals for taxa within its region, often with ample public feedback, for the consideration of TaxCom.

Tropical Asian (Regional Advisory Group—South and Southeast Asia)

AviList TaxCom has established a Regional Advisory Group covering the Oriental Zoogeographic Zone centered around South and Southeast Asia, including the Maldives, Chagos, Lakshadweep, and Christmas Island. In the west, this region extends to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the north, the region extends to Kashmir, Nepal, Bhutan, Yunnan, the Yangtze River, and Taiwan. In the southeast, the region extends to the Philippines and the Indonesian Archipelago all the way to Lydekker’s Line (separating the Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands from Papua).

The Tropical Asian Regional Advisory Group commenced its operation after the launch of version 2025. It is responsible for crafting compelling taxonomic proposals for taxa within its region, often with ample public feedback, for the consideration of TaxCom.

Australasia (Regional Advisory Group—Australasia)

AviList TaxCom has established a Regional Advisory Group covering Australia, New Zealand, the island of Papua New Guinea, Antarctica, and most of the Pacific and Southern Oceans. In the north, this region extends to the Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, and Kiribati. In the east, it extends to the Pitcairn Islands, Easter Island, and Sala y Gomez. It includes Antarctica, and in the subantarctic zone includes all island possessions of Australia and New Zealand as well as Kerguelen, Prince Edwards and Crozet, Bouvet Island, South Sandwich, South Orkney, South Georgia, and South Shetlands. In the west, it includes Ashmore Reef, areas east of Lydekker’s Line, and Palau.

The Australasian Regional Advisory Group commenced its operation after the launch of version 2025. It is responsible for crafting compelling taxonomic proposals for taxa within its region, often with ample public feedback, for the consideration of TaxCom.

Sub-Saharan Africa (Regional Advisory Group—Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and Islands)

AviList TaxCom has established a Regional Advisory Group covering Africa south of the Sahara and parts of the Sahara. It includes St Helena, Ascension, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Mascarenes, the Seychelles, the Comoros, Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands, and Socotra. In the north, this region extends to Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan.

The African Regional Advisory Group commenced its operation after the launch of version 2025. It is responsible for crafting compelling taxonomic proposals for taxa within its region, often with ample public feedback, for the consideration of TaxCom.

English Names Committee

The English Names Committee (ENC) is responsible for reviewing, discussing, and voting on proposals concerning the English names of birds included in the checklist (English names for v2025 largely align with IOC 15.1). The Committee seeks to promote stability, consistency, and clarity in English nomenclature while recognizing that names may require revision in response to taxonomic changes, new information, or compelling social and cultural considerations.

ENC assesses proposals submitted by the Taxonomic Committee, Regional Advisory Groups, and members of the ornithological community. In some cases, ENC may proactively review English names. ENC decisions are determined by majority vote and are reflected in summary statements published with each version of the checklist. Where appropriate, ENC consults Regional and Specialist Advisory Groups and other subject experts before reaching decisions.

Among the tasks of ENC are the following:

  • Consider English name changes necessitated by taxonomic revisions;
  • Consider English name changes necessitated by compelling social, cultural, or historical considerations;
  • Review proposals for new English names and alternative naming treatments;
  • Liaise with Regional and Specialist Advisory Groups as required when evaluating English name proposals;
  • Promote consistency in the application of English names across the checklist.

While the English name choice of ENC is the recommended name as a global standard, we acknowledge that regional preferences may exist in English names. AviList collaborates with eBird and the Cornell Lab to support alternate English names, as well as common names in other languages, in the context of its global taxonomy.