The natural history of the Sapayoa Sapayoa aenigma, the sole member of the Sapayoidae and the only New World representative of the ‘Old World suboscines’, is poorly known. Previously, we reported a pair of adult Sapayoas breeding with assistance from two immature males, but their kinship was unknown. Here, we use double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) to conduct parentage and relatedness analyses among this group. We found that the members of the adult pair were unrelated, but all other dyads were probably first order (parent-offspring or full sibling). In addition, the helper males were very unlikely to have sired either of the chicks. We conclude that the group consisted of two unrelated adults and two offspring from a previous brood. These results provide important context for social behaviours observed within the group, which included mounting events; such behaviour may be involved in group cohesion.

Orange-fronted Plushcrown Metopothrix aurantiaca is a unique, but easily overlooked, small furnariid found in the midstorey and canopy of riverine areas in the Amazon. The species' previously published distribution includes parts of southernmost Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia and western Brazil. In the easternmost part of its distribution (Brazil), M. aurantiaca occurs in the states of Acre, Amazonas and Rondônia, east to 64°W. We present nine new records of the species in Brazil, all of them east of its previously known distribution and together extending the range by c.750 km. These new records derive from sampling that includes collecting expeditions, exhaustive várzea surveys, and incidental observations. We propose a new continuous distribution for this species restricted to white-water river floodplains with known occurrences.

We report the first well-documented hybrid between Field Spizella pusilla and Clay-coloured Sparrows S. pallida. This hybrid combination has previously been suggested from field observations in eastern North America, but not confirmed. We encountered an individual in Lorain County, Ohio, USA, during surveys for the state's second breeding bird atlas. It was a territorial male, singing a buzzy but accelerating trilled song with characteristics of both parents. It responded vigorously to playback of both Field and Clay-coloured Sparrows. In the hand, the bird showed plumage characteristics of both species and intermediate measurements. Using molecular data, we were able to confirm Clay-coloured Sparrow as the mother of the individual, with support for Field Sparrow as the father. This and other recent field observations of this hybrid pairing have been reported at the eastern boundary of the expanding breeding range of Clay-coloured Sparrow, suggesting that this hybrid combination can be expected elsewhere in the Great Lakes region and in New England, where these species are increasingly syntopic.

I present the historical details associated with early 20th century descriptions of Aplomado Falcon subspecies. I identify potential weaknesses in these diagnoses that justify re-examination of traditional taxonomy, and stress that climate change, habitat modification and large-scale reintroduction efforts may have altered or eliminated any valid subspecies boundaries that once existed. I recommend that conservation efforts in the Northern Hemisphere focus on the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico where Aplomado Falcons have declined severely in recent years.

Abyssinian Crimsonwing Cryptospiza salvadorii and Red-faced Crimsonwing C. reichenovii both occur in Tanzania but their distribution on Mt. Meru and in the Crater Highlands is poorly understood. Similarly, the southernmost record of C. salvadorii in Tanzania, in the Uluguru Mountains, is ambiguous. We conducted an in-depth literature review and detailed specimen evaluation of these two taxa and here clarify their ranges in northern Tanzania. We failed to find definitive evidence for the presence of C. salvadorii in the Uluguru Mountains.

In the bird collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring (NHMUK), and no doubt in many analogous collections elsewhere, older specimens are increasingly likely to have become divorced from some, or even all, of the data that once accompanied them. As the utility of such specimens for research depends in large part on their accompanying data, it is important, though time-consuming, to try to restore missing data to them. Stimulated by a genomic research project request to sample all Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon specimens in the NHMUK collection, this paper presents a case study of such an attempt. The results are used to highlight the importance that such investigation is factored into projects aiming to make museum specimen data available online.

Taxonomically undifferentiated western and eastern populations of Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx mechowi and Yellow-spotted Barbet Buccanodon duchaillui are known to have very different voices. The cuckoo has two song types, a melodious three-note whistle and a plaintive whinnying in West Africa west of the Bakossi Mountains in Cameroon, and a much less melodious, higher-pitched three-note whistle and a much faster whinnying in Central Africa east of the Bakossi Mountains. The barbet has an accelerating song of some 6–11 hoots west of the Dahomey Gap and a rapid rolling purr to the east. Even though in plumage and morphometrics there is no unambiguous diagnostic distinction between these two vocal groups, analysis of their vocalisations demonstrates a high degree of differentiation. We consider the western groups as species, naming the cuckoo for Françoise Dowsett-Lemaire and the barbet for Robert Dowsett.

We report the first documented record of Purple Heron Ardea purpurea in Brazil, and the second record of Little Egret Egretta garzetta, both of them on the island of Fernando de Noronha. A single A. purpurea was present between March 2017 and March 2018, and an E. garzetta on just one date in March 2017.

White-eared Honeyeater Nesoptilotis leucotis ranges broadly across southern Australia, where it is a constituent of eucalypt forest and woodland communities. A recent phylogeographic study recovered deep divergence between western and eastern populations. Within the western phylogroup are two allopatric populations that are differentiated by morphometrics, plumage coloration and voice. The eastern of the two, which occupies mallee woodland on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, is described here as a new subspecies.

We present what is known about the Gulf of Guinea band-rumped storm petrels Hydrobates cf. castro to identify priority areas for research and conservation. Addressed are: occurrence in the Gulf of Guinea, including museum specimens, at-sea records, observations on the islands, and potential breeding sites; seasonality, the timing of breeding inferred from condition of trapped birds and birds at sea in primary moult; morphology, including biometrics, structure, plumage aspect; aerial vocalisations at the suspected breeding grounds; and taxonomy. The first photographs and sonograms pertaining to this population to be published are also presented. The evidence indicates that this storm petrel is present in the Gulf of Guinea year-round. It almost certainly breeds on São Tomé during both the wet and long dry seasons, and breeding is probably protracted, possibly seasonal. Morphology indicates a degree of distinctiveness and aerial vocalisations suggest possible taxonomic affinities with Cape Verde Storm Petrel H. jabejabe. Our observations are provisional and further research is required. The three most pressing matters for future research are clarifying taxonomy, locating breeding colonies and identifying key threats.