birding-aus

Listing Areas

Subject: Listing Areas
From: "TPALLISE.AU.ORACLE.COM" <>
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 95 18:47:12 EST
>Over the last month, we have had several Australian list totals quoted.   
>What area does this relate to?  Do it include Cocos-Keeling and Christmas  
>Island?  In ABA lists, these would go on Indian Ocean, not Australia. 
>Does it include Macquarie Island.  Again, in ABA terms this falls outside  
>the Australian area.  I don't know the answers to these questions, or if  
>there are any current rules, who made them, or where they can be found. 
 
>I'm not trying to picky, but I think we should agree on what we are  
>talking about. 
>John Penhallurick 
 
 John this is a very good point and one that pops up all the time.  There  
have been several attempts to document this over the years. When the  
new RAOU checklist came out it was all but resolved. 
 
1. Australia includes any species recorded in Australia and its  
Territories which include: Christmas, Heard, Norfolk, Macquarie, Bouigu  
etc.  In other words if its in the new RAOU checklist by Christidis and  
Boles its OK.  
 
2. Many of the world birders use the American Birding Assoc as the  
standard  point of reference, Which I think follows Clements & as a  
world checklist and thats fine too.  
 
Personally though I think both have problems. eg To include Christmas  
Island on your Australian list is a bit like counting the Falklands on  
your British List or Hawaii on your US list. However to be consistent  
I remain in favour as there is now an up to date standard point of  
reference easily accessible to Australians. 
 
The ABA include Sulawesi as part of Australasia and yet New Zealand  
and the Solomon Islands are not.  Possibly for good reason, but not very  
well accepted. However once again to be consistent I remain in favour. 
This does mean that there will be a variation between the two which  
needs to be resolved. 
 
Do you know what the differences are? I do not have the latest copy of 
Clements? 
 
There have been attempts to document the term Australia and Australasia 
in old copies of the BOC newsletter and the earlier ABA (Australian  
Birding) newsletter's. 
 
Regards 
Tony
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