| Flagger | Content Author | Content | Reason | Flag Created | Resolved by | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fogartyf | maxkirsch | Mangrove Warbler [erithachorides] (Subspecies Setophaga petechia erithachorides) |
Please change the common name of this subspecies in iNat - "Mangrove Warbler" is the common name given to the suite of subspecies in Central and South America (including this subspecies), but many users are erroneously selecting this taxon |
Jan. 16, 2020 02:54:52 +0000 | fogartyf |
Removed common name |
Comments
I disagree about keeping this name. If the name refers to multiple subspecies, I don't believe the name should be used for any subspecies on iNat. It's the same as the "Oregon Junco" situation.
Not the perfect solution, but resolved by adding "erithachorides" parenthetical. I'm not aware of a common name in use that isn't confusing.
I take it the parenthetical was removed?
Yes, this one is still a problem. I don't see justification for keeping this common name, given all the confusion it has caused. I've remarked it as unresolved, although I suppose we need to come up with a better common name to use (or remove them entirely for the taxon).
It looks like this is one of those situations where eBird uses a subspecies group rather than a subspecies. I know both of you were involved in the forum discussion on subspecies groups, and it looks like the consensus was against them. However they do seem more intuitive than subspecies for a number of species (this example as well as juncos, Horned Larks, etc.) which results in common names like this working at that level but not at species or subspecies level. That discussion is locked now but I would have thought that subspecies groups would be less controversial because subspecies are controversial, but it seems not.
Anyway in the absence of that option, yeah it seems like not having the common name at all, or only having it at species level, is the best solution. Either that or having "Mangrove Yellow Warbler (subspecies)" for all the relevant subspecies.
I think the latter suggestion "Mangrove Yellow Warbler (subspecies)" goes against iNat naming conventions, so that one is out.
I think I mostly agree that subspecies groups would be a good thing, but implementing them is a much larger change and would require decisions to be made at a higher level. In the meantime, the best we can do is manage the taxa and their names in the existing tree.
I went ahead and just deleted the common name. The majority of the other subspecies of Yellow Warbler also lack common names, so this doesn't seem to be an issue and will be much better than keeping the confusing "Mangrove Yellow Warbler".
because of the confusing name.