Some differences between the magpies are described here, although they seem pretty subtle and subjective. But for sure essentially everyone identifying them is going by range, same with American and European Herring Gulls and many other species. I think opposition to geography-based subspecies ID comes from a combination of discomfort with geography-based ID in general and discomfort with subspecies taxonomy together. Since species are the basic unit people are forced to be more pragmatic more often. More discussion of this here.
upupa-epops
32
Related topics
| Topic | Replies | Views | Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leading subspecies IDs should change the obs taxon like leading IDs of other ranks | 115 | 11433 | February 24, 2023 | |
| Choosing not to identify subspecies | 44 | 5214 | March 26, 2019 | |
| Have leading subspecies IDs update Observation Taxon below species, even when coarser IDs present | 21 | 571 | April 9, 2026 | |
| Make 'Needs ID' Independent of BOTH 'Research Grade' AND 'Casual' Statuses | 54 | 1103 | July 9, 2024 | |
| Improve support / workflow for subspecies? | 16 | 1119 | August 23, 2023 |