Bob Inglis wrote "This would suggest the possibility that this species has
established a route to Australia and that even more are present and that a
pure, non hybridised
population could establish itself in Australia in the near future.
What this would mean for the viability of the Pied Oystercatcher is
interesting
to contemplate."
To date South Island Pied Oystercatchers have only been reported from two
locations. I'm sure many birders are now aware of this species and are
looking for them. If significant numbers were present I would expect more
reports of possible South Island Pied Oystercatchers. I'm not convinced
that a route has been established - this suggests a regular migration. Is
it not possible that a couple of birds were caught up in a weather event
and ended up in Australia? This could well explain why the two records
are relatively close together and not in southern Australia which is
closer to New Zealand.
If this is the case then the species might be short lived in Australia
unless further supplemented by more birds from NZ. I'm not up on
Oystercatcher taxonomy. Is there likely to be hybridisation between these
and Pied Oystercatchers? Even if this was the case I think Pied
Oystercatchers would be secure. The occasional hybridisation between
Little and Fairy Terns seems to be having no impact on these species.
David Geering
This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain
confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, please
delete it and notify the sender. Views expressed in this message may be
those of the individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of the
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|