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Taxonomy
Agreeing on a taxonomy is not easy. Not only does bird taxonomy vary significantly from one authority to another, but it is in a state of constant change. New species are still being discovered, and subspecies are split and lumped based on ornithological studies.
Wikipedia's taxonomy for bird species, subspecies, genus, family and order pages follows that of the IOC, unless consensus determines there's a reason not to. The IOC World Bird List is now updated twice a year. The IOC is also the de facto standard for English bird names. This decision does not affect country, state or other regional lists that use a different, named, taxonomy, or other articles that discuss bird biodiversity or birds in general. Exceptions may be made in particular cases for either taxonomy or names. Where disagreement exists between the major taxonomic authorities, articles should note this.